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.
Dirty Knife
Neko Case Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The madness came
With its whiskered wolven ether pangs
He locked the door
And shut the blinds
He laid down on the floor
And he slept like iron
While the dirty knife
The blood runs crazy
The blood runs crazy
Cascading letters pool on the stairs
The grass is high
The cats are wild
You can?t even touch the tip of their tails
And the blood runs crazy
With giant strides
He sang nursery rhymes
To paralyze
The wolves that eddy out the corner of his eyes
But they squared him frozen where he stood
In the glow of the furniture
Piled high for firewood
And the blood runs crazy
With giant strides
And the woodsman failed to breech those
Fangs in time
So they dragged him through the underbrush
Wearing three winter coats
And a dirty knife
Neko Case's song Dirty Knife tells the story of a man who was suddenly hit with a form of madness represented by "whiskered wolven ether pangs." The man attempted to cope with this madness by isolating himself from the outside world - locking his door and shutting the blinds. Despite his efforts to protect himself, the madness eventually took over and he fell to the ground, where a dirty knife was able to work its way deep into his spine. The scene is graphic, with "cascading letters pool[ing] on the stairs" and "the blood [running] crazy."
The mood throughout the song is eerie and dark. The imagery of the "grass... high" and "cats... wild" creates a sense of loneliness and isolation. The idea of "singing nursery rhymes" in order to "paralyze the wolves" highlights the man's desperation and fear. Ultimately, he is unable to escape his fate and is left to be "dragged... through the underbrush" with "a dirty knife."
One interesting interpretation of this song is that the "madness" could be a metaphor for mental illness or addiction. The man's attempts to isolate himself and protect himself from the outside world could represent the struggle to cope with mental health issues or drug addiction. The use of the word "wolves" could represent the dark thoughts or urges that haunt those struggling with mental health.
Line by Line Meaning
So suddenly
This event happened unexpectedly and abruptly
The madness came
The character is suffering from a mental breakdown or episode
With its whiskered wolven ether pangs
The pain is intense and feels like it's being inflicted by a wild animal, causing the character to feel disconnected from reality
He locked the door
The character is trying to protect himself from outsiders, possibly due to paranoia or fear
And shut the blinds
The character is trying to block out the outside world and any potential threats
He laid down on the floor
The character is exhausted, physically and mentally
And he slept like iron
The character falls into a deep and heavy sleep, unaware of any surroundings
While the dirty knife
The knife is a symbol of danger and harm
Worked deep into his spine
The character has been stabbed in the back, causing physical pain and vulnerability
The blood runs crazy
There is a lot of blood and it's messy, representing the chaos and madness of the situation
Cascading letters pool on the stairs
The scene is described in a very poetic and literary way, as if the words themselves are coming alive and spilling over
The grass is high
The character is in a rural or natural setting
The cats are wild
The animals are unpredictable and uncontrollable, possibly adding to the character's sense of danger and unease
You can?t even touch the tip of their tails
The animals are completely unapproachable or untamable, as if the character is completely isolated and alone
And the blood runs crazy
The situation is getting progressively worse and more chaotic
With giant strides
The chaos is becoming more pronounced and overpowering
He sang nursery rhymes
The character is trying to comfort himself or distract himself from the situation
To paralyze
The character hopes to subdue or immobilize the wolves with his song
The wolves that eddy out the corner of his eyes
The wolves are a metaphor for the character's fears and anxieties, as if they are lurking just at the edge of his consciousness
But they squared him frozen where he stood
The character's coping mechanisms fail to work and he becomes completely paralyzed with fear
In the glow of the furniture
The scene is lit by the light of the fire or other household items, making the situation more surreal and unsettling
Piled high for firewood
The character has been collecting items to burn, possibly as a means of survival or self-protection
And the woodsman failed to breech those
The character has failed to fight off his attackers or overcome his fear
Fangs in time
The danger arrived too quickly or the character was too slow to avoid it
So they dragged him through the underbrush
The character is being literally dragged through nature, helpless and vulnerable
Wearing three winter coats
The character is wearing excessive layers of clothing, possibly as a means of self-protection or to signify the severity of the situation
And a dirty knife
The weapon is still present and dangerous, showing that the character is still in peril
Lyrics © Peermusic Publishing, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Neko Case, Paul Rigby
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Kirk Weeks
Her words paint a thousand pictures
SeFous
One of the best albums ever.
TheRebelLion96
Hauntingly beautiful. :)
Chuck Abbate
In a class of Gothic all by herself.
Elisa Adams
It's like an adventure through a forest
Rochelle Hurdle - Jolly
Goddess!
sanfransardine
Commercial pop, always obsessed with Ukrainian relatives going slowly mad from mercury poisoning
Matthew Wolberg
I did not expect that level of accuracy on a Thursday evening