It was the cat-poles around the lake at his grandfather’s farm that inspired Sollee’s debut album Learning To Bend. The frailty of those awkward looking plants standing stoutly against winds that challenged even the strongest of nearby trees is an affecting metaphor for human struggle and perseverance. This idea is central to Learning To Bend.
Key tracks on Learning To Bend include two reactions to the current political landscape, “A Few Honest Words,” and an adaptation of Sam Cooke’s “A Change is Gonna Come,” in which Ben has written updated, politically relevant verses. Other highlights of the album are the playful, soul track, “How To See the Sun Rise” and the vulnerable yet insistent “It’s Not Impossible,” where Ben laments the unfortunate status quo that “boys don’t cry.”
Sollee has found considerable success in recent years through his ability to bend. In 2007, he was named one of NPR’s “Top Ten Unknown Artists of the Year.” His distinctive cello technique and soulful voice have been marinating for years in his work with avant-garde bluesman Otis Taylor, The Sparrow Quartet, (featuring banjo-master Béla Fleck), and on the internationally known Woodsongs Old Time Radio Hour.
Sollee’s unique performance experience and creative vision trump his 24 years and traditional classical training; he is poised to emerge as a solo artist, bridging genres and demographics with earnest and dynamic songwriting. However, the single most salient quality of Learning to Bend, is Sollee’s contagiously optimistic worldview. Sollee is not just expressing his personal quest for flexibility, he is asking the entire country to learn to bend, learn how to cry, learn how to see the sun rise… He is at the forefront of a movement that is happening right now: a zeitgeist in which a nation can face reality and empower itself to evolve and feel deeply and stand up for the power of hope.
the globe
Ben Sollee Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
But it ain’t no secret, just ask around
Some heart-sick man fed up with his fate
Torched it to the ground in a desparate state
He’d grown tired of the tragedies
Tired of the death
Tired of watching Romeo take
One last breath
The gave him all the books, but never taught him to read
So when she first kissed him, I heard him beg and plead
He saw the storm on the water, he felt every swell
He was on top of a mountain then in the belly of a whale
‘Cause some days it’s a fountain
Or an artesian well
Sometimes it’s a bag of bricks
Or some kind of spell
There’s nothing as wild as love
He wasn’t much for religion, but he learned to pray
For occasions when the wine led his mind astray
He built a chapel for his conscience, a shack for his regrets
Sent desire to an island still he could not forget
The sound of her touch
The color of her song
A jumble of words
Where a space belongs
For something as simple as love
In Ben Sollee's song The Globe, he sings about the burning down of the Globe Theatre in London, England. The Globe was a historic theatre that had been built in 1599, and it burned down in 1613 during a performance of the play Henry VIII. The lyrics describe how the theatre was burned down by a man who was "heart-sick" and "fed up with his fate". According to the song, the man was tired of the tragedies of love that were portrayed in the plays performed at the Globe, and he set the theatre on fire in a desperate act.
The lyrics also touch on the theme of love and how it can sometimes be wild and unpredictable. The song describes how the man who burned down the Globe fell in love with a woman, but because he was never taught how to read, he couldn't understand the books that were given to him. When the woman kissed him, he was overwhelmed and felt like he was on top of a mountain, but when the love ended, he was in the belly of a whale. The song suggests that love can take us on a wild ride and that it can be both beautiful and painful.
Overall, The Globe is a song that explores the themes of love, tragedy, and desperation. It tells the story of a man who was so consumed by his feelings of love and despair that he was driven to burn down one of the most iconic theatres in history.
Line by Line Meaning
I guess they never told you how the Globe burned down*
Perhaps you were unaware of how the Globe was destroyed
But it ain’t no secret, just ask around
It is not a secret as many know about it
Some heart-sick man fed up with his fate
A man, tired of his fate, with a heavy heart
Torched it to the ground in a desperate state
Set it ablaze in a state of desperation
He’d grown tired of the tragedies, Tired of the death
Weary of the continuous tragedies and mortality
Tired of watching Romeo take, One last breath
Exhausted of witnessing Romeo's final breath
For something as crazy as love
All for the sake of love, something deemed irrational
They gave him all the books, but never taught him to read
Provided him with books, but neglected to teach him how to read
So when she first kissed him, I heard him beg and plead
When she gave him his first kiss, he begged and pleaded
He saw the storm on the water, he felt every swell
He experienced the storm upon the water and felt each wave
He was on top of a mountain then in the belly of a whale
One moment he was atop a mountain, the next he was swallowed by a whale
‘Cause some days it’s a fountain, Or an artesian well
At times love flows like a fountain or an artesian well
Sometimes it’s a bag of bricks, Or some kind of spell
Other times it feels like a heavy burden or a mystical force
There’s nothing as wild as love
Love is the epitome of untamed behavior
He wasn’t much for religion, but he learned to pray
Though not particularly religious, he discovered how to pray
For occasions when the wine led his mind astray
For moments when wine intoxicated him
He built a chapel for his conscience, a shack for his regrets
He constructed a chapel for his moral compass and a shack to contain his regrets
Sent desire to an island still he could not forget
He exiled his longing to an isle, but was unable to forget
The sound of her touch, The color of her song
He recollected the sensation of her touch and the tune of her voice
A jumble of words, Where a space belongs
An incoherent flurry of words where a blank existed
For something as simple as love
All for the sake of love, something deemed uncomplicated
Contributed by Adam S. Suggest a correction in the comments below.