On her fourth … Read Full Bio ↴Edie Carey is an American folk-pop singer-songwriter.
On her fourth studio album, Another Kind of Fire, Carey explored the myriad kinds of "fire" - romantic and otherwise - that keep us burning below the surface: old resentments, creativity, anger, lost friendships, lust, and, of course, love. The disc, released September 19th independently on Accidental Poet, maintained much of the organic, woody sound of its predecessor, When I Was Made (2004), touted by Harp Magazine as "a little country, a little adult-contemporary, and a lot of fine music." But on her latest effort, producer Crit Harmon (Martin Sexton, Lori McKenna, Mary Gauthier) introduces a somewhat moodier, darker sound, painting haunting, vast landscapes behind her intimate vocals.
Drawn from her own experiences and the stories of those around her, Carey's poetic lyrics are the focal point of her songs. Paste Magazine confirmed this in a 2004 review of Made:"Economic instrumentation forces all your attention toward the gentle storytelling, rich with humanity and insight...Carey draws us into her world, where we find we have a lot in common."
Several fires have raged within Carey over the past two years - both personally and professionally - creating fertile ground for songwriting. After three years south in her adopted hometown of Atlanta, Carey has returned to her native Boston - though she plans to spend little time at home.
The 2004 Telluride Bluegrass Troubadour Finalist will hit the road in earnest this fall, performing at clubs, coffeehouses and colleges across the country. Carey kicks off her CD release tour for Another Kind Of Fire on September 8th at The Living Room in New York City.
Touring internationally since 1999, Edie has shared stages with Norah Jones, Leo Kottke, Ani DiFranco, Jonatha Brooke, Catie Curtis, Lucy Kaplansky, and Sandra Bernhard. She was asked to perform at The Olympic Winter Games in Salt Lake City and on Ed McMahon's "Next Big Star" ("Star Search"), and has had her songs featured on The WB's "Charmed" and MTV's "Road Rules". She was recently a featured act on Public Radio International's "Mountain Stage," and When I Was Made was a finalist for Album of the Year in the 2003 Independent Music Awards.
More About Edie...
"Accidental Poet," one of Edie Carey's earliest songs, describes a particularly eloquent friend, but could just as easily refer to Carey herself and the circuitous and serendipitous route that led her to become one of the country's most notable young songwriters. Somehow, all of the seemingly unrelated turns - from her intention to become a doctor, to a tiny music room in the basement of a Morningside Heights' chapel, to a year in Italy - managed to steer her towards music.
Born in Burlington, Vermont and raised in the Boston suburbs by her English teacher father, therapist mother, and poet stepmother, Edie Carey couldn't help but learn to love words. But her ear for music only became apparent after she "took the stage" in the back seat of her babysitter's green Cadillac, belting out her own rendition of "Up Where We Belong." From age nine, after beginning voice lessons, she became involved in singing groups and musicals, which she continued all the way through high school. A child of the 80's, she dressed in lace and sequins and dreamed of appearing on Ed McMahon's "Star Search." However, as much as she loved performing, Carey was unaware that there was any middle ground between singing at weddings and being Madonna, and never considered music a real career possibility. So, she made plans to major in English/Creative Writing with Pre-Med classes at Barnard College in New York City. However, during her freshman year, two pivotal discoveries knocked those plans right off course - The Postcrypt Coffeehouse and the Italian language.
In the Postcrypt, an intimate music venue in the basement of St. Paul's Chapel at Columbia University, the seeds of possibility were sewn as Carey watched Jeff Buckley, Ani Difranco, and Lisa Loeb among others perform unplugged to candlelit audiences. She saw how words could sometimes have even greater power when used in a song, and simultaneously came to appreciate the sonorous quality of words regardless of their meaning or the melody in which they were framed. This appreciation for their musicality grew deeper with the study of Italian, which eventually led her to spend a year abroad in Bologna, where she taught herself to play the guitar.
In Italy, Carey set herself up in a corner of the main piazza and played every Bonnie Raitt, Shawn Colvin, Sarah McLachlan, and Rickie Lee Jones song she knew, throwing in a few of her own tunes, which would later land on her debut album, The Falling Places . Her experience abroad gave her a newfound confidence and encouraged her to begin performing on campus, where she started to build a student following. She made her first album in 1997, while working long days at Worth Magazine and recording until 3 am each night. Though the process was a daunting one, by the time she was finished, Carey was sure she had "accidentally" ended up exactly where she was supposed to be.
After the release of The Falling Places in 1998, she began venturing outside of New York City to play neighboring east coast cities, and gradually expanded throughout the United States, then Canada and the UK. While the debut was a very sparsely produced acoustic contemporary folk album, Call Me Home, Carey's follow-up in 2000, was by comparison an all-out pop record, a tribute to her early inspirations and the reckless abandon of her childhood. With its release, the "accidents" continued, and Carey unexpectedly found herself achieving her childhood dream of appearing on television with Ed McMahon.
Since 2000, she has been working as a full-time performing songwriter, touring rigorously to promote all of her independently self-released records, which now include Come Close, her 2002 live CD, When I Was Made (2004), and the latest addition to her growing catalog, Another Kind of Fire. Looking back, she has to wonder if maybe this wasn't an accident after all.
