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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Compromise
Edie Carey Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Look how you use those eyes
And the way you compromise
Your love is sweet and strong
It pulls me in with the tide
And up is down and down is wrong
Go or stay, stay or go
Fall down on your knees
Be a poet if that's what you claim to be
Be a poet outside of your sad poetry
Your love is neither hot nor cold
It's that you can't quite name it that makes me feel old
Your love comes apart when it hits the light
Go or stay
Stay or go
Just be a poet about it
Fall down on your knees
Be a poet if that's what you claim to be
Be a poet outside of your sad poetry
Be a poet about it
Yeah, work up a sweat
Do everything you have not done yet
Be a poet outside of your sad poetry
Your love is sweet and it's soft
I'd kill to believe those eyes
Just look how I compromised
The song "Compromise" by Edie Carey delves into the complexities of love that is neither hot nor cold. It talks about the pull of love that is sweet yet strong, but also ambiguous and confusing. The opening lines of the song set the tone for its explorative nature - the love being described is sweet and soft, but the way it is wielded by the other person in the relationship is marked by compromise. The singer is pulled in by the tide of the sweet and strong love, but the ambiguity of it all makes her feel old.
The chorus of the song hints at the power imbalance and the unspoken expectations in the relationship. The singer is asking the other person to "be a poet about it" - to express their feelings and desires articulately, to go beyond the "sad poetry" that they seem to be only capable of. It's almost as if the singer is pleading for transparency and honesty in their relationship, asking the other person to reveal their true self outside of the façade they have constructed.
In the second verse, the singer continues to describe the illusiveness of the other person's love, saying that it crumbles in the face of light. The repeated refrain of "go or stay, stay or go" underscores the confusion and uncertainty of their relationship. The song ends where it began, with the singer acknowledging how much she has compromised, and wishing she could believe the other person's eyes.
Line by Line Meaning
Your love is sweet and soft
The love between the singer and the person they're addressing is gentle and caring.
Look how you use those eyes
The person the singer is addressing has a way of expressing themselves non-verbally that the singer finds attractive.
And the way you compromise
The person the singer is addressing has a tendency to make concessions in order to maintain harmony in their relationship.
Your love is sweet and strong
The love between the artist and the person they're addressing is powerful and all-encompassing.
It pulls me in with the tide
The love between the artist and the person they're addressing is irresistible.
And up is down and down is wrong
The singer is disoriented by their emotions and doesn't know which way is up.
Go or stay, stay or go
The singer is conflicted about whether to stay in or leave their relationship.
Just be a poet about it
The artist is urging the person they're addressing to be honest and introspective in their communication.
Fall down on your knees
The artist wants the person they're addressing to humble themselves and truly reflect on their feelings.
Be a poet if that's what you claim to be
The artist is challenging the person they're addressing to really embody the qualities that they profess to have.
Be a poet outside of your sad poetry
The singer wants the person they're addressing to express themselves honestly and authentically, without the filter of their emotions.
Your love is neither hot nor cold
The artist is describing their relationship as lukewarm and lacking in passion.
It's that you can't quite name it that makes me feel old
The singer is frustrated by their inability to define their relationship.
Your love comes apart when it hits the light
The singer feels that their relationship falls apart when it's exposed to scrutiny or harsh reality.
Be a poet about it
The singer is emphasizing the importance of open and genuine communication.
Yeah, work up a sweat
The artist wants the person they're addressing to put in the effort to make things work in their relationship.
Do everything you have not done yet
The artist is encouraging the person they're addressing to step outside of their comfort zone and try new things.
Be a poet outside of your sad poetry
The singer wants the person they're addressing to express themselves honestly and authentically, without the filter of their emotions.
Your love is sweet and it's soft
The love between the singer and the person they're addressing is gentle and caring.
I'd kill to believe those eyes
The artist is expressing doubt about the authenticity of the person they're addressing's feelings.
Just look how I compromised
The artist has made concessions in their relationship and is questioning whether they've compromised too much.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
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