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.
Long Way to Go
Ben Folds Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
We got just five minutes
′Til the men cuts the rope
And we pull away
And there are no dry eyes
Trying to keep yours to mine
There will be no guarantee of return
Mitt might be runnin' out
We shut it down
We had a hell of a run
Hold on to your hat
Here we go
Long way to go
Long way to go
Long way to go
Long way to go
Long way to go
Long way to go
And the clock says "Hey!"
Do-do-do-dodudo-do-dodudo-do
Do-do-dudo
Yeah we got just three minutes
′Til the song turns to mist
And the mist burns away
And you'll walk alone
Back into the day
So let's drink up now
Or we can pour the rest of it out
Oh, we′re done
Let this moment slip away
Have we learned anything, anything?
I gotta think
Maybe we learned with a hush
Hold on
Here we go
Long way to go
Long way to go
Long way to go
Long way to go
Long way to go
Long way to go
And the clock says "Hey!"
Do-do-do-dodudo-do-dodudo-do
Do-do-dudo
Yeah we got just one minute
Long way to go
Long way to go
Long way to go
Long way to go
Long way to go
Long way to go
Long way to go
Long way to go
Do-do-do-dodudo-do-dodudo-do
Do-do-do-dodudo-do-dodudo-do
Do-do-dudo
The song "Long Way to Go" by Ben Folds is a poignant piece about the fleeting nature of life and the inevitability of change. The opening verse speaks of a moment right before a departure: something is about to end, and there are "no dry eyes" as everyone says goodbye. The song sets up a sense of going out on a high note while acknowledging that things will never be quite the same. The lyrics are full of vivid images of time slipping away: the rope being cut, the mist burning off, and the clock ticking down.
The song's chorus emphasizes the distance yet to be traveled, a long way to go as the clock ticks down. The repetition of the phrase underscores the unstoppable momentum of time—the phrase is both a recognition of how much has been accomplished thus far and a call to move forward with the belief that there is still much to be done. The song ends on a powerful note of uncertainty and possibility, acknowledging that there is much we cannot know about the future but encouraging the listener to hold on tight: "Here we go / Long way to go."
Overall, "Long Way to Go" is an emotionally resonant piece that captures the bittersweet nature of life's transitions. It urges us to savor the moment and keep moving forward, even when the road ahead is uncertain.
Line by Line Meaning
Yeah, we got just five minutes
We have just a few minutes left
We got just five minutes
Again, we have only a few minutes left
′Til the men cuts the rope
Until we have to depart
And we pull away
We have to leave because we are moving away
And there are no dry eyes
Everyone is emotional and crying
Trying to keep yours to mine
We are trying to hold on to each other as much as we can before we have to part
There will be no guarantee of return
There is no assurance of coming back
Mitt might be runnin' out
We may have already used up most of our time
But look around
Take a moment to observe what's happening
We shut it down
We are closing the chapter of our journey
We had a hell of a run
We had quite an experience on this journey
Hold on to your hat
Be prepared for anything
Here we go
The journey is about to start
Long way to go
The path ahead is going to be long and challenging
And the clock says "Hey!"
A reminder that time is running out
Yeah we got just three minutes
We have even less time now
′Til the song turns to mist
Until the music fades away
And the mist burns away
The moment will also pass away
And you'll walk alone
"Alone" could mean emotionally or physically
Back into the day
Returning to the normal life without the journey
So let's drink up now
Enjoy the remaining time we have left
Or we can pour the rest of it out
We can choose to waste the remaining time too
Oh, we′re done
The journey is over
Let this moment slip away
The moment is slipping away and we can't bring it back
Have we learned anything, anything?
Did we learn anything from this journey?
I gotta think
I need to reflect on this journey
Maybe we learned with a hush
Perhaps we learned something quietly and subtly
Hold on
Prepare yourself for what's to come
Yeah we got just one minute
We have very little time left
Do-do-do-dodudo-do-dodudo-do
Background music
Writer(s): Benjamin Scott Folds
Contributed by Chase E. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@felix.y
I'm so dissapointed, this deserves more recognition.
@lippypongstockings8356
Nova I recognize it! The album is becoming a contender, if not winner, as my favourite. Rob Mousse, producing, is a genius. check out his work with the Punch Brothers.
@alexanderkrinsky9406
Your recognition is all that matters. You experienced it. Nothing will make it more real than that. Show it to your friends, enjoy it with them – don't let this moment slip away.
@renatoflores1736
Esta canción la escuchaba en tus últimos días en este plano terrenal, sabía que lo que decía y lo que me hacia sentir eran un aviso, "un largo camino por recorrer", hoy, a casi un año de tu partida, la sigo escuchando y parece que te veo, con tu pantalón café, tu playera blanca y tus manos llenas de aserrín, diciéndome "nos veremos algún día", y los ojos se me llenan de lagrimas, te extraño tanto...un largo camino por recorrer
@monicajesus662
melhor musica da minha vida
@lichgamingtv7163
I gotta say... Hipster song approved.
@wgdmovimkr
is this a hipster song?
@cwvolcano1234
@way too late who knows
@odd6453
1:07
@jacobcook3127
Check out the track "Way to Normal" from the fake version of his Way to Normal album. Specifically the part from 2:40 on. It's pretty nifty.