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.
Never Turn Your Back on Mother Earth
Neko Case Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Don't be tempted by her favors
Never turn your back on Mother Earth
Towns are hurled from A to B
By arms that looked so smooth to me
Never turn your back on Mother Earth
Three days and two nights away from my friends
Amen to anything that brings a quick return
To my friends, to my friends
Never turn your back on Mother Earth
Well, I'll admit I was unfaithful
But from now on I'll be more faithful
Never turn your back on Mother
Never turn your back on Mother
Never turn your back on Mother Earth
The lyrics of Neko Case's song "Never Turn Your Back on Mother Earth" contain a poignant warning about the disastrous consequences of ignoring the natural world. The opening lines "When she's on her best behavior, don't be tempted by her favors" suggest that Mother Earth can be both generous and capricious in turn, and that humans should not take her gifts for granted. The next lines, "Towns are hurled from A to B, by arms that looked so smooth to me" may be a metaphor for the destruction wrought by technology and industry. The imagery of something being flung from one place to another suggests violence and a lack of control, while the reference to "smooth" arms suggests that technology may appear sleek and appealing, but has dangerous, unforeseen consequences.
Line by Line Meaning
When she's on her best behavior
Even when nature is behaving nicely, don't get too comfortable
Don't be tempted by her favors
Don't let temporary benefits of nature like good weather or fertility tempt you to harm the environment in the long run
Towns are hurled from A to B
Natural disasters like tornadoes can easily destroy entire towns
By arms that looked so smooth to me
Even though the wind appears light and smooth, it can cause devastating destruction
Three days and two nights away from my friends
Longing for human connection and companionship can make a person forget about their impact on the environment
Amen to anything that brings a quick return
Urgent desire for immediate rewards or benefits can cause someone to overlook the long-term consequences of their actions on the environment
To my friends, to my friends
The desire to be with friends can make someone selfish and forgetful of the environment's wellbeing
Well, I'll admit I was unfaithful
Acknowledging past mistakes of not being environmentally responsible
But from now on I'll be more faithful
Committing to being more responsible towards the environment in the future
Never turn your back on Mother
Always be mindful of how our actions impact the environment
Never turn your back on Mother
We should never ignore the environmental consequences of our actions
Never turn your back on Mother Earth
We should never ignore the environmental consequences of our actions
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC
Written by: RON MAEL
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Miguel Toledo
There's not a single cover of this song that's bad. This song is so, so, so, so amazing.
Darren Eriksen
Yes.
Panaca Summit
Just spent hours digging for covers of this song. Thank you, Neko Case. This is my favorite version of them all. You have wrung tears from tired, old eyes. The vocals and arrangement were magnificent.
Alan Harrison
Wonderful version
Ulrich Henke
Brilliant !!!!
Dan Nájera
Sparks (Ronald and Russell Mael) originally did this. Mary Hopkin, Billy MacKenzie, and Martin Gore from Depeche Mode have all covered it.
Colin Melton
This is a cover? Holy s*** I'm going to look that up
Li Bruno
Sparks forever!!!
Greg Oakes
#HappyEarthDay #MotherEarth #NekoCase