Born in Hawaii, Jennings moved with his family to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, at an early age. Jennings learned to play guitar at the age of 13, when he began writing songs. Jennings later dropped out of school and moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota to pursue his musical career.
Jennings produced his self-titled debut album in 1997 on an analog four-track in the basement of a rented home, manning all instruments himself. In October 1998, after bringing drummer Chris Stock and bassist Robert Skoro on board, he began a weekly gig at Minneapolis' 400 Bar as the Mason Jennings Band. Garnering local praise and a wide fan base, Mason began touring nationally.
His 2000 album Birds Flying Away revealed Jennings' political activism and penchant for singing first-person narratives of imaginary rustic characters. Following the release of this album, Noah Levy took over drumming duties from Stock.
2002 saw the release of two albums: the studio piece Century Spring and a "fans only" collection of acoustic rarities, Simple Life. An EP supporting Century Spring was also released, featuring the album's opening track, "Living In The Moment," two live tracks, and the previously-unreleased "Emperor Ashoka." Jennings released all three discs -- and re-released his earlier albums -- on his homebrewed record label, Architect Records.
In 2003, Skoro and Levy left the band (the former to pursue a solo career), and were replaced by bassist Chris Morrissey (formerly of Bill Mike Band) and drummer Brian Mcleod.
On 10 February 2004, Jennings released Use Your Voice, which notably included the songs "Keepin' It Real," a foot-stomper ostensibly written at the request of Shrek 2 producers (but not used in the film), and "The Ballad of Paul and Sheila," an acoustic dirge for late Minnesota senator Paul Wellstone. On the 30th, September of that year, the band released a DVD entitled Use Your Van, which chronicled the recording of Use Your Voice and part of the promotional tour. The DVD was filmed by Andy Grund.
On June 17, 2005, news broke that Jennings had finally signed with a major label: Glacial Pace, a subsidiary of Sony's Epic Records headed by Modest Mouse frontman Isaac Brock. Minnesota's Star Tribune broke the story, and credited Brock with convincing Jennings to sign after the Mason Jennings Band had opened for several Modest Mouse shows in 2004. Jennings had long avoided the major labels, citing desires to maintain creative control and dodge big-label politics.
Jennings recorded his sixth album, "Boneclouds," at Pachyderm Studio in Cannon Falls, MN. The album was released on May 16, 2006 by Glacial Pace.
After considerable success on "Boneclouds", Jennings released his seventh full length album "In the Ever" in 2008. The album was released under Jack Johnson's "Brushfire Records".
In September 2009, Blood of Man was released on CD and vinyl format. In late 2010, Live at First Ave., his first ever live album, was released.
Fireflies
Mason Jennings Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Early morning I could hear the wind in the trees
I was looking for the light to bring you out
From the shadows, redefine you now for only me
And honey, I'm sure that you've been in love before
Plenty of men have held high places in your eyes
And jealousy has got no use for me
I was driving faster through the Appalachians
I could see the world go out below me in the sun
You should know by now that someone's always been there
Long before you, you're never going to be the only one
Honey, I'm sure that you've been in love before
Plenty of men have held high places in your eyes
But jealousy has got no use for me
The past is beautiful like the darkness between the fireflies
Beautiful like the darkness between the fireflies
Honey, I'm sure that you've been in love before
Plenty of men have held high places in your eyes
But jealousy has got no use for me
The past is beautiful like the darkness between the fireflies
Beautiful like the darkness between the fireflies
The lyrics to Mason Jennings's song "Fireflies" describe a moment of introspection in the early morning, where the singer is contemplating his relationship with his partner. The singer wakes up before his partner in the darkness, hearing the wind in the trees, and he longs for the light to bring his partner out of the shadows and redefine her for himself. He acknowledges that his partner has been in love before, and other men have held high places in her eyes, but he doesn't feel jealousy towards her past. Instead, he finds the past beautiful, like the darkness between the fireflies.
