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.
She Don't Use Jelly
Ben Folds Five Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Thinks of ghosts
She'll make you breakfast,
She'll make you toast
She don't use butter,
She don't use cheese,
She don't use jelly or
Any of these
Vaseline
I know a guy who
Goes to shows
When he's at home and
He blows his nose
He don't use tissues
Or his sleeve
He don't use napkins or
Any of these
He uses magazines,
Magazines
And I know this girl who
Reminds me of Cher ?
She's always changing the
Color of her hair
But she don't use nothing
That ya buy at the store
She likes her hair to
Be real orange
She uses tangerines,
Tangerines,
Tangerines,
Tangerines
The song "She Don't Use Jelly" by Ben Folds Five is a quirky, playful track that presents three different characters who each have unconventional ways of doing everyday things. The song begins with the singer describing a girl who thinks of ghosts and makes breakfast without using traditional ingredients like butter, cheese or jelly. Instead, she uses Vaseline, which is an unusual substitute for toast toppings. The second character is a man who goes to shows and blows his nose with magazines instead of tissues or sleeves. The third character is a girl who constantly changes the color of her hair, but refuses to use store-bought dyes. She instead uses tangerines to dye her hair orange.
This song could be interpreted in various ways, one of which may be that the song is a commentary on the absurdity of societal norms and expectations. It is almost as if these characters are intentionally going against the grain by doing things differently. Another interpretation could be that the song is an ode to people who think outside the box and are unafraid to be themselves despite what others may say. The use of these eccentric examples proves that there are infinite ways to do ordinary things and we do not always have to follow the norm.
Line by Line Meaning
I know a girl who
I know a girl who
Thinks of ghosts
Is very imaginative and creative
She'll make you breakfast,
She'll make you breakfast,
She'll make you toast
She'll make you toast
She don't use butter,
She doesn't use butter,
She don't use cheese,
She doesn't use cheese,
She don't use jelly or
She doesn't use jelly or
Any of these
Any of these
She uses Vaseline,
She uses Vaseline,
Vaseline
As a substitute for food spread
I know a guy who
I know a guy who
Goes to shows
Is a concert goer
When he's at home and
When he's at home and
He blows his nose
He blows his nose
He don't use tissues
He doesn't use tissues
Or his sleeve
Or his sleeve
He don't use napkins or
He doesn't use napkins or
Any of these
Any of these
He uses magazines,
He uses magazines,
Magazines
As a substitute for tissue or napkin
And I know this girl who
And I know this girl who
Reminds me of Cher ?
Looks like and emulates Cher
She's always changing the
She's always changing the
Color of her hair
Color of her hair
But she don't use nothing
But she doesn't use anything
That ya buy at the store
That is store-bought
She likes her hair to
She likes her hair to
Be real orange
Be real orange
She uses tangerines,
She uses tangerines,
Tangerines,
As a hair dye
Tangerines,
As a hair dye
Tangerines
As a hair dye
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Michael Ivins, Ronald Jones, Steven Drozd, Wayne Coyne
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
osuturfman
A band literally at the peak of their creative and musical heights. Amazing how connected and tight they were from later 96 through mid 98.
Drew Lawrence
I love the key change in this, the chorus starts on the note E, the third of the chord C major, but in the last chorus there's a real lift and the key modulates to A major, but the tune still starts on the note E, now the fifth of the new key.
So the melody stays in the same range but you still get the feeling of lift which comes with the key change.
Then half way through the last chorus it switches back to C Major. Cheeky.
Doug Wheeler
It’s amazing what they did with the cords and key changes in this song.
Drew Lawrence
@Nick Joslin No probs. First 2 choruses are Cmaj7, Gm7, F, Bb but in the third chorus it's A, E, D, G, A, E, D, G7, and then back to the original chord sequence.
Nick Joslin
@Drew Lawrence Thanks! I'm trying to work this one out by ear, and it's definitely a tricky one. For some reason, the jazzier chords are just more difficult for me to hear.
Drew Lawrence
@Nick Joslin Yes! Then changes back on the the third "Tangerines". I didn't spot it first few times of listening, I only spotted that I couldn't sing the same harmony line so something had changed.
Nick Joslin
Does the key change happen they all start singing "Tangerine!"
Cak Redi
This version was so good it's, um, flaming.
madadmiral
@Dylan Kreisher It really is. Perfect.
Dylan Kreisher
Such a good cover.