Their first release in 1985 was a seven-inch single named "Crazy Game", with the B-side "Everybody's Waiting (for Someone to Come Home)". That same year, the Indigo Girls released a six-track Extended play album named "Indigo Girls", and in 1987 released their first full-length album, Strange Fire, recorded at John Keane Studio in Athens, Georgia, and including "Crazy Game". With this release, they secured the services of Russell Carter, who remains their manager to the present; they had first approached him when the EP album was released, but he told them their songs were "immature" and they were not likely to get a record deal.
They were signed to Epic Records in 1989 and won the Grammy for best contemporary folk album later that year (for their self titled release) Some of their hit songs include "Galileo," "Closer to Fine," and "Shame on You."
Aside from being musicians, Ray and Saliers are activists, constantly supporting causes like gun control, women's rights, Native American rights, environmental protection, the abolition of the death penalty, and as lesbians themselves, LGBT rights. They constantly devote their time and money to such causes, often playing benefit concerts.
Ray and Saliers both have side projects. Ray owns and founded Daemon Records, an independent label based in Decatur. She also has a career as a solo artist, and has released two albums thus far. Saliers is the part owner of Watershed, a restaurant and wine bar in Decatur.
Together, the Indigo Girls are constantly touring. Their new album, Poseidon and the Bitter Bug, was released March 24, 2009.
COME ON HOME
Indigo Girls Lyrics
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Soon the sky will open up and disarm me
You will go just like you've gone before
One sad soldier off to war with enemies that only you can see
Dishes stacked, the table cleared
It's always like the scene of the last supper here
You speak so cryptically that's not news to me
And I've got work to do
Come on home, the team you're hitched to has a mind of its own
But it's just the forces of your past you've fought before
Come back here and shut the door
I'm stacking sandbags against the river of your troubles
There is fire there is lust
Some will trade it all for someone they could trust
There's a bag of silver for a box of nails
It's so simple the betrayal
Though it's known to change the world and what's to come
Just come on home, the team you're hitched to has a mind of its own
But it's just the forces of your past you've fought before
Don't you recognize them anymore
I'm stacking sandbags against the river of your troubles
There's the given and the expected
I count my blessings while I eye what I've neglected
Is this for better, is this for worse?
You're all jammed up and the dam's about to burst.
I hear the owl in the night
I realize that some things never are made right
By some will we string together here
Days to months and months to years
What if everything we have adds up to nothing
Come on home, the team you're hitched to has a mind of its own
But it's just the forces of your past you've fought before
Come back here and shut the door
I'm stacking sandbags against the river of your troubles
The song "Come on Home" by Indigo Girls conveys the angst and sorrow of a person watching their loved one struggle with their own demons. The opening line sets a somber and foreboding tone to the song as it describes the arrival of the figurative 'storm.' The next set of lyrics paints a picture of a household where the 'last supper' has been served, and the dishes have been cleared. It is as if the singer is sure their loved one is about to leave them again, and they are battling with their own emotions trying to prepare for that inevitable heartbreak.
The chorus ‘Come on home’ is the singer begging their loved one to come back and face their battles with their demons together. A repeated emphasis on ‘team’ perhaps alludes to the reality of being together in a relationship; it makes one stronger together, rather than standing alone on rocky ground.
The final verse perhaps refers to the endless quests of humans for betterment, providing deeper meaning to the song's life message. The melancholy song ends with the singer lamenting the fact that some things just can't be set right.
Line by Line Meaning
Dark clouds are coming in like an army
Troubles are looming and gaining strength like an army.
Soon the sky will open up and disarm me
I'll be vulnerable and exposed when the crisis comes.
You will go just like you've gone before
You will leave me like you always have.
One sad soldier off to war with enemies that only you can see
You're fighting a private battle, and it's taking its toll on you.
Dishes stacked, the table cleared
Everything is orderly, but there's a sense of finality to it.
It's always like the scene of the last supper here
This feels like the end of something, like the last supper.
You speak so cryptically that's not news to me
Your enigmatic words are familiar to me; they've always been that way.
The flood is here it will carry you
The crisis is upon us, and it will sweep you away.
And I've got work to do
I'm ready to do battle with the crisis.
Come on home, the team you're hitched to has a mind of its own
You belong with me, not with the forces that are pulling you away.
But it's just the forces of your past you've fought before
You've been here before, and you can fight it again.
Come back here and shut the door
Close out the world and come back to me.
I'm stacking sandbags against the river of your troubles
I'm building a barrier against the forces that are threatening us.
There is fire there is lust
Passion and desire are at the heart of the matter.
Some will trade it all for someone they could trust
People will give up everything for someone they can rely on.
There's a bag of silver for a box of nails
Sometimes things of great value can be traded for something insignificant.
It's so simple the betrayal
Betrayal can be a straightforward affair.
Though it's known to change the world and what's to come
Betrayal can have rippling effects that change everything.
Don't you recognize them anymore
Have you forgotten the forces that have led you down this path before?
There's the given and the expected
There are things that are automatic and things that are anticipated.
I count my blessings while I eye what I've neglected
I'm grateful for what I have, but I'm also aware of what I'm neglecting.
Is this for better, is this for worse?
Is this situation going to improve or get worse?
You're all jammed up and the dam's about to burst.
You're at your breaking point, and things are about to get worse.
I hear the owl in the night
There's an eerie feeling in the air.
I realize that some things never are made right
Some things can never be fixed, no matter how hard you try.
By some will we string together here
We persist and endure through sheer force of will.
Days to months and months to years
Time passes, and we soldier on.
What if everything we have adds up to nothing
What if all of our efforts come to nothing in the end?
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: EMILY ANN SALIERS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind