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.
One Down
Ben Folds Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
On the wrong side of the road
What the hell would I do
I must admit I didn't know
Andrew came along y'all
To add a couple lines or so
I got one I finished yesterday
And I got three-point-six to go
One down
And three-point-six
Tomorrow
And I'm outta here
One down
And three-point-six
Tomorrow
And I'm out of here
People tell me
Ben, just make up junk
And turn it in
But I never was alright with turning in
A bunch of shit
Don't like wasting time
On music that won't make you proud
But now I've found a reason
To sit right down and shit some out
One down
And three-point-six
Tomorrow
And I'm outta here
One down
And three-point-six
Tomorrow
And I'm out of here
Yeah, yeah...
I love you more than
Any man has loved before I
Love you more than
All the stars up in the sky
I think that we should
Settle down and
Live happily forever
After
What do you think of that?...
I'm really not complaining
I realize it's just a job
And I hate hearing belly-aching rock stars
Whine and sob
Cause I could be busing tables
I could well be pumpin' gas
Yeah, but I get paid much finer
For playin' piano and kissin' ass
This is one I wrote just an hour ago
And three-point-six at last
One down
And three-point-six
Tomorrow
And I'm outta here
One down
And three-point-six
Tomorrow
And I'm out of here
One down
And three-point-six
One down
And three-point-six
Tomorrow
And I'm out of here
“One Down” is a song that talks about the ups and downs of a musician’s life. Ben Folds starts the song talking about driving on the wrong side of the road on his way to work, reflecting on how one mistake can easily spiral out of control. He then turns to the topic of songwriting and the pressure that comes with it. The lyrics suggest that Folds is desperately trying to finish the four songs that he has been assigned to write. Meanwhile, his friend Andrew comes along to lend his help, but it’s not enough to ease the stress. He feels the pressure from people telling him to just make up junk and turn it in. However, Folds explains that he never feels alright with turning in crap because he doesn’t like wasting time. Eventually, he writes one song down, and he knows that he has three-point-six left to go before he can finally leave work.
Line by Line Meaning
I woke up and I drove to work
I started my day by driving to work just like any other day
On the wrong side of the road
Somehow, I ended up driving my car on the opposite side of the road today
What the hell would I do
I was confused and uncertain about what to do next as I had never been in such a situation before
I must admit I didn't know
I was willing to accept that I had no idea what to do in such a situation
Andrew came along y'all
My friend Andrew arrived to lend me a hand and provided some support
To add a couple lines or so
Andrew contributed some ideas to help me find a solution to my predicament
I got one I finished yesterday
I have already completed one task out of the four I need to finish
And I got three-point-six to go
I have 3.6 more tasks to do before I can finish my work for the day
People tell me Ben, just make up junk
Some individuals have suggested to me to quickly make up any music just to complete my work
And turn it in
They want me to submit mediocre music compositions to my boss to meet my deadlines
But I never was alright with turning in
I have a strong work ethic and have never been okay with submitting subpar work
A bunch of shit
Music or work that is not up to my satisfaction and capability
Don't like wasting time
I do not want to spend my valuable time creating music that won't make me proud
On music that won't make you proud
I do not want to write and play music that won't make me feel good about myself
But now I've found a reason
I have found a new source of motivation to be able to create music that I can be proud of
To sit right down and shit some out
I am now motivated and determined to create quality music compositions and get my work done
Yeah, yeah...
A casual interjection expressing my agreement or enthusiasm
I love you more than
My profound declaration of love and affection for someone special
Any man has loved before I
My love and affection is greater than any other person has given
Love you more than
I am expressing how deep is my affection for you
All the stars up in the sky
My love is boundless, like the countless stars in the sky
I think that we should
My proposal or suggestion for a plan of action
Settle down and
I propose that we find a place to live together and create a home
Live happily forever
I want us to live happily in each other's company for perpetuity
After
There is nothing else after that in my plans, my proposal ends with living happily together
I'm really not complaining
I am not complaining or showing any dissatisfaction whatsoever
I realize it's just a job
I understand that what I am doing is part of my employment responsibilities.
And I hate hearing belly-aching rock stars
I don't like listening to famous musicians complaining about their lives despite being rich and famous
Whine and sob
They tend to complain and be overly emotional despite their good fortune
Cause I could be busing tables
I could easily have ended up performing a menial job like serving tables
I could well be pumpin' gas
Another dead-end job I could end up doing is pumping gas as an attendant
Yeah, but I get paid much finer
I get paid more and have a better job status
For playin' piano and kissin' ass
My job as a musician and entertainer is highly sought-after, and I get paid well for doing it
This is one I wrote just an hour ago
This music composition that I just created was only completed recently, within the past hour
And three-point-six at last
Finally, I have completed the 3.6 tasks that were left to do, and I have finished my work for the day.
One down
I have completed the first task
And three-point-six
There were 3.6 tasks left to complete
Tomorrow
The next day I will have more work to do
And I'm outta here
I am done with my work for today
One down
I have only completed one of several tasks
And three-point-six
There are 3.6 more tasks left to complete
Tomorrow
New tasks await me tomorrow
And I'm out of here
I am done with work for the day and am leaving for home
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: BEN FOLDS, BENJAMIN SCOTT FOLDS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
jamic39
Seriously underrated Folds song. I've been a fan for well over a decade and i've only recently grown to appreciate this song. Just impeccable piano work.
CONDOM KiD
I love Ben Folds
fillXinXblankXstares
I love how he combines such a pretty piano part with an interesting story and humor. It's a really honest song, and so perfectly written.
David Criswell
Exactly
fastfrankblack
this has actually got to be one of his best songs - right?
Joseph Putrelo
This song is the unsung hero of Ben Folds' song collection
Dale Smith
this song!!!!!!!! this f**king song!!!!! even by Ben Folds standards, this is a masterpiece..
Cora Small
Such a good song
dumwhiteboy3331
this is a great song
Dan Allen
I remember when I first bought this album I had gotten it from walmart and the curse words were removed because walmart doesn't allow curse words in their music lol.