Divine Hammer (song)
{{Short description|1993 single by The Breeders}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2022}}
{{Infobox song
| name = Divine Hammer
| cover = Breeders - Divine hammer.jpeg
| alt =
| type = single
| artist = the Breeders
| album = Last Splash
| B-side =
- "Hoverin'"
- "I Can't Help It (If I'm Still in Love with You)"
- "Do You Love Me Now Jr?"
| released = {{start date|1993|10|25}}{{cite magazine|title=Single Releases|magazine=Music Week|page=21|date=October 23, 1993}}
| recorded =
| studio =
| venue =
| length =
| label =
| writer = Kim Deal
| producer =
- Kim Deal, Mark Freegard (album version)
- Fred Maher (single version)
| prev_title = Cannonball
| prev_year = 1993
| next_title = Saints
| next_year = 1994
}}
"Divine Hammer" is a song by American alternative rock band the Breeders, released as the second single from their second album, Last Splash (1993), in October 1993.
Meaning
"Divine Hammer" has been interpreted as expressing a search for spiritual or romantic fulfillment—an ultimately unattainable ideal.{{cite web |first=Charles |last=Aaron |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-GJOt0bM2-YC&q=%22Divine+Hammer%22&pg=RA1-PA82 |title=Ordinary People |work=Spin |date=March 1, 1994 |access-date=April 21, 2013}}
Kim Deal, who wrote the song, described it as being about "existential angst," explaining, "I'm just looking for some divinity to come down and, you know what, I don't think there is anything." She noted that while she never used syringe drugs, people often seek transcendence or divinity through various means, including religion. She also criticized the symbolic language commonly used in Christian folk music, calling it "stupid symbolisms."{{cite web |work=Double J |title=7 Highlights from Kim Deal's Amazing 1993 Triple J Interview |date=June 10, 2021 |url=https://www.abc.net.au/doublej/music-reads/features/kim-deal-breeders-pixies-last-splash-cannonball-1993-interview/13370482}}
In a separate interview, she told Rolling Stone that the song was rooted in disillusionment with her religious upbringing: "It's mainly about looking for something so hard through your life that people said was there. When I grew up and went to Sunday school, they said it was going to be really great ... I believe[d] everything everybody told me. And that's why I'm so pissed off now."{{cite magazine |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/song-stories/divine-hammer-the-breeders |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120626120104/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/song-stories/divine-hammer-the-breeders |url-status=dead |archive-date=June 26, 2012 |title=Song Stories: "Divine Hammer" |magazine=Rolling Stone |access-date=April 21, 2013}}
Track listing
{{Track listing
| title1 = Divine Hammer
| note1 = single version
| length1 = 2:42
| writer1 = Kim Deal
| title2 = Hoverin{{'-}}
| length2 = 2:53
| writer2 = Deal/Murphy
| title3 = I Can't Help It (If I'm Still in Love with You)
| length3 = 2:32
| writer3 = Hank Williams
| title4 = Do You Love Me Now Jr?
| length4 = 3:00
| writer4 = Kim Deal, Kelley Deal{{efn|The "Divine Hammer" single liner notes list only Kim Deal as songwriter of "Do You Love Me Now Jr?"{{cite AV media notes |title=Divine Hammer |author=The Breeders |publisher=4AD |year=1993 |location=London}} while the "Safari" single liner notes give both Kim and Kelley Deal songwriting credit for "Do You Love Me Now?"{{cite AV media notes |title=Safari |author=The Breeders |publisher=4AD |year=1992 |location=London}}}}
}}
"Divine Hammer" is a different version than the LP version, and "Do You Love Me Now Jr?" is an alternate version of the LP version featuring J Mascis on backing vocals.
Music video
The music video for Divine Hammer was directed by Spike Jonze, Kim Gordon, and Richard Kern.{{cite web |url=http://www.4ad.com/videos/72 |title=Now Playing: 'Divine Hammer' |publisher=4AD |access-date=April 20, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130511155658/http://www.4ad.com/videos/72 |archive-date=May 11, 2013}}
Reception
AllMusic critic Heather Phares described "Divine Hammer" as "two and a half minutes of flirty pop perfection," noting that it contrasted with Last Splash{{'}}s more experimental tracks such as "Mad Lucas".{{cite web |last=Phares |first=Heather |url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/last-splash-mw0000618655/ |title=Last Splash |work=AllMusic |access-date=April 20, 2013}}
Tom Maginnis of AllMusic called the track "the most faithful attempt at pure pop" on the album, highlighting its "hook-laden arrangement with a feel-good vocal melody that belies the song's otherwise weighty subject." He described the instrumentation as featuring "a chiming, three-note riff" with "jangling guitar and a steadily pumping bass line" beneath Kim Deal's "dulcet singsong melody," enhanced by "a constant, tight harmony."{{cite web |first=Tom |last=Maginnis |url=http://www.allmusic.com/song/divine-hammer-mt0001367863 |title=Divine Hammer Review |work=AllMusic |access-date=May 4, 2013}}
In a review of the EP, Jack Rabid praised the band's cover of Hank Williams' "I Can't Help It (If I'm Still in Love with You)", suggesting it demonstrated their aptitude for country material. However, he criticized the version of "Do You Love Me Now Jr?" featuring J Mascis, calling the result "irritating," and dismissed "Hoverin'" as "just a herky-jerky piece of nothing."{{cite web |first=Jack |last=Rabid |url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/divine-hammer-mw0000113491 |title=Divine Hammer Review |work=AllMusic |access-date=May 4, 2013}}
Charts
| class="wikitable"
! Chart (1993) ! Peak |
| {{single chart|UKsinglesbyname|59|artist=Breeders|artistid=27489|access-date=November 16, 2022}} |
| {{single chart|Billboardalternativesongs|28|artist=The Breeders|access-date=August 7, 2017}} |
Notes
{{Notelist}}
References
{{Reflist}}
{{The Breeders}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:Songs written by Kim Deal