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 Christmas Eve
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,
up and down the street,
they're makin' noise,
how i hate thier happy noise,
there's only one thing i hate more come to think of it,
and that's the people who keep making it,
feast (x4),
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 of winter hills,
how i wish this would go away,
this dreadfull holiday,
that they call christmas day,
Ohh.......
When they're done with all their christmas noise,
and they had their christmas feast,
just when i think that i may finally,
get a moment's peace,
they start to...,
sing (x4),
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 (x3)
They take their little break and then they do it all again,
It's a lonely christmas eve,
The lyrics of Ben Folds's song, "Lonely Christmas Eve," express the emotions of a person who is feeling isolated and left out during the holiday season. The singer is not necessarily a bad person, but finds it difficult to see others enjoying themselves when they are alone. The beginning of the song reveals that the singer can hear the sounds of people having fun and making noise outside. The repetition of the phrase "up and down the street" emphasizes the fact that the noises are coming from every direction and that the singer cannot escape them.
The chorus of the song explains that the singer hates the sounds of people having fun and enjoying themselves because he feels left out. He mentions that people are feasting, and although they have more than they could ever eat, he is stuck with just his cream of wheat. He longs for someone to share his meal with but finds himself alone on this lonely Christmas Eve. The second verse describes the singer's wish to be left alone and not have to deal with the noise and the holiday. However, just when he thinks he may get some peace, people start singing, and he is further frustrated. He ends the song with the repetition of "It's a lonely Christmas Eve," bringing the listener back to the main theme of isolation and loneliness.
Line by Line Meaning
I'm not so bad,
I'm not a bad person
I just hate to see a good time had,
I dislike seeing people having a good time
by everyone, but me,
except for me
on this lonely christmas eve,
today being Christmas Eve makes me feel lonely
I hear them up and down,
I can hear them all around
up and down the street,
on the street where I live
they're makin' noise,
they're being loud
noise noise noise,
they're making too much noise
how i hate thier happy noise,
I despise their cheerful noise
there's only one thing i hate more come to think of it,
I can think of only one thing I hate more
and that's the people who keep making it,
I hate the people who keep making the noise
feast (x4),
the word "feast" repeated four times
they'll have more than anyone could ever eat,
they will have more food than they could ever consume
me i'm stuck here with my cream of wheat,
I'm stuck here with my boring breakfast
there's no one here to feast with me,
I have no one to share my food with
on this lonely christmas eve,
today being Christmas Eve makes me feel lonely
don't they know i'm up here all alone,
do they not realize that I'm up here all by myself?
in my cave of winter hills,
I'm in my lonely place of residence
how i wish this would go away,
I really wish this would come to an end
this dreadfull holiday,
Christmas, which I find dreadful
that they call christmas day, Ohh.......
which they celebrate as Christmas day
When they're done with all their christmas noise,
after the noise and celebrations are done
and they had their christmas feast,
and they've consumed their food
just when i think that i may finally,
just when I'm almost certain
get a moment's peace,
to have some quiet time
they start to...,
they begin to
sing (x4),
they start singing
Now I'll never get no sleep,
I won't be able to sleep at all
I'm screamin out the window,
I'm yelling out the window
but it don't do no good,
but that doesn't help
they sing and sing and sing all through the neighborhood,
they keep singing loudly in the area
sing (x3)
the word 'sing' repeated three times
They take their little break and then they do it all again,
they take a brief break and restart the singing and celebrations
It's a lonely christmas eve,
today being Christmas Eve makes me feel lonely
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind