Case moved around often as a child, spending the largest part of her youth in Tacoma, Washington. She left her parents at age 15 and three years later she started playing drums for several bands around the Northwest's punk rock scene. In 1994, she moved to Vancouver, BC to enter art school, and simultaneously joined the punk group Maow, who released a record on the Mint label. She also played with roots rockers the Weasles, and eventually formed her own backing band, the Boyfriends, which initially featured alumni of the Softies, Zumpano, and Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet.
Case released her solo debut, The Virginian, in 1997, delving wholeheartedly into traditional country via a mix of covers and originals. She went on to perform with Carolyn Mark in the old-timey side project the Corn Sisters, and recorded with the Vancouver indie supergroup the New Pornographers, which she continues to be a member of. In 1998, Case completed her studies and, with her student visa expired, returned to Washington and began work on her second solo album. The lovely, melancholy Furnace Room Lullaby was released on Bloodshot Records in 2000 and won high praise from most critics.
Case subsequently relocated to Chicago, home of a thriving alt-country scene, and released the home-recorded Canadian Amp EP in 2001. Its moody, late-night ambiance carried over to 2002's Blacklisted, a darker yet more eclectic affair; it garnered Case her strongest reviews up to that point, making many year-end critics' polls, and landed her a tour slot opening for Nick Cave. Blacklisted was recorded at Wavelab Studio in Tuscon AZ, where Case had moved to in 2002.
In 2004, Case signed with Anti Records in the United States, and that year she released a live album, The Tigers Have Spoken, recorded during several dates with Canadian surf-country band the Sadies.
Fox Confessor Brings the Flood, hailed by critics as an instant classic and Case's most realized work yet, followed in 2006. Calexico's Joey Burns and John Convertino contributed guitar, cello, bass, and drums to the album.
On March 3, 2009, Case released Middle Cyclone. It was her first album to reach the top ten's on the Billboard charts in the US.
Middle Cyclone was followed by "The worse things get, the harder I fight, the harder I fight, the more I love you" which came out September 4th 2013.
Case now lives on her farm in Vermont.
At Last
Neko Case Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Is a tiny business lake
Don't let the cattails fool you
Down in the bottom where nothing is born
Sleeps a silver dollar with your face thereon
Wish I could trace the frowning compass of your minds
Drop the mercury down the Roman drain and summon mines
Last lion of Albion
They'll use you for centuries to come
They'll steal your patents for the sun
And you'll feel extinction
When you see your face on their money
Laid in the heavens that are already bought
Sleeps a red planet in a galaxy of your lion's thoughts
On the surface of your tender unintended machine
Is there a buckle knuckle kneel on a carpet of lion's tongues
Wish I could stand in the spray of the cliff of your sweet revenge
Ocean of naked serrated marble crushing in
Last lion of Albion
They'll use you for centuries to come
They'll steal your patents for the sun
And you'll feel extinction
Last lion of Albion
They'll use you for centuries to come
Your wounds the main road into London
You'll feel extinction
When you see your face on their money
Last lion of Albion
The last she-wolf to mother Rome
The last virgin to wash ashore
You'll feel extinction
Last lion of Albion
The last of the Mohicans gone
The last cedars of Lebanon
You'll feel extinction
Last lion of Albion
Last tiger of Tasmania
The last she-wolf to suckle Rome
You'll feel extinction
When you see your face
Face on their money
Neko Case's song At Last is a poetic meditation on the human condition and our uncertain place in the world. The lyrics speak to the tension between individuality and community, life and death, and the challenges of finding meaning in a world that can seem arbitrary and inscrutable at times. The first stanza sets the tone for the rest of the song, with Case proclaiming that she has lived both honorable and dangerous lives, but ultimately feels like an animal that cannot fully understand or explain its own existence. She conveys a sense of longing for the familiarity of her own people, while recognizing that her chosen path has led her away from this connection.
The second stanza takes a more existential turn, as Case contemplates her own mortality and the possibility of death at any moment. She expresses a willingness to face this inevitability, however, acknowledging that it may leave her trembling and afraid. The final line of the song is particularly poignant, as Case claims ownership of every bell that tolls for her, suggesting that she is prepared to accept whatever fate may befall her, and at peace with the knowledge that she has lived life on her own terms.
Line by Line Meaning
I can say that I've lived here in honor and danger
Although I have faced both honorable and dangerous situations in this place, I am still only an animal and cannot fully comprehend or articulate the complexity of my experiences here.
But I'm just an animal and cannot explain a life
As an animal, my understanding of and ability to communicate about my own life experiences are limited.
Down this chain of days I wished to stay among my people
Throughout all the days that have passed, I have yearned to stay with my community and those who are like me.
Relation now means nothing, having chosen so defined
However, despite my longing to be with my people, I have made a conscious decision to distance myself from them and the concept of familial relationships holds no value to me anymore.
And if death should smell my breathing
Even if death is approaching me.
As it pass beneath my window
As death passes by outside my window.
Let it lead me trembling, trembling
I will follow death, even if it brings me great fear and trembling.
I own every bell that tolls me
The various bells that chime or ring in my life all belong to me and represent different phases of my existence.
Lyrics ยฉ Peermusic Publishing, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Neko Case, Paul Rigby, Jeff Galegher
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@zachbrown2436
I get the feeling this song has been viewed thousands of times by a handful of us
@Syaerzelk
on repeat today
@lizlemooon
it medicine
@bobmorgan476
Yep!
@uvp5000
I just find that Neko's lyrics, vocals, and melodies slash through my emotional calm and touch feelings that remind me how alive I can feel at times.
@BEASTAGEv2
It's her best strength. A+ lyrics and lyrical creativity, A+ voice, B everything else.
@lumbuckitts
these vocals are SO awesome! Neko is like I say:"wow"!
@lolas6672
So much beauty in 1 minute and 35 seconds.
@t.r.8427
I can say that I've lived here in honor and danger
But I'm just an animal and cannot explain a life
Down this chain of days I wished to stay among my people
Relation now means nothing, having chosen so defined
And if death should smell my breathing
As it pass beneath my window
Let it lead me trembling, trembling
I own every bell that tolls me
@shannieporter2318
God I love this song.