On her fourth … Read Full Bio ↴Edie Carey is an American folk-pop singer-songwriter.
On her fourth studio album, Another Kind of Fire, Carey explored the myriad kinds of "fire" - romantic and otherwise - that keep us burning below the surface: old resentments, creativity, anger, lost friendships, lust, and, of course, love. The disc, released September 19th independently on Accidental Poet, maintained much of the organic, woody sound of its predecessor, When I Was Made (2004), touted by Harp Magazine as "a little country, a little adult-contemporary, and a lot of fine music." But on her latest effort, producer Crit Harmon (Martin Sexton, Lori McKenna, Mary Gauthier) introduces a somewhat moodier, darker sound, painting haunting, vast landscapes behind her intimate vocals.
Drawn from her own experiences and the stories of those around her, Carey's poetic lyrics are the focal point of her songs. Paste Magazine confirmed this in a 2004 review of Made:"Economic instrumentation forces all your attention toward the gentle storytelling, rich with humanity and insight...Carey draws us into her world, where we find we have a lot in common."
Several fires have raged within Carey over the past two years - both personally and professionally - creating fertile ground for songwriting. After three years south in her adopted hometown of Atlanta, Carey has returned to her native Boston - though she plans to spend little time at home.
The 2004 Telluride Bluegrass Troubadour Finalist will hit the road in earnest this fall, performing at clubs, coffeehouses and colleges across the country. Carey kicks off her CD release tour for Another Kind Of Fire on September 8th at The Living Room in New York City.
Touring internationally since 1999, Edie has shared stages with Norah Jones, Leo Kottke, Ani DiFranco, Jonatha Brooke, Catie Curtis, Lucy Kaplansky, and Sandra Bernhard. She was asked to perform at The Olympic Winter Games in Salt Lake City and on Ed McMahon's "Next Big Star" ("Star Search"), and has had her songs featured on The WB's "Charmed" and MTV's "Road Rules". She was recently a featured act on Public Radio International's "Mountain Stage," and When I Was Made was a finalist for Album of the Year in the 2003 Independent Music Awards.
More About Edie...
"Accidental Poet," one of Edie Carey's earliest songs, describes a particularly eloquent friend, but could just as easily refer to Carey herself and the circuitous and serendipitous route that led her to become one of the country's most notable young songwriters. Somehow, all of the seemingly unrelated turns - from her intention to become a doctor, to a tiny music room in the basement of a Morningside Heights' chapel, to a year in Italy - managed to steer her towards music.
Born in Burlington, Vermont and raised in the Boston suburbs by her English teacher father, therapist mother, and poet stepmother, Edie Carey couldn't help but learn to love words. But her ear for music only became apparent after she "took the stage" in the back seat of her babysitter's green Cadillac, belting out her own rendition of "Up Where We Belong." From age nine, after beginning voice lessons, she became involved in singing groups and musicals, which she continued all the way through high school. A child of the 80's, she dressed in lace and sequins and dreamed of appearing on Ed McMahon's "Star Search." However, as much as she loved performing, Carey was unaware that there was any middle ground between singing at weddings and being Madonna, and never considered music a real career possibility. So, she made plans to major in English/Creative Writing with Pre-Med classes at Barnard College in New York City. However, during her freshman year, two pivotal discoveries knocked those plans right off course - The Postcrypt Coffeehouse and the Italian language.
In the Postcrypt, an intimate music venue in the basement of St. Paul's Chapel at Columbia University, the seeds of possibility were sewn as Carey watched Jeff Buckley, Ani Difranco, and Lisa Loeb among others perform unplugged to candlelit audiences. She saw how words could sometimes have even greater power when used in a song, and simultaneously came to appreciate the sonorous quality of words regardless of their meaning or the melody in which they were framed. This appreciation for their musicality grew deeper with the study of Italian, which eventually led her to spend a year abroad in Bologna, where she taught herself to play the guitar.
In Italy, Carey set herself up in a corner of the main piazza and played every Bonnie Raitt, Shawn Colvin, Sarah McLachlan, and Rickie Lee Jones song she knew, throwing in a few of her own tunes, which would later land on her debut album, The Falling Places . Her experience abroad gave her a newfound confidence and encouraged her to begin performing on campus, where she started to build a student following. She made her first album in 1997, while working long days at Worth Magazine and recording until 3 am each night. Though the process was a daunting one, by the time she was finished, Carey was sure she had "accidentally" ended up exactly where she was supposed to be.
