Benjamin Scott Folds (born September 12, 1966, in Winston-Salem, North Caro… Read Full Bio ↴Benjamin Scott Folds (born September 12, 1966, in Winston-Salem, North Carolina) is an American singer-songwriter. He is widely known for his prowess as a pianist. Ben Folds' musical career started to get off the ground in the late '80s, as bassist for band Majosha, after playing bass and piano at Pinehurst, in a group known as the "Caroliners" with cohort Millard Powers in 1985-1987; he also played drums as a session musician in Nashville. As well as appearing in Pots & Pans - now known as the Snuzz demo, as a pianist in Britt Harper Uzzell's (aka Snuzz) band. Folds is best known for his later work as the frontman and pianist of Ben Folds Five and as a solo artist. Folds's compositional and playing technique remain wholly unique, combining elements of the typical 'singer/songwriter' genre, jazz, and power rock. Indeed, his music is evocative of artists such as Joe Jackson, Todd Rundgren, and Sir Elton John, with an added edge and bold infusion of energy and wit. Although his music has no distinctive genre with which it is associated, the terms piano rock and indie are often used to describe his unique style. It is worth noting that popular, piano-centric artists such as trio-based Keane and solo artist Matt Hales, a.k.a. Aqualung, began their rise to popularity after Ben Folds' three-member band, Ben Folds Five, broke up in 2000. The other two members of Ben Folds Five were Robert Sledge (bass) and Darren Jessee (drums).

As of fall 2006, Ben Folds has released five solo LPs. His first album, Fear of Pop: Volume 1, an album of spoken word and instrumental compositions, was recorded and released while Ben Folds Five was still together. Since it was an uncharacteristic release, and officially released under the moniker of 'Fear of Pop', it is widely considered that his first "proper" solo album was Rockin' the Suburbs (2001), on which he played all the instruments by himself. A year later, in 2002, he released Ben Folds Live, a collection of live solo recordings. In late 2003, two solo EPs, Speed Graphic and Sunny 16, were released, with a third entitled Super D released in mid-2004. In 2005, Folds released a second studio album called Songs for Silverman. Most recently Folds has released the album "Supersunnyspeedgraphic, the lp" a compliation of his EPs, a The Bens track called "Bruised," "Still" from the motion picture of 2006 "Over the Hedge" for which Folds wrote all the songs, his cover of the Dr. Dre song "Bitches Ain't Shit", and, with the kind permission of his good friend Neil Hannon, a cover of The Divine Comedy song "Songs of Love". "Supersunnyspeedgraphic, the lp" otherwise includes remastered takes from the three internet EPs from 2002-2004. Ben claims that he wanted to have the CD in hard format so he could "put it past him."

Ben resides in Nashville. He often tours the United States, the United Kingdom, other countries in Europe, Japan, and Australia.

Folds' tours are famous for his solo act as "Ben Folds and a piano", often having the audience become involved by "playing" the accompanying instruments (such as the trumpet and saxophone harmonies in "Army") and singing choir-like backing vocals on "Not the Same". His concerts are charismatic, yet calm - an enjoyable experience for most. And although Folds is constantly putting out new songs, his concerts rarely omit classic fan favorites such as "Philosophy," "One Angry Dwarf and 200 Solemn Faces," and "Army." Also, a seemingly fan favorite that started in Chicago, IL was "Rock this Bitch," a song where Folds has to come up an impromptu new tune with the words "Rock this Bitch" in it; though the song seems to be phasing out, it still makes appearances on tours, such as the November 2006 tour and the Spring US College tour of 2007 and 2008.

Folds also produced and arranged the William Shatner album, Has Been (2004); he previously worked with Shatner on the songs "In Love" and "Still in Love" for Fear of Pop.

Folds described his former band, Ben Folds Five, as "punk rock for sissies," and his oddball lyrics often contain nuances of depression, melancholy and self-conflict. Folds also provided a number of songs for film soundtracks. Some of these include "Lonely Christmas Eve" for the Jim Carrey film How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (2000), and a rendition of the Beatles' "Golden Slumbers" for the film I Am Sam (2001). He (as The Bens) has also done charity compilations, from singing "Wicked Little Town" (from film and stage show Hedwig and the Angry Inch) on the benefit album "Wig in a Box" (2003) to appearing on No Boundaries, a benefit album for Kosovo refugees, with the song "Leather Jacket." (written by Darren Jessee)

On a planned tour of Australia, Folds teamed up with solo artists Ben Kweller and Ben Lee to travel the country together as The Bens, at the suggestion of a fan on Ben Kweller's official website. The trio also went on to record a four-track EP together, entitled The Bens.

