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.
Lonely
Ben Folds Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I just hate to see a good time had
By everyone but me
On this lonely Christmas Eve
I hear them up and down
And up and down the street
They're making noise
How I hate their happy noise
There's only one thing I hate more, come to think of it
And that's the people who keep
Makin' it
Feast, feast, feast, feast
They'll have more than anyone could ever eat
Me, I'm stuck here with my Cream of Wheat
There's no one here to feast with me
On this lonely Christmas Eve
Don't they know I'm up here all alone
In my cave up in the hills?
How I wish that this would go away
This dreadful holiday
That they call Christmas Day
Oh...
When they're done with all their Christmas noise
And they've had their Christmas feast
Just when I think that I might finally
Get a moment's peace
They start to
Oh, sing, sing, sing, sing
Now I'll never get no sleep
I'm screamin' out the window, but it don't do no good
They sing and sing and sing all through the neighborhood
Sing, sing, sing
They take their little break, then they do it all again
It's a lonely Christmas Eve
The above lyrics are from Ben Folds's song Lonely, a song that talks about the feelings of loneliness that can be intensified during the holiday season. The first verse talks about how the singer is not a bad person but feels bad when he sees other people having a good time while he cannot seem to be able to connect or join in the festivities, making Christmas Eve even lonelier.
The second verse talks about how the singer resents the noise and happy sounds that are coming from outside. He hates to hear them and wishes that they could all stop. He wishes that the people who make these noises kept quiet so that he can find some peace. The third verse of the song talks about how everyone else is eating and enjoying themselves, and he is stuck with some Cream of Wheat, all alone. He is feeling misunderstood and lonely, which he sings about with a sad and melancholic tone.
In the fourth verse, the singer expresses his desire to run away and escape all the noise and frustration. He wishes the whole holiday would just go away. He feels trapped by this holiday that is supposed to bring people together, but in his case, it just magnifies the feelings of isolation and loneliness. Finally, the last verse talks about how the singer screams out of his window, but nobody seems to hear him. He is dealing with this on his own.
Overall, the song "Lonely" is evocative and emotional. It is relatable to those who feel lonely during the holidays and brings a sense of catharsis to those who listen to it.
Line by Line Meaning
I'm not so bad
I'm an okay person
I just hate to see a good time had
I don't like seeing others party and have a good time without me
By everyone but me
Everyone except me seems to be enjoying themselves
On this lonely Christmas Eve
This Christmas Eve feels desolate and empty
I hear them up and down
I hear the sound of people enjoying themselves everywhere
And up and down the street
The sound is coming from every direction
They're making noise
The sound of people is very loud
Noise, noise, noise
It's an irritating sound
How I hate their happy noise
I despise their cheerful sounds
There's only one thing I hate more, come to think of it
The only thing I hate more than their sounds is the people who make it
And that's the people who keep
Any person contributing to the sound is bothersome to me
Makin' it
The sound they are producing frustrates me
Feast, feast, feast, feast
Everyone is indulging in a feast
They'll have more than anyone could ever eat
They have prepared more food than they could possibly consume
Me, I'm stuck here with my Cream of Wheat
I'm alone with nothing but bland Cream of Wheat to eat
There's no one here to feast with me
There isn't anybody here to eat with
On this lonely Christmas Eve
This Christmas Eve is exceedingly lonely
Don't they know I'm up here all alone
I'm lonely and by myself
In my cave up in the hills?
I'm isolated in a cavern on a mountain
How I wish that this would go away
I'm yearning for this holiday to end
This dreadful holiday
This holiday causes more harm than good for me
That they call Christmas Day
This holiday that everyone calls Christmas Day is problematic for me
When they're done with all their Christmas noise
After people finish making noise because of Christmas
And they've had their Christmas feast
Once everyone has completed their dinner
Just when I think that I might finally
When I believe that I may finally
Get a moment's peace
I might finally have a moment to myself without any disturbance
They start to
They begin to
Oh, sing, sing, sing, sing
People begin to sing loudly
Now I'll never get no sleep
I am so agitated and bothered that I won't be able to sleep
I'm screamin' out the window, but it don't do no good
I yell out my window, but it doesn't affect them
They sing and sing and sing all through the neighborhood
People continue to sing everywhere, throughout the entire neighbourhood
Sing, sing, sing
They keep singing non-stop
They take their little break, then they do it all again
People rest briefly before continuing their festivities again
It's a lonely Christmas Eve
This Christmas Eve is extremely isolating for me
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: BEN FOLDS, BENJAMIN SCOTT FOLDS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind