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in: Characters

Halleluiah

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Her parents named her Halleluiah, but she was known by her peers as Holly. She was a good little Christian girl until she got high for the first time at a camp on the banks of the Mississippi River, aged 17. From there on her life was a downward spiral of parties, drug addiction and promiscuity. Throughout her journey she battled between her party lifestyle and her Christian faith. Her life is documented throughout many Hold Steady songs.

Temporary Quotes Dump[]

All the Holly quotes can be first dumped here, and then categorised into the aspect of the character they refer to

Barfruit Blues "she licked her lower lip and then she kissed that halleluiah chick" "she don't feel all that sweet. about the places that she sometimes has to go to get some sleep." "she said i'm sorry people think i'm pretty." "it really sucks when you get stuck here with these trevors."

Curves and Nerves "holly went to hollywood." "she didn't get to the part with the studios. she went straight to video." "she did a movie called "north dallas foursome". there was agony and ecstasy and the cheerleaders got gruesome. she did a movie called "revenge of the pervs." there were screams and jeans and curves and nerves."

Hornets! Hornets! "she said always remember never to trust me. she said that the first night she met me. she said there's gonna be a time when i'm gonna have to go with whoever's gonna get me the highest." "she said i won't be much for conversation if we go and do the rest of this. she said i've never been much for conservation. i kinda dig these awkward silences." "she's got those bones brigade videos. she knew them back and forth. she's slept with so many skaters." "she had the place to herself. she had a couple hundred bux. and he had nothing but the number." "she said i like the guy who always answers the door. he never asks you what you came to his house for." ""she said i won't be much for all this humbert humbert stuff. i've never done so much of this." "i have to try so hard not to fall in love. i have to concentrate when we kiss." "she mouthed the words along to "running up that hill." that song got scratched into her soul." "we were living up at nicollet and 66th. with 3 skaters and some hoodrat chick. drove the wrong way down 169. almost died up by edina high."

Cattle and the Creeping Things

"you in the corner with a good looking drifter." "two cups of coffee and ten packs of sugar." "i heard gideon saw you in denver. he said you're contagious." "she's got a cross around her neck that she ripped off from a schoolgirl in the subway on a visit to the city." "she likes how it looks on her chest with three open buttons." "she likes the part where one brother kills the other. she has to wonder if the the world ever will recover." "she said: i was seeing double for 3 straight days after i got born again it felt strange but it was nice and peaceful." "it really pleased me to be around so many people. of course half were just visions but half of them were friends from going thru the program with me." "later on we did some sexy things. took a couple photographs and carved them into wood reliefs."

Your Little Hoodrat Friend "because it burns being broke and it hurts to be heartbroken but always being both must be a drag." "i can't stand all the things that she sticks into her skin. like sharpened ballpoint pens. and steel guitar strings." "she says it hurts. but it's worth it." "tiny little text etched into her neck it said "jesus lived and died for all your sins." she's got blue black ink and it's scratched into her lower back. it said: "damn right i'll rise again."" "yr little hoodrat friend got me high though. we were 17 and stuck up in osseo." "she said it's funny even true love gets troubled by stillwater and washed up in the mississippi river" "her claddagh ring was pointed at the people." "she said "st. theresa comes to me in dreams."" "she said "i ain't gonna do anything sexual with you. i'm kinda saving myself for the scene."" "she said: city center used to be the center of the scene. now city center's over. no one really goes there. then we used to drink beneath this railroad bridge. some nites the bus wouldn't even stop. there were just way too many kids."

Banging Camp "holly wore a string around her finger. she said it helps her to remember all the nites that we got over. besides, it ties her outfit all together." "holly wore a cross to ward them off. she said if they think yr a christian then they won't bring in the dogs. and if they think yr a catholic then they'll wanna meet your boss." "i grew up in denial" "i..went to school in massachussetts." "she was shaky but still trying to shake it. half naked and three quarters wasted." "he said take a hit. hold your breath and i'll dunk your head. then when you wake up again. you'll be high as hell and born again."

Charlemagne in Sweatpants "holly was supposed to be at ccd but she was down on shady streets." "she was looking round for something she could take up to a party." "it's not like she's enslaved. it's more like she's enthralled. she don't need it but she likes it." "do you want me to tell it like boy meets girl and the rest is history?"

Stevie Nix "she got screwed up by religion. she got screwed by soccer players." "she got high for the first time in the camps down by the banks of the mississippi river." "lord to be seventeen forever." "she got confused about the truth. she came to in a confession." "she got high for the last time in the camps down by the banks of the river. lord to be 33 forever." "she got screwed up by her vision. it was scary when she saw him. she didn't tell a single person about the camps on the banks of the mississippi river." "she got strung out the scene. she got scared when it got druggy. the way the whispers bit like fangs in the last hour of the parties."

