In the late 1980s Brickell was the lead singer with the (now renamed) folk-rock group Edie Brickell & New Bohemians, whose 1988 debut album Shooting Rubberbands at the Stars was a critical and commercial success. The band's follow-up album, Ghost of a Dog (1990), fared less well. As a solo artist, Brickell released Picture Perfect Morning (1994) and Volcano (2003). In 2006 she reunited with some of the original members of the New Bohemians and they released the Stranger Things album.
Brickell had a role as a folk singer in the 1989 film Born on the Fourth of July. Her version of Bob Dylan's "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall" is featured on the film's soundtrack. Many computer users know her from the "Good Times" video which was included as part of the multimedia samples on the Windows 95 installation CD-ROM.
Brickell married songwriter Paul Simon in 1992. They have three children.
Invisible Man
Edie Brickell Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Behind the bars of her crib and those of his cell.
They wait for her love to come to them.
But she couldn't come.
She was making a living.
This beautiful baby girl grew up so fast.
Called another man "daddy" till she learned of her past.
She waited a lifetime for him.
But until then she loved the invisible man.
She loved the invisible man.
He came back into her life when she was fifteen.
He took a bus on weekends.
And he took her to eat down at the driveway in a Cadillac.
She told him "I love you".
He never said it back.
She loved the invisible man.
She loved the invisible man.
Under the stars and out in the morning sun.
There are the memories of abandoned love.
Under the stars and out
And then nobody heard from him in more than a week.
And when they busted in through his door there was blood on the sheets.
They found his body in a field near town.
Somebody shot him and took him out.
Under the stars and out in the morning sun.
There are the memories of abandoned love.
Under stars and out in the morning sun.
There are the memories of
The invisible man.
She loved the invisible man.
She loved the invisible man.
The song "Invisible Man" by Edie Brickell is a poignant narrative of a woman who grew up without her father present in her life. The first stanza sets the tone of the song, where we learn that the girl was only thirteen months when her father was sent to jail. The song talks about how both the father and daughter waited for each other's love, but they were physically separated by the bars of the cell and the crib. As she grew up, the girl called another man "daddy" until she learned of her past. She waited for him her whole life, and he finally came back into her life when she was fifteen. They shared a few moments together, but the father ends up being killed, leaving the woman alone once again.
The pain of abandonment and rejection runs through the song's lyrics, where the girl's love for her father remains steadfast despite all the years of separation. The song refers to the father as the "invisible man," which could be interpreted as an allusion to his incarceration, making him invisible to the world, or a reminder that he was invisible to his daughter most of her life. The song evokes an emotional response as the listener can sense how much the woman craves her father's love and attention, only to experience more heartbreak in the end.
Line by Line Meaning
She was thirteen months when he was sent to jail.
At the age of thirteen months, her father was imprisoned.
Behind the bars of her crib and those of his cell.
While he was in jail, she grew up confined to her crib.
They wait for her love to come to them.
Both her father and she waited eagerly for each other's love and affection.
But she couldn't come.
She was unable to visit him as she was making a living for herself.
This beautiful baby girl grew up so fast.
Despite growing up without her father, she blossomed into a beautiful young lady.
Called another man "daddy" till she learned of her past.
She had another male figure in her life and referred to him as dad until she discovered the truth about her biological father.
She waited a lifetime for him.
She waited her entire life to reunite with her father.
And one day he comes.
Finally, her father comes back into her life.
But until then she loved the invisible man.
Until her father returned, she loved him like an invisible man.
He came back into her life when she was fifteen.
Her father returned and they reunited when she was fifteen years old.
He took a bus on weekends.
He made an effort to see her by taking a bus every weekend.
And he took her to eat down at the driveway in a Cadillac.
He took her for a drive in his Cadillac and they ate together in the driveway.
She told him "I love you".
She expressed her love for her father by saying "I love you".
He never said it back.
Her father never said "I love you" back to her.
Under the stars and out in the morning sun.
Memories of their time spent together under the stars and in the morning sun.
There are the memories of abandoned love.
Their love was abandoned due to her father's past actions that led to his imprisonment.
And then nobody heard from him in more than a week.
After their reunion, nobody heard from her father for a week.
And when they busted in through his door there was blood on the sheets.
When authorities investigated, they found blood in his home.
They found his body in a field near town.
Her father's body was discovered in a nearby field.
Somebody shot him and took him out.
It was revealed that he was shot and murdered.
Under the stars and out in the morning sun.
Memories of their time together remained, despite her father's untimely death.
There are the memories of
Their memories are all that's left.
The invisible man.
Despite his physical presence in her life, she has lost her father once again and he has become the invisible man to her.
She loved the invisible man.
Despite the tragic end to their reunion, she still loved her father deeply.
She loved the invisible man.
Repeated line that emphasizes her love for her father who was physically present but emotionally distant at times.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@patrickv391
Up in a tree house a little boy plays
Catching his shirt on a nail that has raised
His smile is bright as his papa looks on
Papa trying to decide if the timing is wrong.
Lost in the moment of what he needs
Lost in the moment of what he needs
He calls to his child puts his hands out to receive
The boy jumps down hugs his daddy.
His father tells of that house he built one July
Its your grandfather’s tree he was a good man
Lost in the moment of what he needs
Lost in the moment of what he needs
Are you there, can you hear me, are you there
The boy pushed back looks his dad in the eyes
Says can I go play in Grandpas tree now.
Grandma looks on with hope on her brow
Takes up the child gives him a kiss
Brushes back his hair lifts him up to a bough
She starting to cry he looks so much like him now.
Lost in the moment of what she needs.
Lost in the moment of what she needs
Are you there, can you hear me, are you there
@AsifurRahmanbrandnanny
My seventh grade English teacher played this song for us in school. Back in 1997. I just heard it in a dream, woke up with tears in my eyes and looked it up with the lyrics.
@michaelhuggins3787
Painfully beautiful
@sarastraw5402
This song always makes my eyes water. It is a treasure of human sorrow. Classic.
@mvg952
Arguably the most perfect, powerful, and beautiful song ever written.
@cynthiecox
Always loved this song.
@StickyColaBud
Love this .. Paul Simon guiter very nice too
@Gabbyness41
This song reminds us to slow down and take heed of others and the lives that they're living. We all go through life, lost in many moments of what we need, and I find this reckoning most beautifully expressed through this song and it's lyrics.
We're all just trying to survive, all the while, many if us get lost in the moment.
Beautiful song. 💕
@robinguthrie6087
Lisa Benavides ,A truth well spoken, and taken...
Thank you..
@incantationsbykaryn
This song is about a corner store robbery and how many lives are affected as a result... All the players inclusive
@31Alden
Sublime perfection.