In summer of 2004, Folds co-headlined an American tour with fellow rockers Rufus Wainwright and Guster. His second solo studio album, entitled Songs for Silverman, was released in the U.S. on April 26, 2005, featuring Jared Reynolds on bass, and Lindsay Jamieson on the drums, thus returning to the trio format, which had been so successful earlier, in earnest. This album includes the track "Late," a tribute to the late singer-songwriter Elliott Smith, and also features backing vocals from "Weird Al" Yankovic on "Time." (Folds had played piano for Yankovic's song "Why Does This Always Happen to Me?" and "Weird Al" directed Folds' music video for Rockin' the Suburbs). In January of 2007 Lindsay Jamieson left the band and was replaced by Sam Smith, of The Comfies on drums.

Folds performed with Rufus Wainwright and Ben Lee in the summer of 2005 as part of the "Odd Men Out" tour. In addition, Folds has performed with many other famous musical names, including Weezer. Folds has also shown the complexity behind his authentic sound by performing with the West Australian Symphony Orchestra, in March 2005, and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, in November 2005. A DVD recording of Folds playing with the West Australian Symphony Orchestra was released in December, 2005.

Folds was the first artist to do a "Live at Myspace" concert, held on October 24, 2006 in his recording studio in Nashville, the show was an hour long and had requests from the internet submitted via Myspace's Messenger. It also entailed several stunts, including a suicide attempt, and a falling audience member during "Jesusland". The DVD of the broadcast (almost whole) was released in February of 2007.

Folds supports the independent music scene, creating his own record label (Attacked By Plastic) and doing promotional work for independent record stores across the country.

In 2008, September 16 marked the release of Amanda Palmer's solo album which was produced by Folds. Two days following that release, Ben Folds Five had a one-time reunion concert held in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, the same place the band was formed. Weeks later, he released his third solo album entitled Way To Normal, released on September 30. Folds also recorded a fake album that was leaked intentionally during the summer to please fans and in an attempt to stop the real album from leaking. The fake tracks were recorded and mixed over a period of only several days. The leak contained 6 fake songs with names similar to the real songs or the album, and three songs from the actual release (except the song Cologne, which was an orchestral version of a song by the same name on the final album).

Since December 2008, Folds has been collaborating with English novelist Nick Hornby, writing the music while Hornby writes the lyrics. This album was originally planned to be recorded over a course of 3 days, the same amount of time in which the fake album was recorded, but Folds has since been recording the album in a more standard format, albeit attempting to retain the live recording format. He has also played several songs from the upcoming album at live shows since mid-2009, and the album is slated to be released on September 27th of 2010.

From December 14 through 21, 2009, Folds was featured as a judge on NBC's a cappella competition The Sing Off alongside Nicole Scherzinger and Shawn Stockman and offered insightful, constructive comments and criticisms to the contestants. On the final show, in a departure from his a cappella purism, showcased his talents and played the roaring, riffing piano background on "Why Can't We Be Friends?" sung by the two finalist groups, Tufts Beelzebubs from Tufts University near Boston and Nota, from San Juan, Puerto Rico. He again returned for the show's second season, and has been confirmed to return for the third season in September 2011 alongside Stockman and new judge Sara Bareilles.

Recently Ben Folds was assumed to be the anonymous pianist playing songs to random ChatRoulette users, named "Merton." Although Ben Folds has admitted to NOT being Merton, he paid tribute to the YouTube star at a concert in Charlotte in "Ode To Merton."

Ben Folds recently released his first album since So There, What Matters Most in June of 2023 after a 12 year hiatus.

Bizarre Christmas Incident
Ben Folds Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

(Ho ho ho!)

Hey grandpa, let's tell them the little story about this Christmas
(Yeah tell 'em, tell 'em about Christmas!)

Christmas Eve,
I didn't get much sleep
I kept hearing things

Heavy breathing from the chimney, who could it be?

(I know who it was)
(What happened then, Ben?)
(Yeah, what happened?)
I went back to sleep
(Back to sleep? Shit!)
I'm tired if I don't have sleep

And in the morn'
I couldn't believe my eyes
A whale of a corpse
With a long white beard was hangin' over the fire

Oh, Santa's he's a big fat fuck
Went down the chimney got his fat ass suck
Oh honey call the lawyers fast
'Cause Mrs. Claus is gonna sue my ass

Hey hey hey (hey!) yeah
(Ohh, oh oh)

Ok grandpa, step up
Sing in this thing right here
Tell them what you saw, tell them what you saw grandpa

I gotta tell you folks
He wasn't wearin' no clothes (no clothes!)
He must have rubbed the whole gallon of Crisco off
From his back and down to his toes

Well, I was talking to the cops outside
The dog was lickin' Crisco off of his thighs
They hauled him away in a double wide
What a sad, sad way to die, hey hey hey!