With the imagery of the darkness between the fireflies, the singer seems to be suggesting that there is beauty in the spaces between the bright moments of our lives. The darkness between the fireflies is a space where it is harder to see, but where there is still life and beauty. In the same way, the singer suggests that even though his partner has loved before, and perhaps still has love for others in her heart, there is still beauty in their relationship. By finding beauty in the darkness between the fireflies, the singer is celebrating the imperfect moments, the moments in between the bright spots of life.
Overall, "Fireflies" is a song that embraces the imperfections of love and relationships. It suggests that even though our partners may have loved before, and even though we might not be their first choice, there is still beauty to be found in the spaces between the bright moments of our lives.
Line by Line Meaning
I woke up before you in the total darkness
I woke up earlier than you in complete darkness
Early morning I could hear the wind in the trees
I woke up early enough to hear the sound of wind blowing through trees
I was looking for the light to bring you out
I was searching to light up the place where you are
From the shadows, redefine you now for only me
I want to define you as mine after bringing you from the undefined place where you are now
And honey, I'm sure that you've been in love before
Sweetheart, I am confident that you have experienced love before
Plenty of men have held high places in your eyes
You have admired and respected many men before
And jealousy has got no use for me
I don't see any benefits of being jealous
The past is beautiful like the darkness between the fireflies
The past is like the charming and attractive darkness between the glowing fireflies
I was driving faster through the Appalachians
I was driving quickly through the Appalachian mountains
I could see the world go out below me in the sun
As the sun rose, I watched the world disappear below me
You should know by now that someone's always been there
You must realize now that someone has always been present before you
Long before you, you're never going to be the only one
Before you, there were other people in this world, and you will not be the only one thereafter as well
Beautiful like the darkness between the fireflies
Just like the lovely and captivating darkness between the twinkling fireflies
Honey, I'm sure that you've been in love before
Darling, I am confident that you have felt love before
Plenty of men have held high places in your eyes
You have previously held many men in high regard
But jealousy has got no use for me
But feeling jealous will be pointless for me
The past is beautiful like the darkness between the fireflies
The past is enchanting like the obscurity between the flashing fireflies
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Mason Stewart Jennings
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@chloe8605
I woke up before you in the total darkness
Early morning
I could hear the wind in the trees
I was looking for the light to bring you out
From the shadows
Redefine you now for only me
And honey i'm sure
That you've been in love before
Plenty of men have held high places in your eyes
And jealousy has got no use for me
The past is beautiful
Like the darkness between the fireflies
I was driving faster through the appalachians
I could see the world go out below me in the sun
You should know by now
That someone's always been there
Long before you
You're never going to be the only one
And honey i'm sure
That you've been in love before
Plenty of men have held high places in your eyes
But jealousy has got no use for me
The past is beautiful
Like the darkness between the fireflies
Beautiful like the darkness between the fireflies
@triplucid3563
I Love Mason's music + vibe.
Saw him live, and he truly mezmerized the audience/room. + most people I share a listen with end up fans. 😊
@Ada1613
This song is so beautiful! I love Mason Jennings <3
@MsMiguel70
If I'd heard and loved this song at 18, not 32, my love life might have had a lot less stress and drama. But now I get it.
@joshuaobrien7034
First Jennings tune I ever listened to.. was hooked in the first 15 seconds and still am today. Real music!
@dustiestrain
yeah i was obsessed with this song and it was nowhere on youtube so i uploaded it
@SunshineSasha23
my favorite song of all time
@andallis13
Mason Jennings writes such beautiful songs, they're all amazing, listen to them all!!
@meghjoshi
One of the finest tunes made just like his 'Fighter Girl'🎶❤
@AGTinnercircle
What a great song
@MrTocalino
First time I heard this song it sounded kinda of annoying.... but it sticked in my mind and I caught myself singing it ...... kkkkk good song....