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.
Nothing
Mason Jennings Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Across the street to get us some water
'cause this water's brown, and i'm so embarrassed
To have you here but i want you around
Usually i'd sing, or play you my guitar
But i know it won't get very far with you
'Cause you like music that makes you move
And mine has a groove, but it's nothing i can prove
When i say, nothing
Things that i buy and things that i think
Haven't made this a better place to be
Drugs that i try and drinks that i drink
Haven't made this a better place to be
It's still just a room with the drums in the middle
A couch along the wall that works as my bed
I still have a phone that rings all day
I still have things i wish i would of said
Please know what i mean
When i say, nothing
When i say
This whole thing's been hard on me
It breaks my heart, do you know what that means
My new place seems strange to me
It breaks my heart, do you know what that means
It means nothing
In Mason Jennings's song "Nothing," the singer is inviting someone over, but feels embarrassed by his living situation because the water is brown. He feels inadequate because he knows his music does not match the person's taste, and that he cannot provide extravagant things. The singer then expresses his disillusionment with material things, and how they do not make his life any better. He talks about his living space, which is just a room with drums in the middle and a couch which doubles as his bed, and how his phone is constantly ringing. Through his very simplistic living conditions, he ultimately communicates that his life means nothing, and he is struggling to find purpose and meaning.
Line by Line Meaning
Make yourself at home, 'cause i'm going out
I'm leaving this place and you can stay here for a while
Across the street to get us some water
I'm going to buy water across the street for us
'cause this water's brown, and i'm so embarrassed
I'm embarrassed that the water I have is brown
To have you here but i want you around
I want you to stay here even though I'm embarrassed
Usually i'd sing, or play you my guitar
I like to make music and share it with people
But i know it won't get very far with you
I don't think you'll appreciate my music
'Cause you like music that makes you move
You prefer music that has a beat you can dance to
And mine has a groove, but it's nothing i can prove
My music has a rhythm to it, but it's not something that can be measured or proven
Please know what I mean
I want you to understand what I'm trying to say
When i say, nothing
I mean that my music and my life don't prove anything
Things that i buy and things that i think
The material possessions and thoughts I have
Haven't made this a better place to be
They haven't improved my quality of life
Drugs that i try and drinks that i drink
The substances I take to cope with my problems
Haven't made this a better place to be
They haven't made my life better
It's still just a room with the drums in the middle
My environment hasn't changed much
A couch along the wall that works as my bed
I sleep on a couch because I don't have a bed
I still have a phone that rings all day
I get a lot of phone calls
I still have things i wish i would of said
I have regrets about things I didn't say
When i say, nothing
Again, I mean that my life has no greater meaning
This whole thing's been hard on me
My life has been difficult lately
It breaks my heart, do you know what that means
It's emotionally painful
My new place seems strange to me
I'm not used to my new surroundings
It breaks my heart, do you know what that means
It's painful to me
It means nothing
My feelings and experiences don't amount to anything meaningful
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: MASON STEWART JENNINGS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind