Ferron is featured in the documentary on women's music, Radical Harmonies 2002.
Ferron's rough-hewn voicing, chewy phrasing, and poetic songwriting has brought many favorable comparisons, including Kitty Wells, Leonard Cohen, Bob Dylan, and Bruce Springsteen (cf. Stephen Holden 1994). One wit aptly summed up Ferron's legendary status by calling her "the Johnny Cash of lesbian folksinging" (Bett Williams 2000).
She learned to play guitar at age 11, and left home at 15. Ferron attended Total Ed, an alternative high school in Vancouver, graduating in 1973 (Thomas 2002). She made her professional debut in 1974, playing the song "Who Loses" at a benefit for the Women's Press Gang. She subsequently established her own record label, Lucy Records, and released her debut album in 1977. The album, Testimony, was her first professionally produced record, and brought her much interest in the United States, particularly in the women's music community.
Her 1984 album Shadows on a Dime received a four-star review (highest rating) from Rolling Stone magazine. Awarded a Canada Arts Council grant to further develop her musicianship, she took several years off from touring, returning in 1990 with Phantom Center. The album featured backing vocals by a then unheard of Tori Amos, and consequently is highly sought after by collectors. It was re-released with a duet with The Indigo Girls on the first track.
Between 1992 and 1994, Ferron released three albums on her own Cherrywood Station label. Driver was then picked up by Earthbeat! Records, and was highly acclaimed by critics as a masterwork and nominated for a Juno Award in 1995. Warner Bros. Records signed Ferron which gave her great freedom in the studio to produce Still Riot with db Benedictson. She received an Outmusic Award for Lifetime Achievement at the Gay & Lesbian American Music Awards in 1996.
As a benefit for the Institute for Musical Arts (IMA), Ferron released Inside Out (1999), covering well-known tunes from the 1950s-1970s. She published a handmade book, THe (h)UNGeR POeMs, while she was teaching classes at IMA. She gathered some of her earlier, then out-of-print recordings to create Impressionistic (2000), a retrospective double album with a 24-page, autobiographical booklet.
Ferron continues to tour and teach master classes in writing, and in 2004 she returned to the very island where some of her earliest recorded songs were written to create Turning Into Beautiful produced by db Benedictson.
Close To You
Ferron Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Every time you are near
Just like me, they long to be
Close to you
Why do stars fall down from the sky?
Every time you walk by
Just like me, they long to be
On the day that you were born
And the angels got together
And decided to create a dream come true
So they sprinkled moon dust
In your hair of gold
And starlight in your eyes of blue
That is why all the girls in town
Follow you all around
Just like me, they long to be
Close to you
On the day that you were born
And the angels got together
And decided to create a dream come true
So they sprinkled moon dust
In your hair of gold
And starlight in your eyes of blue
That is why all the girls in town
Follow you all around
Just like me, they long to be
Close to you
Just like me, they long to be
Close to you
The lyrics of Ferron's song "Close to You" speaks of a person's deep infatuation and longing for someone they admire. The words suggest that simply being in the same vicinity as the subject of the song creates a magical feeling in the person's heart, much like how birds inexplicably appear whenever the object of their affection is around. The song also speaks of the person's belief that the person they like is special and almost otherworldly. The lyrics mention the idea that when that person was born, the angels came together to create a dream come true, in the form of the person the singer admires.
Line by Line Meaning
Why do birds suddenly appear?
Why do birds appear out of nowhere every time you are nearby?
Every time you are near
Every time you come around
Just like me, they long to be
Close to you
Just like I do, the birds long to be close to you
Why do stars fall down from the sky?
Why do stars fall from the sky whenever you walk by?
Every time you walk by
Every time you pass by
On the day that you were born
And the angels got together
And decided to create a dream come true
The day you were born, the angels came together to create a perfect being
So they sprinkled moon dust
In your hair of gold
And starlight in your eyes of blue
They blessed you with beauty beyond measure
That is why all the girls in town
Follow you all around
That is why all the women in town are drawn to you
Just like me, they long to be
Close to you
Just like I do, they long to be close to you
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: Burt Bacharach, Hal David
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@joshuadg78
My aunt Elizabeth Fields who died in 2005 gave me so many gifts including Ferron. Thank Ferron and Elizabeth.
@shmegamera67
I can't have a fire with you being way over here so this song is to replicate it for the time being.....:)...xo
@mberning1
Ferron is surely sturdy as a boulder in the genre of songwriting AND performance. Bless you for the vision to produce this, and share. I've been a fan since the release of her debut LP.
@tommiji
Stellar! Plus super fine! Ferron is a planetary treasure! Great seeing you both @ the Iron Horse. Please come to Chicago! peace, -tomg
@pauldominic2150
"there's all these little pieces I just can't see... waiting to be found..."
@101brydon
Luv it On my way! Hooked