Santa's he's a big fat fuck
Went down the chimney got his fat ass stuck

Oh honey call the lawyers fast
Mrs. Claus is gonna sue our ass

Overall Meaning

In Ben Folds's song Bizarre Christmas Incident, the listener is taken on a wild ride through a Christmas Eve that goes terribly wrong. The song is a conversation between Folds and his grandpa, in which they recount the events of the previous night. Folds confesses that he didn't get much sleep because he kept hearing heavy breathing coming from the chimney. When asked what happened next, Folds reveals that he went back to sleep. The next morning, he wakes up to find a "whale of a corpse" with a white beard hanging over the fire. It turns out that Santa Claus got stuck in the chimney and died there. As Folds's grandpa takes over, the song turns into a bizarre account of Santa's death, including his lack of clothing and the fact that he had rubbed Crisco all over his body. The police eventually haul him away, and Mrs. Claus is expected to sue for wrongful death.

Line by Line Meaning

(Ho ho ho!)
Santa Clause is usually associated with saying 'ho ho ho' during Christmas time to express his joy and jolliness.

Hey grandpa, let's tell them the little story about this Christmas
The singer requests that his grandfather shares a story about Christmas that he knows.

Christmas Eve,
The night before Christmas Day.

I didn't get much sleep
The artist had trouble sleeping on Christmas Eve.

I kept hearing things
The artist kept hearing noises during the night.

Heavy breathing from the chimney, who could it be?
The singer is wondering who or what could be breathing heavily from the chimney.

(I know who it was)
The singer seems to have figured out who or what was breathing heavily from the chimney.

(What happened then, Ben?)
Someone asks Ben to continue telling the story about what happened next.

(Yeah, what happened?)
Someone else also shows an interest in hearing what happened next.

I went back to sleep
The artist decided to go back to sleep despite the strange noise.

(Back to sleep? Shit!)
Someone is surprised that the singer went back to sleep after hearing a strange noise from the chimney.

I'm tired if I don't have sleep
The artist acknowledges the importance of sleep for feeling rested and not tired.

And in the morn'
The next morning.

I couldn't believe my eyes
The singer was surprised by something they saw.

A whale of a corpse
The singer saw a very large dead body.

With a long white beard was hangin' over the fire
The dead body had a long white beard which was hanging over the fire.

Oh, Santa's he's a big fat fuck
The artist is using vulgar language to express their frustration towards Santa Claus.

Went down the chimney got his fat ass stuck
The singer believes that Santa Claus got stuck in the chimney and died.

Oh honey call the lawyers fast
The singer is aware of the potential legal trouble they might face and suggests that they call a lawyer immediately.

'Cause Mrs. Claus is gonna sue my ass
The artist believes that Mrs. Claus will be upset and may take legal action against them.

Hey hey hey (hey!) yeah
The artist is using a common phrase in music to add excitement to the song.

(Ohh, oh oh)
The singer is expressing himself through sounds rather than words.

Ok grandpa, step up
The singer is asking his grandfather to take over and continue the story.

Sing in this thing right here
The singer is asking his grandfather to use a particular instrument or microphone to continue the story.

Tell them what you saw, tell them what you saw grandpa
The singer is excited to hear what his grandfather saw and wants him to share the details of the story with everyone.

I gotta tell you folks
The grandfather is eager to share his story.

He wasn't wearin' no clothes (no clothes!)
The person that the grandfather saw was naked.

He must have rubbed the whole gallon of Crisco off
The person that the grandfather saw had applied a lot of oil or grease to their body, making them slippery.

From his back and down to his toes
The oil or grease was applied to the person's entire body.

Well, I was talking to the cops outside
The grandfather is describing a scene where he spoke to the police outside.

The dog was lickin' Crisco off of his thighs
A dog was seen licking the oil off of the person's thighs.

They hauled him away in a double wide
The police took the person away in a big vehicle.

What a sad, sad way to die, hey hey hey!
The artist is expressing sadness towards the death of the person.

Santa's he's a big fat fuck
The singer repeats the same line from earlier in the song to express his frustration towards Santa Claus.

Went down the chimney got his fat ass stuck
The singer is still convinced that Santa Claus got stuck in the chimney and died.

Oh honey call the lawyers fast
The artist is repeating an earlier line to emphasize the sense of urgency involved.

Mrs. Claus is gonna sue our ass
The singer believes that both he and his grandfather will face legal action from Mrs. Claus.

Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: BEN FOLDS, BENJAMIN SCOTT FOLDS

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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