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.
Official Website
Fine
Edie Carey Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The benefit of the doubt
What I wanna ask, I'll ask you
You don't have to answer right now
'Cause what I need to know, I already know
Is that you painted the house
A nice clean shade of white
As long as the neighbors think everything's fine
Honestly it makes perfect sense
I must get this from you too
'Cause order is my greatest defence
Against the blues
Oh I just paint them white
Keep every last line straight
Keep every angle right
As long as my friends think everything's fine
Edie Carey's song "Fine" is a poignant reflection on the ways that people hide behind appearances and use external order to mask internal pain. The singer of the song is addressing someone who has been through a difficult experience, likely a breakup or divorce, and is using the metaphor of house-painting to explore their coping mechanisms. The opening lines, "What I wouldn't give to give you / The benefit of the doubt," convey the singer's desire to understand the other person's perspective, even though they remain skeptical of their motives.
The chorus of the song, "And you just let her go / As long as the neighbors think everything's fine," speaks to the way that the other person has put on a brave face and made a show of moving on, even though they are clearly still hurting. The singer acknowledges that they themselves have a similar tendency to use external order as a defense mechanism, saying "Honestly it makes perfect sense / I must get this from you too / 'Cause order is my greatest defense / Against the blues."
In the final stanza, the singer brings the metaphor of house-painting back to themselves, saying "Oh I just paint them white / Keep every last line straight / Keep every angle right / As long as my friends think everything's fine." Here, they are admitting that they, too, use the appearance of orderliness to hide their own emotional pain. The song as a whole is a beautiful and introspective commentary on the ways that people cope with trauma, and the importance of being honest with oneself about the ways that one is hurting.
Line by Line Meaning
What I wouldn't give to give you
Expressing the desire to have the ability to trust.
The benefit of the doubt
Wishing to have a positive outlook on someone's intentions or actions.
What I wanna ask, I'll ask you
Desiring to know the truth.
You don't have to answer right now
Allowing the person to take their time to respond and reflect.
'Cause what I need to know, I already know
Indicating that the artist already knows the truth but seeks confirmation.
Is that you painted the house
Acknowledging the task completed and the details involved.
A nice clean shade of white
Referring to the color of the paint, indicating purity or innocence.
And you just let her go
Accepting that someone has moved on from the relationship.
As long as the neighbors think everything's fine
Trying to maintain the facade of a happy relationship to outsiders.
Honestly it makes perfect sense
Reflecting on the rationale behind the actions.
I must get this from you too
Recognizing a shared trait or habit.
'Cause order is my greatest defence
Orderliness as a means of coping with difficult emotions.
Against the blues
Referring to sadness or depression.
Oh I just paint them white
Preferring to simplify things to avoid complications or conflicts.
Keep every last line straight
Maintaining consistency and uniformity in actions and words.
Keep every angle right
Ensuring that every detail is correct and perfect.
As long as my friends think everything's fine
Maintaining a positive image to the outside world.
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