After the release of The Falling Places in 1998, she began venturing outside of New York City to play neighboring east coast cities, and gradually expanded throughout the United States, then Canada and the UK. While the debut was a very sparsely produced acoustic contemporary folk album, Call Me Home, Carey's follow-up in 2000, was by comparison an all-out pop record, a tribute to her early inspirations and the reckless abandon of her childhood. With its release, the "accidents" continued, and Carey unexpectedly found herself achieving her childhood dream of appearing on television with Ed McMahon.
Since 2000, she has been working as a full-time performing songwriter, touring rigorously to promote all of her independently self-released records, which now include Come Close, her 2002 live CD, When I Was Made (2004), and the latest addition to her growing catalog, Another Kind of Fire. Looking back, she has to wonder if maybe this wasn't an accident after all.
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Disco Ball Heart
Edie Carey Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
On simple taste
But I was all lace and sequins and neon sachets across the floor
Oh I lived in luxury, changed my pennies to cubic zirconias
Yeah, but man did I look good
Most of us grow out of this before it's too late
We choke back sensibility like the liver on our plates
In hopes of just one taste of the sweetness that awaits
The sweetness that awaits
I'm a little more sedate
In my old age
Hid the glitter so well I lost it
Left my Las Vegas ambitions behind
But never be fooled by the black
Underneath all this simplicity
Spins a disco ball heart
I got me a disco
I guess I should grow out of this before it's too late
Choke back sensibility like the liver on my plate
In hopes of just one taste of the sweetness that awaits
The sweetness that awaits
Me, I want desert first
And a butterscotch baby
To hold me tight
I want a life-size
Chocolate version of you
I'm praying with all of my might
I'll wake up this'll still be true
I'll wake up this'll still be true
I guess it makes sense that
I chose this
Get to dress up and tell you stories
I'm getting paid to be a kid
I'm getting paid to be a kid
Every day, everyday, everyday I write the book
In Edie Carey’s song ‘Disco Ball Heart’, the lyrics talk about a person who was raised on simple taste yet had extravagant aspirations. The person is nostalgic about how they used to dress up in lace, sequins and neon accessories and lived in luxury, even if it meant converting pennies into cubic zirconias. However, as they got older, they became more sensible and traded glitter for simplicity, all while hiding their desire for the spotlight. Despite this, the person has a ‘disco ball heart’ underneath it all, longing for the sweet experiences that life has to offer.
However, the person realizes that they should grow out of their tendencies for extravagance, even though they yearn for the sweetness of life. They mention wanting dessert and a ‘butterscotch baby’ to hold them tight, alluding to the desire for a sweet and fulfilling life. Ultimately, the person concedes that they are fortunate enough to be able to dress up and tell stories for a living, enabling them to hold onto a child-like spirit.
Overall, the lyrics in ‘Disco Ball Heart’ portray the struggle between wanting grandiose experiences and finding contentment in a simpler life. The song is a reminder that while it may be tempting to chase after materialistic desires, it is important to find joy in the everyday moments of life.
Line by Line Meaning
I may have been raised
Despite being raised with a simple taste, I loved wearing laces, sequins, and neon sachets while dancing across the floor. Cubic zirconias made me happy, and I relished in my luxury.
Most of us grow out of this before it's too late
As we age, we start rejecting our desire for extravagance and taste for the finer things in life. We force ourselves to prioritize sensibility over pleasure, hoping to taste the sweetness of life that lies ahead.
I'm a little more sedate
As I get older, I seem more restrained and composed, hiding the glitter that once defined me. While I've given up on my Las Vegas dreams, there's more to me than meets the eye. Beneath my simplicity lies a heart that shimmers and sparkles like a disco ball. I am someone with a disco.
Me, I want desert first
I'm not one to wait for the good things in life; I want to start with the desserts. I want a butterscotch baby to hold me tight and a life-size chocolate version of you. I pray that these dreams are true.
I guess it makes sense that
Choosing to be a storyteller, to dress up every day, and to get paid for it all is an excellent decision for me. After all, writing the story of my own life is something I do every day.
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