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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Under A Sky
Edie Carey Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
We watched the scary parts through our fingers
It was make believe, it made for the darkest dreams
When you're eight, they're the kind that linger
I ran outside for some comfort
The sun, it was blinding
Nothing bad could ever happen under a sky this blue
It was my senior spring, he was my mother's offering
A man might make things better
We could predict his mood by what the clouds would do
We befriended the weather
I found my mother on the road
Her hands were shaking
Nothing bad could ever happen under a sky this blue
Nothing bad could ever happen under a sky this blue
The view from my bed was gold and red
Full of fall in New York City
Facing south
We watched the clouds turn black,
The clouds turn black,
The clock turn back
Nothing bad could ever happen under a sky this blue
Nothing bad could ever happen under a sky this blue
The start of Edie Carey’s song “Under A Sky” finds the singer in a TV room, watching something scary with someone else. They’re watching the scary parts through their fingers, so it’s clear that they’re not fully comfortable. Despite this, it’s only pretend, isn’t it? They’re only eight years old, so they’ll move on from it soon enough. However, even at that young age, certain things can linger, especially when it feels so real. When the singer runs outside for comfort, they’re struck by how bright the sun is, how blue the sky is. It feels like nothing bad could ever happen under a sky like this, doesn’t it?
The second verse jumps in time to the singer’s senior spring. We don’t know how long ago the previous verse took place, but it’s clear that the singer is older now. She’s talking about a man that her mother offered to her, someone that might make things better. The singer and this man seem to be able to predict his moods based on the weather, and it’s described as befriending the weather. However, soon enough, the singer finds her mother shaking on the road. We don’t know what the cause of this is, but it’s clear that something bad has happened. But still, nothing bad could ever happen under a sky this blue, could it?
The chorus repeats the phrase “nothing bad could ever happen under a sky this blue” twice each time. It’s almost manic in nature, like the singer is trying to convince themselves that the world is still a good place. Even while watching the clouds turn black, as the clock turns back, it’s all okay because nothing bad could ever happen under a sky this blue. It’s a powerful and emotional song, even though it’s relatively simple in structure.
Line by Line Meaning
In the shady cool of our TV room
We sat in the comfortable shade of our living room, enjoying the coolness while watching TV.
We watched the scary parts through our fingers
When the scary parts of the movie came on, we covered our eyes with our fingers and peeked through them.
It was make believe, it made for the darkest dreams
Although it was only pretend, it still managed to create nightmares.
When you're eight, they're the kind that linger
When you're young, those memories stick with you for a long time.
I ran outside for some comfort
Feeling scared, I ran outside to get some fresh air and to feel safer.
The sun, it was blinding
The sun was so bright that it was almost uncomfortable to look at.
Nothing bad could ever happen under a sky this blue
The clear, blue sky gave a feeling of safety and protection against danger.
It was my senior spring, he was my mother's offering
During my senior year of high school, my mother suggested a man who might make me feel better.
A man might make things better
My mother believed that having a man in my life would solve my problems.
We could predict his mood by what the clouds would do
We became so familiar with his moods that we could tell what kind of weather was coming just by looking at the clouds.
We befriended the weather
We relied so much on the weather to know how to act around him that we considered it our friend.
I found my mother on the road
I discovered my mother was experiencing extreme distress while outside.
Her hands were shaking
Her emotions had shocked her so deeply that she was physically shaking.
The view from my bed was gold and red
From my bed, I had a beautiful view of the sunset which gave everything a golden red color.
Full of fall in New York City
New York City was in the midst of the autumn season, making the view even more stunning.
Facing south
My bed faced south, towards where the sun sets.
We watched the clouds turn black,
As we looked out the window, we observed the sky becoming darker.
The clouds turn black,
The once light and fluffy clouds had now turned a dark, ominous color.
The clock turn back
As we watched the time pass, it felt as though it was moving in reverse - taking us back in time to before the dark clouds appeared.
Nothing bad could ever happen under a sky this blue
Once again, the clear, blue sky made us feel safe and protected against any harm.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
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