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.
Simple Life
Mason Jennings Lyrics
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Taking her shirt off over her head
I should be somewhere else but i am right here instead
As this old scene unfurls
In this ever changing world
I ask myself how did i lose my woman for this here girl
Well she lays back like a queen
In some dark medieval dream
And i've got one hand on the switch
Building up a fearsome itch
To turn him off for a little while
And dig myself a six foot ditch
'cause every move she makes
Tempts this here bough to break
I know man lives on love
How much love can one man take
If there's a train coming I can't see it
If there's a lesson here I don't need it
I'm gonna slide right down into my own bad idea
So save it if you will
Stop the doctor, crush the pill
The simple life is overated
I have simply had my fill
The lyrics of Mason Jennings's song Simple Life explore a common human experience: the push-and-pull between our desires and our values, between what we know is good for us and what we can't resist. The singer of the song finds himself in a situation that his conscience tells him he should avoid: a woman on his bed who is not his wife. As she undresses and tempts him, he acknowledges the guilt he feels for betraying his partner, but at the same time, he can't help but give in to the temptation. The language of the song is rich in poetic metaphors that capture the complexity of the situation. The woman on the bed is like a queen in a medieval dream, and love is compared to a tree branch that is about to break. The singer also questions his beliefs about God and wonders if the universe is just one big machine. It is a song of conflicting emotions, of trying to resist but failing, of acknowledging the end of innocence and the impossibility of going back to a simpler life.
Line by Line Meaning
Well she's sitting on the edge of my bed
The singer has a woman sitting on his bed
Taking her shirt off over her head
The woman is removing her shirt from over her head
I should be somewhere else but I am right here instead
The singer should be somewhere else but he is with this woman instead
As this old scene unfurls
The scene is played out and happening again
In this ever-changing world
The world is constantly evolving
I ask myself how did I lose my woman for this here girl
The singer questions why he left his previous partner for this current one
Well, she lays back like a queen in some dark medieval dream
The woman is laying like a queen in a medieval fantasy
All at once, God becomes a big old machine
The artist is taking control of his destiny like a machine
And I've got one hand on the switch
The artist is in control of his fate
Building up a fearsome itch to turn him off for a little while
The artist wants to escape and take a break from his current situation
And dig myself a six-foot ditch
The singer is ready to get away from the situation, no matter the consequences
'Cause every move she makes tempts this here bough to break
The artist is tempted to break away from this relationship
I know a man lives on love
The singer understands that people need love to survive
How much love can one man take?
The singer questions how much love he can handle
If there's a train coming, I can't see it
The singer is not aware of any upcoming danger
If there's a lesson here, I don't need it
The artist will not learn anything from this situation
I'm gonna slide right down into my own bad idea
The artist is willing to go along with his own poor decision-making
So save it if you will
The singer does not want to hear advice from others
Stop the doctor, crush the pill
The singer doesn't want to be fixed or medicated
The simple life is overrated, I have simply had my fill
The artist doesn't believe that living simply is necessarily better and has had enough of his current situation
Contributed by Aaron T. Suggest a correction in the comments below.