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.
Cologne
Ben Folds Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I know I said it wrong
I walked you to the train
And back across alone
To my hotel room
And ordered me some food
And now I'm wondering why the floor has suddenly become a moving target
I'm letting you go
I will let go
If you will let go
(Four, three, two)
Says here an astronaut
Put on a pair of diapers
Drove eighteen hours
To kill her boyfriend
And in my hotel room, I'm wondering
If you read that story too?
And if we both might
Be having the same imaginary conversation
Four, three, two, one,
I'm letting you go
I will let go
If you will let go
(Four, three, two)
Weightless as I close my eyes
The ceiling opens in disguise
Such a painful trip
To find out this is it
And when I go to sleep
You'll be waking up
Four, three, two, one,
I'm letting you go
I will let go
If you will let go
The song "Cologne" by Ben Folds is a poignant and introspective piece about the end of a relationship. As the song opens, the singer is in Cologne, likely after a visit with a partner. They reminisce about the moments spent with the partner, where they walked each other to the train station and back. However, the singer is left alone in their hotel room, and they notice that the floor seems to be moving under their feet. This could be interpreted as a metaphor for the instability and uncertainty they are feeling within themselves.
The song then jumps to a news story about an astronaut who wore diapers for a road trip to kill her boyfriend. This strange news story is juxtaposed with the singer's own feelings of confusion and uncertainty about their life and relationships. They wonder if their partner has also read the same news story and if they are having the same thoughts and feelings.
In the chorus of the song, the singer declares their decision to let go of the relationship, but they ask their partner to do the same. They need to move forward with their lives and, in order to do so, they need to accept that the relationship has come to an end. The song concludes with the singer acknowledging the pain of this realization. They close their eyes, and the ceiling appears to open up, indicating perhaps that they are opening themselves up to new possibilities and experiences.
Line by Line Meaning
Here in Cologne
I find myself in Cologne, Germany.
I know I said it wrong
I regret something I said to you.
I walked you to the train
I accompanied you to the train station.
And back across alone
I returned to my hotel room by myself.
To my hotel room
I went to my hotel room.
And ordered me some food
I ordered some food for myself.
And now I'm wondering why the floor has suddenly become a moving target
I'm feeling dizzy, and I don't know why.
Four, three, two, one,
This is a countdown to letting go of someone or something.
I'm letting you go
I'm releasing my grip on something or someone.
If you will let go
If you release your grip as well.
(Four, three, two)
This countdown continues.
Says here an astronaut
There's a news story about an astronaut.
Put on a pair of diapers
She wore diapers on a long drive to harm her lover.
Drove eighteen hours
She drove for a long time.
To kill her boyfriend
Her intention was to kill her boyfriend.
And in my hotel room, I'm wondering
I'm curious and puzzled while staying in my hotel room.
If you read that story too?
Did you read that same news article?
And if we both might
Is it possible that both of us
Be having the same imaginary conversation
Are having an imaginary discussion about the story.
Weightless as I close my eyes
I'm feeling unencumbered as I shut my eyes.
The ceiling opens in disguise
The ceiling seems to be revealing a hidden truth.
Such a painful trip
This experience was emotionally challenging.
To find out this is it
To discover that this is the end.
And when I go to sleep
When I drift off to sleep.
You'll be waking up
You will be getting up at the same time.
Four, three, two, one,
The countdown to letting go continues.
I'm letting you go
I'm relinquishing my grip.
If you will let go
If you do the same.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: BEN FOLDS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Muhammad Arisandi Pratama
Here in Cologne
I know I said it wrong
I walked you to the train
And back across alone
To my hotel room
And ordered me some food
And now I'm wondering why the floor has suddenly become a moving target
Four, three, two, one,
I'm letting you go
I will let go
If you will let go
Says here an astronaut
Put on a pair of diapers
Drove eighteen hours
To kill her boyfriend
And in my hotel room, I'm wondering
If you read that story too?
And if we both might
Be having the same imaginary conversation
Four, three, two, one,
I'm letting you go
I will let go…
Ye Flask
This song captures the feeling of losing someone who was an essential part of your life, and facing their void. You talked to them every day. Now, you’re alone. You read news articles (like the astronaut story) and immediately feel the urge to discuss it with them like always, only realize they aren’t there anymore. You wonder if they are missing your presence, too. But you had to let them go, see them off on the train, and now your life is completely different. This song is about facing that moment of separation at the train station... your last few moments with this person, before your life changes forever.
Robert Anderson
It hurts
sectiongang
You just summed up my life perfectly.
CROSSWOODS
He wrote this song while out of his mind on prescription pain relievers
Ye Flask
@CROSSWOODS DEAN VENTURE?! 🧡🧡🧡
Also I didn’t know that, but now the trippy parts of the song make a bit more sense lol
Edit: I have to add I was actually making a venture bros inspired music playlist and somehow wandered back to my comment on this video while doing that, this is surreal LMAO
Bryan Lewis
The first 52 seconds is the most beautiful melody I've ever heard.
sarahizzahsum
Beautiful. Ben Folds has helped me through the toughest breakup of my life with this gorgeously written song. I couldn't have said it better myself, Ben, although our stories are strangely similar yet oddly different.
Brandon H
This makes me feel sad but good in a weird way as if i was moving on and thinking "don't worry, it'll get better"
tee cee
yes
Stupid Whiteboy
Are you moving on from something or is that just a dumb thing that you said