Natasha Hunt Lee‘s latest single Hometown hits differently than your typical Los Angeles love letter – it’s more of a break-up note to the city that shaped her.
This bouncy yet bittersweet track perfectly captures that feeling of wanting to escape a place where memories lurk around every corner.
The production, helmed by Brandon Shoop and Micah Gordon (known for working with The Kid LAROI), creates an irresistible contrast of upbeat instrumentation that makes you want to dance through the pain.
Lee’s vocals float over the track, delivering lines like “Got on my knees and I mapped my meltdowns” with vulnerability and a hint of sardonic humour.
What’s striking about Hometown is how it transforms Los Angeles from a sprawling metropolis into an intimate battleground of personal history.
Every location becomes a character in Lee’s story – from the highway to the playground, from Santa Monica to Silverlake.
It’s almost as if she has created a Google Maps of heartache, dropping pins at every spot that holds a memory.
The chorus hits particularly hard: “Every time I pass the station / I think about that night.”
There’s something painfully relatable about how mundane landmarks become emotional landmines after a significant life event.
And Lee captures this sensation perfectly, her voice carrying both warmth and heaviness as she navigates these familiar streets.
This is the second single from Lee’s upcoming album, and if it’s any indication of what’s to come, we’re in for something special.
Hometown showcases Lee’s gift for turning specific, personal experiences into resonant moments.
Whether you’ve lived in the same place your entire life or moved around constantly, Hometown taps into that complex relationship we all have with the places that have shaped us.
Rather fittingly, Lee is channelling her connection to Los Angeles into action – all of her proceeds from Hometown will be donated to the Los Angeles Fire Department.
It’s a lovely gesture that adds another layer of meaning to an already meaningful song.
While she might sing about hating her hometown, her actions suggest a deeper, more complicated relationship with the city she can’t quite leave behind.
Natasha’s proceeds from this song will be donated to the Los Angeles Fire Department. You can donate here.
Natasha Hunt Lee Hometown Lyrics
There by the highway
They’re screaming your name
There by the playground
Got on my knees and I mapped my meltdowns
Now I hate my hometown
Every time I pass the station
I think about that night
I’m running from these new sensations
And none of them feel right
Yeah every time I pass the station
I think about that year
I’m running out of celebration
Now I don’t feel safe here
There by the highway
(at the corner with the wine and spirits)
They’re screaming your name
(crank the volume but I’ll always hear it)
There by the playground
Got on my knees and I mapped my meltdowns
Now I hate my hometown
Every stop sign every movement
Every billboard I see you in
And every time I pass the station
I think about that night
I’m looking for a new fixation
And none of them feel right
Every time I pass the station
I think about that year
I’m looking for an explanation
And always end up here
There by the highway
(at the corner with the wine and spirits)
They’re screaming your name
(crank the volume but i’ll always hear it)
There by the playground
Got on my knees and I mapped my meltdowns
Now I hate my hometown
Every stop sign every movement
Every billboard I see you in