Multitude Of Casualties "she drove it like she stole it. she stole it fast and with a multitude of casualties." "she said i shipped it out from boulder. packed in coffee grounds and wrapped around in dryer sheets." "we spent a few months just wandering the sonoma. high as hell and shivering and smashed." "we were hoping for a vision quest. we opened up three buttons. but all we saw was desert trash." "now we forage on the frontage roads. we drive at nites i guess it just feels somewhat safer. we scrounge around for sustinence. we mostly eat it in the back half of the theaters." "while she was at the citadel. he was getting high as hell." "when she came to in the matinee. she was asking round for someplace else to stay." "while he was down in lowertown. she was feeling out the 530 folk mass." "and the nite that she got born again. he was getting with her little hoodrat friend." "youth services always find a way to get their bloody cross into your druggy little messed up teenage life."

Don't Let Me Explode "he said what about los angeles. she said we never really made it that far west. we scored big in denver and we thought it might be best. to go hang around in the upper midwest." "he said what about new orleans. she said i don't think you understand what that means. all those hangers on. the girls lifting up their shirts when the cameras come on. we were tryna stay away from those kind of scenes." "we didn't go to dallas. 'cause jackie onassis said that it ain't safe for catholics yet. think about what they pulled on kennedy. and then think about his security. then think about what they might try to pull on you and me." "he asked what happened to charlemagne. she just smiled all polite-like and said something vague. she said charlemagne got caught up in some complicated things. she wiped at her nose and she winked."

Chicago Seemed Tired Last Night "when st. theresa came to holly."

Crucifixion Cruise "halleluiah came to in a confession booth." "infested with infections. smiling on an abcessed tooth. running hard on residue." "she climbed the cross and found she liked the view." "sat reflecting on the resurrection. talking loud over lousy connections." "she put her mouth around a difficult question. she said lord what do you recommend? to a real sweet girl who's made some not sweet friends. "lord what would you prescribe? to a real soft girl who's having real hard times."

How A Resurrection Really Feels "her parents named her halleluiah, the kids all called her holly." "if she scared you then she's sorry. she's been stranded at these parties." "she crashed into the easter mass with her hair done up in broken glass." "she was limping left on broken heels. when she said father can i tell yr congregation how a resurrection really feels?" "holly was a hoodrat." "she's been disappeared for years. today she finally came back." "she said: st. louis had enslaved me. i guess santa ana saved me." "st. peter had me on the queue. the st. paul saints they waved me thru." "she said i've laid beneath my lovers but i've never gotten laid. some nites she felt protected. some nites she felt afraid." "she spent half last winter justa trying to get paid. from some guy she'd originally thought to be her saviour." "they wrote her name in magic marks. on stopsigns and subway cars. they got a mural up on e.13th. that said halleluiah rest in peace." "halleluiah was a hoodrat." "she's been disappeared for years. today she finally came back." "she said don't turn me on again. i'd probably just go and get myself all gone again." "holly was a sexy mess. she looked strung out but experienced. so we all got kind of curious."

First Night "holly's not invincible/ in fact she's in the hospital." "holly's insatiable./ she still looks incredible. but she don't look like the same girl we met./ on that first night." "she was golden with barlight and beer." "she slept like she'd never been scared." "she said words alone never could save us." "she cried when she told us about jesus." "holly's inconsolable/ unhinged and uncontrollable./ because we can't get as high as we got/ on that first night."


Appearence Quotes[]

"she's got a cross around her neck that she ripped off from a schoolgirl in the subway on a visit to the city." - Cattle and the Creeping Things
"she likes how it looks on her chest with three open buttons." - Cattle and the Creeping Things
"tiny little text etched into her neck it said "jesus lived and died for all your sins." she's got blue black ink and it's scratched into her lower back. it said: "damn right i'll rise again."" - Your Little Hoodrat Friend
"her claddagh ring was pointed at the people." - Your Little Hoodrat Friend

Background Quotes[]

"we were living up at nicollet and 66th. with 3 skaters and some hoodrat chick. drove the wrong way down 169. almost died up by edina high." - Hornets! Hornets!


