Sorry for the lack of updates. It's been rough...
I was listening to Ben Folds recently when I discovered something... Ben Folds recently divorced his wife, and his latest album, "Way to Normal," is about coping with divorce and finding himself again. Despite the fact that that album is my least favorite production of his work ever, I'm finding that this divorce was probably foreseen by the songwriter himself in the aptly named "Songs for Silverman." Guess who plays Silverman in this one? Exactly.
So here we are. Three songs leading to the divorce. The first one is "The Luckiest," devoted to his wife. It's gorgeous. I'm jealous. The next one is "Give Judy My Notice" (I recommend the "speed graphic" version; I think he was more wrapped up in it all in that performance). The third is "Landed." I will provide an audio snippet and lyrics for each song.
I'm doing this because very few composers and musicians have covered the issue of divorce (well, there have been some, but not with much... reverence...). These are the words from an artist in the thick of it, and it's interesting stuff.
The Luckiest
"I don't get many things
right the first time
in fact, I am told that a lot
now I know all the wrong turns --
the stumbles and falls brought me here
and where was I before the day
that I first saw your lovely face
now I see it everyday
and I know
that I am, I am
I am the luckiest
what if I'd been born
fifty years before you
in a house
on the street where you lived
maybe I'd be outside
as you passed on your bike,
would I know?
and in a wide sea of eyes
I see one pair that I recognize
and I know
that I am, I am
I am the luckiest
I love you more than I have
ever found a way to say to you
next door there's an old man
who lived into his nineties
and one day passed away in his sleep
and his wife, she stayed
for a couple of days and passed away
I'm sorry, I know that's a
strange way to tell you
that I know we belong
that I know
that I am, I am
I am the luckiest"
A snippet for "Give Judy My Notice" can be found here. If you have the .99 to spare, I highly recommend this track. It's one of the most beautiful songs I've ever heard.
"Judy
Could anyone be loved anymore
than I love you
does it hurt you too?
But Judy
I've been feeling small too long
I love you so
but something's wrong
and I come running when you want me here
and when you want me to, I disappear
Give Judy my notice
I knew if I made it easy for you
you'd settle for me, yeah eventually
but Judy
I won't be your bitch anymore
and follow you 'round
and hold the door
and I can't do this any longer
the vacuum left is so much stronger
Give Judy my notice
Give Judy my notice
Judy you know I'm not mad anymore
at least most of the time
but that could take a while
I've been living just to see you smile
every once in a while
Tears fall
but that don't mean nothing at all
It's just cause I said it first
yeah, that's why it hurts
And I'm not sorry if you're not sorry
And you're not sorry until I make you
Give Judy my notice"
"Landed" may be found here.
"We'd hit the bottom,
I thought it was my fault
And in a way I guess it was
I'm just now finding out
What it was all about
Moved to the west coast away from everyone
She never told me that you called
Back when I was still, I was still in love
Till I opened my eyes and walked out the door
And the clouds came tumbling down
And it's bye-bye, goodbye, I tried
And I twisted it wrong just to make it right
Had to leave myself behind
I've been flying high all night
So come pick me up...I've landed
The daily dramas she made from nothing
So nothing ever made them right
She liked to push me and talk me back down
Until I believed I was the crazy one,
and in a way
I guess I was...
But I opened my eyes and walked out the door
And the clouds came tumbling down
And it's bye-bye, goodbye I tried
Treading a sea of a troubled mind
Had to leave myself behind
Singing bye-bye, goodbye I tried
If you wrote me off I'd understand it
Because I've been on some other planet
So come pick me up...
I've landed
And you will be so
happy to know
I've come alone,
it's over
But I opened my eyes and walked out the door
And the clouds came tumbling down
And it's by my goodbye I tried
Down comes the reign of the telephone czar
It's OK to call
Now I'll answer for myself
Come pick me up,
...I've landed"
Now, Ben has done this before, specifically with songs like "Brick," "Gracie," "Still Fighting It," and "Not the Same." I think, especially given his knack for writing songs that are very much about him, it's entirely plausible to say that his unhappiness with his marriage, however unconscious it was, seeped into his music before or just as he let it affect his relationship.
Finally, "Song for the Dumped" isn't the only song for dealing Ben Folds fans dealing with broken hearts. The trajectory of his marriage is in his music. But, in the tradition of all musical analyses, this is all just a bunch of theory.
