The members of the band are Ben Folds, the lead singer and pianist, who also wrote most of the songs; Robert Sledge on bass; and Darren Jessee on drums. The group enjoyed the success of the single Brick in 1997, a ballad written by Folds (with a chorus by Jessee) about his high school girlfriend getting an abortion. This song has, to a large degree, misrepresented the band to fans who aren't familiar with their other work; "Brick" is a serious ballad, whereas most of their music is characterised by jazz inflections and witty, humorous lyrics.
After the band's not-so amicable breakup in October 2000 over Ben's over shadowing of Sledge and Jessee, Folds began a solo career. Robert Sledge's subsequent band International Orange has broken up, while Darren Jessee is the frontman for the band Hotel Lights.
Folds once described their music as "punk rock for pussies" - a reaction to the angst prevalent in 90s rock. When asked about his band's name he jokingly responded "you mean a trio isn't five?". In other interviews the band said that the name was simply because Ben Folds Five sounded better than Ben Folds Three.
Ben Folds has continued with producing music on his own, striking a subtler tone than Ben Folds Five's earlier recordings. His personal relationship with William Shatner has opened the doors for a great professional one. Ben Folds produced William Shatner's album Has Been and they have since worked together on The 'Over The Hedge' soundtrack.
On September 18, 2008 at the UNC Memorial Hall in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, the band reunited for the first time in nearly 10 years for one special gig playing their critically acclaimed final album: The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner in its entirety.
The House Songfacts reports that the trio got together in 2011 to record three new Ben Folds Five songs for the compilation,The Best Imitation of Myself: A Retrospective.
Their 4th studio album "The Sound Of The Life Of The Mind" released September 18th, 2012. A live album titled "Ben Folds Live" released soon after on June 3rd, 2013.
Another live album "The Complete Sessions at West 54th" originally recorded in June of 1997, released on July 10, 2018.
Champagne Supernova
Ben Folds Five Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
How many lives are living strange
Where were you when we were getting high?
Slowly walking down the hall
Faster than a cannonball
Where were you when we were getting high?
Caught beneath the landslide
In a champagne supernova in the sky
Some day you will find me
Caught beneath the landslide
In a champagne supernova
A champagne supernova
In the sky..
Continuation (full version):
Wake up the dawn and ask her why
A dreamer dreams she never dies
Wipe that tear away now from your eye
Slowly walking down the hall
Faster than a cannonball
Where were you when we were getting high?
'Cause people believe that they're
Gonna get away for the summer
But you and i, we live and die
The world's still spinning round
We don't know why, why?
The lyrics to Ben Folds Five's song Champagne Supernova reflect on the fleeting and transitory nature of life, and may be interpreted both as a nostalgic reminiscence of past experiences and as an existential questioning of the meaning of existence. The first verse poses the rhetorical question of how many special people change and how many lives are living strange, suggesting a musing on the diversity and unpredictability of human experiences. The second verse juxtaposes the image of slowly walking down the hall with that of being faster than a cannonball, conveying a sense of temporal disorientation and the contrast between mundane routine and exhilarating moments. The repeated refrain of "where were you when we were getting high?" reinforces the theme of memory and the passing of time, and may be interpreted both as a wistful invitation to remember shared moments of joy and as a reproach to those who were not present when they were needed.
Line by Line Meaning
How many special people change
As people become unique by making changes, how many of them did it?
How many lives are living strange
How many bizarre lifestyles are people living?
Where were you when we were getting high?
When we were enjoying life, where were you?
Slowly walking down the hall
Pacing steadily along the hallway
Faster than a cannonball
Speeding like a projectile fired from a cannon
Some day you will find me
One day, you will discover me
Caught beneath the landslide
Trapped under the weight of an avalanche
In a champagne supernova in the sky
In an extraordinary and incredible event that occurs high in the sky
A champagne supernova
An incredible, amazing phenomenon
Wake up the dawn and ask her why
Rouse and question the morning light
A dreamer dreams she never dies
A person who dreams believes immortality is possible
Wipe that tear away now from your eye
Dry your eyes and move on
'Cause people believe that they're
Since people assume that they will
Gonna get away for the summer
Escape their routine for the summer
But you and i, we live and die
Unlike others, we experience both living and dying
The world's still spinning round
The planet keeps rotating, regardless of our experiences
We don't know why, why?
We do not understand why it spins- why are we here?
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Noel Gallagher
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
jetsilveravenger
So i had an mp3 of this in the early 2000s on Napster (remember that?) and of all the cool rare songs and recordings ive since lost, it's one i regretted a lot. so i was ecstatic to recently discover this was available on iTunes and i immediately bought it. This is identical to that and i remembered that the clip is actually missing a few seconds - in the original version i had years ago, after Robert says "No we didn't", Ben can be heard singing/talking "stop me, oh, oh, oh, stop me" before beginning the song. It's maybe four seconds and not even part of the actual song but i'm still a little annoyed it's been edited out.
BFFCollector
jetsilveravenger I have the full version of this so I’ll upload later with ‘Stop me uh oh uh, stop me...’
Ashley Berry
a great band covering a great band.
Evan Bennet
This is... Just, Yes. Amazing haha.
ChainNonSmoker
a country song? :D yeah man!
J Ward
Benjamin is funny.