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.
The Magician
Mason Jennings Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The moon was the spotlight, I sat in the first row
There wasn't time for tears, one minute she was here
And I watched my darling, the magician disappear
I went through the hallways looking for a backstage door
There was no applause, no hope for an encore
And everything is so unclear, one minute she was here
I opened the closet where all of her clothes had been
It was empty, the hangers were still swinging
And she wasn't behind the mirror, one minute she was here
And I watched my darling, the magician disappear
The last thing I heard was 'Abracadabra'
Last thing I heard was 'Abracadabra'
It kept a-ringin' in my ears, one minute she was here
And I watched my darling, the magician disappear
Yeah, I watched my darling, the magician disappear
"The Magician" by Mason Jennings is a hauntingly beautiful song that speaks of a sudden loss that leaves devastation in its wake. The lyrics reveal the raw emotion of a man who feels like he was part of a magic show where his lover, his magician, disappears suddenly. The opening lines set the stage for the mystical and surreal atmosphere that the song creates. The imagery of the moon as the spotlight and the singer sitting in the front row implies that he had no idea what was about to happen. The sudden loss becomes evident in the line, "There wasn't time for tears, one minute she was here, and I watched my darling, the magician disappear." The loss is so unexpected that the singer is left bewildered and unsure of what just happened.
The second verse intensifies this feeling with the singer frantically looking for a backstage door or any way to get back to the world where he once had his love. The lack of applause or encore signifies that there is no going back to the way things were before. The image of the empty closet where all of her clothes had been and the swinging hangers show the emptiness that the singer now feels. The last line of the verse, "And I watched my darling, the magician disappear," shows that the loss is too much to bear and that he is struggling to come to terms with what just happened. The chorus of the song, "Last thing I heard was 'Abracadabra'/It kept a-ringin' in my ears, one minute she was here/And I watched my darling, the magician disappear," emphasizes the suddenness and the finality of the loss. The repetition of "one minute she was here" and "I watched my darling, the magician disappear" drives home the fact that the singer is haunted by the loss and cannot move on from it.
Line by Line Meaning
Without warning my house became a magic show
Suddenly, my life was filled with tricks and illusions.
The moon was the spotlight, I sat in the first row
I was alone, center stage, with nothing but the moon to shine light on my sorrow.
There wasn't time for tears, one minute she was here
I didn't have time to adjust to the shock, she vanished too quickly.
And I watched my darling, the magician disappear
She left me without giving me a reason or explanation.
I went through the hallways looking for a backstage door
I frantically searched for answers or a way to undo the magic.
There was no applause, no hope for an encore
There was no chance to make it right or fix the problem.
And everything is so unclear, one minute she was here
Everything is a blur, I don't understand how or why this happened.
I watched my darling, the magician disappear
She had the power to make things appear and disappear at will, and she chose to vanish from my life.
I opened the closet where all of her clothes had been
I searched for any remnants or clues she may have left behind.
It was empty, the hangers were still swinging
She left nothing behind, not even her clothes or memories.
And she wasn't behind the mirror, one minute she was here
She vanished completely and left no evidence of her presence.
The last thing I heard was 'Abracadabra'
The final words spoken before she disappeared were ones typically associated with magic tricks.
Last thing I heard was 'Abracadabra'
The phrase repeated in my mind, echoing her departure and the illusions of our relationship.
It kept a-ringin' in my ears, one minute she was here
The sound of her words and departure lingered, haunting me even after she was gone.
I watched my darling, the magician disappear
She was the magician who controlled the illusion of our love, and now she's gone and left me alone with the trickery she created.
Contributed by Aaron T. Suggest a correction in the comments below.