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Black Wool Dress
Edie Carey Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
To pull my arms
Through the sleeves
Of my black wool dress
In this ungodly heat
They led me down the hall
We passed your room on the way
And I could still hear me saying
I am your mother
Why won't you listen to me?
Be like your brother
Come here and sit by me
I am bombarded by smiles
Launched by faces I don't know
And they hover for a while
And I'm grateful when they go
They'll drift back to their lives
They'll change out of these clothes
Husbands will cling to their wives
In the night
And they'll hold their children
Too close
And pray that
They're not the mother
To be the last one to leave
Let it be any other, anyone but me
'Cause I am that mother
Why won't you listen to me?
Be like your brother
Come here and comfort me
'Cause am your mother
And it should have been me
It should have been me
It should have been me
The lyrics to Edie Carey's song "Black Wool Dress" tell a powerful story of a mother grieving the loss of her child. The opening lines are particularly striking, as the mother reflects on the absurdity of wearing a black wool dress in the heat of whatever funeral or memorial she is attending - a stark reminder of the discomfort and disorientedness of grief. As she is led down the hall, she passes a room where her child had once scribbled on the wall with crayons - a poignant reminder of the life that was lost.
The refrain of the song - "I am your mother / Why won't you listen to me? / Be like your brother / Come here and sit by me" - speaks to the tumult of emotions that the mother is experiencing. She is overwhelmed by the grief of losing a child, and desperate for some kind of comfort and connection. The second half of the song shifts to a more reflective tone, as the mother observes the other mourners and muses on the ways that life goes on in the aftermath of tragedy. She acknowledges the fleeting nature of sympathy - how people will "drift back to their lives," and the importance of holding loved ones close, even in the face of uncertainty and loss.
Overall, "Black Wool Dress" is a haunting and emotional song that captures the experience of grieving a child. The lyrics are raw and honest, grappling with the depth of pain and the search for comfort that come with such a loss.
Line by Line Meaning
They did their best
The singer is surrounded by people who are trying to help her in some way.
To pull my arms
The people surrounding the singer are physically touching her, likely trying to help her dress herself.
Through the sleeves
The people surrounding the singer are trying to put the singer's arms through the sleeves of a piece of clothing.
Of my black wool dress
The piece of clothing the people are helping the artist put on is a black wool dress.
In this ungodly heat
Despite the hot and uncomfortable weather, the artist is being dressed in a warm article of clothing.
They led me down the hall
The singer is being directed to move down a hallway, likely by the same people who helped her put on her dress.
We passed your room on the way
In the process of being led down the hallway, the singer and the people around her walk past a room belonging to someone else.
I found the place you'd taken your crayons to the wall
The artist has noticed marks or scribbles on a wall that were made by somebody else using crayons.
And I could still hear me saying
The artist recalls that she once said something specific, back when the other person was still present.
I am your mother
The artist has a parental relationship with the other person in the past, and this gives her a sense of authority.
Why won't you listen to me?
The singer is trying to convey something important, but the other person seems to be ignoring or disregarding her words.
Be like your brother
The artist is comparing the other person to someone else, who is a positive influence in some way.
Come here and sit by me
The singer wants the other person to physically come closer, perhaps in order to try to comfort them or talk to them.
I am bombarded by smiles
The singer is surrounded by cheerful people who are smiling at her, despite the sadness she feels.
Launched by faces I don't know
The people smiling at the singer are strangers, and the singer feels disconnected from them.
And they hover for a while
The strangers spend some amount of time lingering around the artist before moving on.
And I'm grateful when they go
Despite the friendly smiles, the artist is relieved when the strangers leave her alone again.
They'll drift back to their lives
The strangers who were smiling at the singer are going to leave and continue living their own separate lives.
They'll change out of these clothes
The people who were helpful to the singer earlier will eventually take off the clothing they were wearing when they helped her.
Husbands will cling to their wives
The artist is observing couples forming physical connections with each other.
In the night
These couples are probably going to spend the night with each other, in some kind of intimate setting.
And they'll hold their children
The couples observed earlier potentially have children who they will be holding while sleeping, or just spending time with.
Too close
The holding of children is a protective gesture which the singer may feel is happening too closely or shielded from the singer.
And pray that
Parents care for their children and wish for the best outcome.
They're not the mother
The parents whom the singer has watched are grateful that they are not in the singer's position of losing a child.
To be the last one to leave
The singer has suffered a loss, and the other parents do not want to endure the same experience.
Let it be any other, anyone but me
The other parents do not want to imagine themselves in the same position as the singer; they fear the pain, suffering and loss that comes with losing a child.
'Cause I am that mother
The artist has lost a child in the past, and this experience haunts her even after she has moved on with time.
Why won't you listen to me?
The artist is still trying to communicate something to a child that is no longer present or has grown apart.
Be like your brother
The singer compares a child to their sibling, perhaps to inspire them to aspire to something greater, or simply remembering a good memory of the child's sibling.
Come here and comfort me
The singer is looking for comfort from someone who is not currently present, likely due to distance or death.
'Cause I am your mother
The artist is addressing her child, who is not present but is the focus of her thoughts and emotions.
And it should have been me
The artist likely feels that someone else should have taken her place in the situation, or that she has not done enough in the past to prevent a bad event from happening to her child.
It should have been me
The previous line is repeated to emphasis the depth of the artist's regret or emotional turmoil.
Lyrics © OBO APRA/AMCOS
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