Born Again[]

"she said: i was seeing double for 3 straight days after i got born again it felt strange but it was nice and peaceful." - Cattle and the Creeping Things

Personality Quotes[]

"she licked her lower lip and then she kissed that halleluiah chick" - Barfruit Blues
"she said always remember never to trust me. she said that the first night she met me. she said there's gonna be a time when i'm gonna have to go with whoever's gonna get me the highest." - Hornets! Hornets!
"i have to try so hard not to fall in love. i have to concentrate when we kiss." - Hornets! Hornets!
"she mouthed the words along to "running up that hill." that song got scratched into her soul." - Hornets! Hornets!
"She's got a cross around her neck that she ripped off of a schoolgirl on the subway on her visit to the city. She likes how it looks on her chest with three open buttons." - Cattle and the Creeping Things
"it really pleased me to be around so many people. of course half were just visions but half of them were friends from going thru the program with me." - Cattle and the Creeping Things
"she said: city center used to be the center of the scene. now city center's over. no one really goes there. then we used to drink beneath this railroad bridge. some nites the bus wouldn't even stop. there were just way too many kids." - Your Little Hoodrat Friend

Holly's Opinions[]

"it really sucks when you get stuck here with these trevors." -
(EDIT: "Trevors" or "Travelers"? I always thought he was referring to the typically backpacking nomadic kids who train-hop and listen to Johnny Hobo.  Then again, this could be another of Craig Finn's classic codifications, e.g. "for prosperity" )
(EDIT: I thought it was tremmors, more drug references? Seems like something Finn would do) 
(EDIT: It is Trevors. In a set of interviews Finn held with the other members, they spoke about referring to cocky intellectual types as 'Trevors,' whom they felt tainted the fun of a gathering. "This was supposed to be a party.") 

Barfruit Blues

"she said i won't be much for conversation if we go and do the rest of this. she said i've never been much for conservation. i kinda dig these awkward silences." - Hornets! Hornets!
"she said i like the guy who always answers the door. he never asks you what you came to his house for." - Hornets! Hornets!
"she likes the part where one brother kills the other. she has to wonder if the the world ever will recover." - Cattle and the Creeping Things
"she says it hurts. but it's worth it." - Your Little Hoodrat Friend
"she said it's funny even true love gets troubled by stillwater and washed up in the mississippi river" - Your Little Hoodrat Friend

Habits Quotes[]

  • "She don't feel all that sweet about the places that she sometimes has to go to get some sleep." -Barfruit Blues
  • "She didn't get to the part with the studios. she went straight to video." - Curves and Nerves
  • "She did a movie called "north dallas foursome". There was agony and ecstasy and the cheerleaders got gruesome. She did a movie called "revenge of the pervs." There were screams and jeans and curves and nerves." - [Curves and Nerves]]
  • "She's got those bones brigade videos. She knew them back and forth. She's slept with so many skaters." - Hornets! Hornets!
  • "I can't stand all the things that she sticks into her skin. Like sharpened ballpoint pens. and steel guitar strings." - Your Little Hoodrat Friend

Holly and Jesus Quotes[]

"tiny little text etched into her neck it said "jesus lived and died for all your sins." she's got blue black ink and it's scratched into her lower back. it said: "damn right i'll rise again."" - Your Little Hoodrat Friend

Travel Quotes[]

"holly went to hollywood." - Curves and Nerves "you in the corner with a good looking drifter.” - Cattle and the Creeping Things "i heard gideon saw you in denver. he said you're contagious." - Cattle and the Creeping Things

Visions Quotes[]

"it really pleased me to be around so many people. of course half were just visions but half of them were friends from going thru the program with me." - Cattle and the Creeping Things "she said "st. theresa comes to me in dreams."" - Your Little Hoodrat Friend

Opinions of Holly[]

"she said i'm sorry people think i'm pretty." - Barfruit Blues "i heard gideon saw you in denver. he said you're contagious." - Cattle and the Creeping Things "because it burns being broke and it hurts to be heartbroken but always being both must be a drag." - Your Little Hoodrat Friend "i can't stand all the things that she sticks into her skin. like sharpened ballpoint pens. and steel guitar strings." - Your Little Hoodrat Friend

Other/Not Usable[]

"she had the place to herself. she had a couple hundred bux. and he had nothing but the number." - Hornets! Hornets! "yr little hoodrat friend got me high though. we were 17 and stuck up in osseo." - Your Little Hoodrat Friend


Holly and Jesus[]

Holly, being raised Catholic, believes that Jesus will be reincarnated in human form. She thinks she finds him in Charlemagne.

Holly and Travel[]

Holly knows how to get around. She's from Massachussetts [Hostile, Mass], she goes to the Twin Cities. She goes to Denver, Michigan, California, Florida [Ybor City] and New York. She always seems to be running from, or to someone. She runs away with Gideon to Denver. She leaves him in Denver, and goes to California with some new boy. That new boy gets a little rough, and she goes back to Denver to get Gideon. They go back to St. Paul.

Holly's Visions[]

Appearences[]

Almost Killed Me[]


Separation Sunday[]

Boys and Girls in America[]

Stay Positive[]

Miscellaneous[]

Basis[]

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