I was listening to Ben Folds recently when I discovered something... Ben Folds recently divorced his wife, and his latest album, "Way to Normal," is about coping with divorce and finding himself again. Despite the fact that that album is my least favorite production of his work ever, I'm finding that this divorce was probably foreseen by the songwriter himself in the aptly named "Songs for Silverman." Guess who plays Silverman in this one? Exactly.
So here we are. Three songs leading to the divorce. The first one is "The Luckiest," devoted to his wife. It's gorgeous. I'm jealous. The next one is "Give Judy My Notice" (I recommend the "speed graphic" version; I think he was more wrapped up in it all in that performance). The third is "Landed." I will provide an audio snippet and lyrics for each song.
I'm doing this because very few composers and musicians have covered the issue of divorce (well, there have been some, but not with much... reverence...). These are the words from an artist in the thick of it, and it's interesting stuff.
The Luckiest
"I don't get many things
right the first time
in fact, I am told that a lot
now I know all the wrong turns --
the stumbles and falls brought me here
and where was I before the day
that I first saw your lovely face
now I see it everyday
and I know
that I am, I am
I am the luckiest
what if I'd been born
fifty years before you
in a house
on the street where you lived
maybe I'd be outside
as you passed on your bike,
would I know?
and in a wide sea of eyes
I see one pair that I recognize
and I know
that I am, I am
I am the luckiest
I love you more than I have
ever found a way to say to you
next door there's an old man
who lived into his nineties
and one day passed away in his sleep
and his wife, she stayed
for a couple of days and passed away
I'm sorry, I know that's a
strange way to tell you
that I know we belong
that I know
that I am, I am
I am the luckiest"
A snippet for "Give Judy My Notice" can be found here. If you have the .99 to spare, I highly recommend this track. It's one of the most beautiful songs I've ever heard.
"Judy
Could anyone be loved anymore
than I love you
does it hurt you too?
But Judy
I've been feeling small too long
I love you so
but something's wrong
and I come running when you want me here
and when you want me to, I disappear
Give Judy my notice
I knew if I made it easy for you
you'd settle for me, yeah eventually
but Judy
I won't be your bitch anymore
and follow you 'round
and hold the door
and I can't do this any longer
the vacuum left is so much stronger
Give Judy my notice
Give Judy my notice
Judy you know I'm not mad anymore
at least most of the time
but that could take a while
I've been living just to see you smile
every once in a while
Tears fall
but that don't mean nothing at all
It's just cause I said it first
yeah, that's why it hurts
And I'm not sorry if you're not sorry
And you're not sorry until I make you
Give Judy my notice"
"Landed" may be found here.
"We'd hit the bottom,
I thought it was my fault
And in a way I guess it was
I'm just now finding out
What it was all about
Moved to the west coast away from everyone
She never told me that you called
Back when I was still, I was still in love
Till I opened my eyes and walked out the door
And the clouds came tumbling down
And it's bye-bye, goodbye, I tried
And I twisted it wrong just to make it right
Had to leave myself behind
I've been flying high all night
So come pick me up...I've landed
The daily dramas she made from nothing
So nothing ever made them right
She liked to push me and talk me back down
Until I believed I was the crazy one,
and in a way
I guess I was...
But I opened my eyes and walked out the door
And the clouds came tumbling down
And it's bye-bye, goodbye I tried
Treading a sea of a troubled mind
Had to leave myself behind
Singing bye-bye, goodbye I tried
If you wrote me off I'd understand it
Because I've been on some other planet
So come pick me up...
I've landed
And you will be so
happy to know
I've come alone,
it's over
But I opened my eyes and walked out the door
And the clouds came tumbling down
And it's by my goodbye I tried
Down comes the reign of the telephone czar
It's OK to call
Now I'll answer for myself
Come pick me up,
...I've landed"
Now, Ben has done this before, specifically with songs like "Brick," "Gracie," "Still Fighting It," and "Not the Same." I think, especially given his knack for writing songs that are very much about him, it's entirely plausible to say that his unhappiness with his marriage, however unconscious it was, seeped into his music before or just as he let it affect his relationship.
Finally, "Song for the Dumped" isn't the only song for dealing Ben Folds fans dealing with broken hearts. The trajectory of his marriage is in his music. But, in the tradition of all musical analyses, this is all just a bunch of theory.
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