Her music is frequently labeled alternative country, although Case doesn't describe it in that way. She recorded and toured for several years as Neko Case & Her Boyfriends before switching to her own name. Case primarily writes her own material, but she also performs and has recorded cover versions of songs by artists such as Loretta Lynn, Tom Waits, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Bob Dylan, and Hank Williams. She frequently infuses humorous narratives into her live sets, a habit she says she gained from her grandmother and Wanda Jackson.
She is protective of her artistic independence, combining punk's "do it yourself aesthetic," a strong business sense, and clear opinions about her artistic goals. She has spurned offers from major record labels because they don't offer her enough control of her music, remaining affiliated with Mint Records in Canada and Bloodshot and ANTI- in the U.S.
Though she grew up in the U.S., Case began her musical career in Canada. She lived in Vancouver, British Columbia, for several years, playing with a variety of local punk bands, most prominently cub and Maow, and recording her first country album. She frequently collaborates with Canadian musicians, including The New Pornographers, The Sadies and Carolyn Mark, and has recorded material by several noted Canadian songwriters, notably on her 2001 EP Canadian Amp. As a result, she is a significant figure in Canadian music, and even U.S. media have sometimes referred to Case as Canadian.
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Neko Case and Her Boyfriends Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Oh my darling
How can you forget?
All the love we had between us
Now it's like we'd never met
Oh it kills me
How it kills me
You were golden, I was blind
With your poison in my blood
Bittersweet are the memories
That make young lovers pine
But I'd trade all the memories
Just to have your heart in mine
Everybody's talking to me
But they just can't explain
You disappeared from all the pages, now nothing seems the same
There was a time I thought I knew you, when I looked you in the eye
Now the same eyes look right through me
You're too cool to see me cry
Bittersweet are the memories
That make young lovers pine
But I'd trade all the memories
Just to have your heart in mine
Oh my darling
Oh my darling
How can you forget?
All the love we had between us
Now it's like we'd never met
You were golden, I was blind
Now it's like we'd never met
In Neko Case's song "We've Never Met," the singer expresses her pain and confusion over a lost love. The repeated use of "oh my darling" emphasizes both the deep connection the two once shared and the singer's continued affection for her former partner. Despite this, the singer remarks on how this former love seems to have forgotten everything they once shared, making it seem as though they never met each other at all. The sense of loss and regret is evident in lines like "Bittersweet are the memories that make young lovers pine," highlighting that while the memories of their relationship are sweet, they also bring pain.
The second verse speaks of the singer's confusion in the aftermath of the breakup. They are bombarded by people's attempts to explain the situation, but no explanation can account for how distant their former partner has become. The singer reminisces on a time when they thought they knew their lover intimately, but now they feel unseen and ignored. The final lines of the song, "You were golden, I was blind, now it's like we'd never met," refer back to the beginning of the song, where the singer muses on how their love has become distorted and distant.
Overall, "We've Never Met" is a poignant reflection on the aftermath of love gone awry, with a focus on the feelings of loss and confusion that come with it.
Line by Line Meaning
Oh my darling
Addressing the lover with affection
Oh my darling
Addressing the lover with affection
How can you forget?
Questioning how the lover could forget the love they had
All the love we had between us
Referring to the love that they had shared in the past
Now it's like we'd never met
Expressing how disconnected they are currently despite their past love
Oh it kills me
Emphasizing the emotional pain caused by their disconnection
How it kills me
Emphasizing the emotional pain caused by their disconnection
When I think how I held you up
Recalling how highly they esteemed the lover in the past
You were golden, I was blind
Describing the lover as precious and themselves as ignorant of their eventual disconnection
With your poison in my blood
Metaphorically attributing the lover's influence to be like harmful poison
Bittersweet are the memories
Describing how memories can evoke conflicting emotions of joy and grief
That make young lovers pine
Explaining how memories of past love can make one yearn for lost moments
But I'd trade all the memories
Stating that they would give up their memories to have the lover back
Just to have your heart in mine
Expressing the desire to be close to the lover again
Everybody's talking to me
Noticing that others are conversing with them
But they just can't explain
Describing how others cannot understand their disconnection with the lover
You disappeared from all the pages, now nothing seems the same
Referring to the lover's disappearance from their life and how it altered their world
There was a time I thought I knew you, when I looked you in the eye
Recollecting a time when they believed they knew the lover intimately
Now the same eyes look right through me
Indicating that the lover is indifferent to them
You're too cool to see me cry
Noting that the lover is detached and unaffected by their feelings
You were golden, I was blind
Describing the lover as precious and themselves as ignorant of their eventual disconnection
Now it's like we'd never met
Expressing how disconnected they are currently despite their past love
Oh my darling
Addressing the lover with affection
Oh my darling
Addressing the lover with affection
How can you forget?
Questioning how the lover could forget the love they had
All the love we had between us
Referring to the love that they had shared in the past
Now it's like we'd never met
Expressing how disconnected they are currently despite their past love
You were golden, I was blind
Describing the lover as precious and themselves as ignorant of their eventual disconnection
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Don (Cdn) Kerr, Neko Case, Ron Sexsmith
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@Rockunstank
Want to get it all behind me
You know everything reminds me
I can't be myself without you
Want to crawl down deep inside
The springs inside the mattress
Where I cry my dirty secrets
'Cause I just can't shake this feeling
That I'm nothing in your eyes
And if I knew heartbreak was coming
I would've set out running
Past the city houses
And the ditches along the highway
Weave between the seasons
Under bridges in the valley
'Til the winds out on the prarie
Whipped the tears from my eyes
Want to get it all behind me
You know everything reminds me
I can't be myself without you
Want to crawl down deep inside
The springs inside the mattress
Where I cry my dirty secrets
'Cause I just can't shake this feeling
That I'm nothing in your eyes
But if I knew heartbreak was coming
I would've set out running
Across the muddy river
And the smog stacks on the bank
Swallow that horizon
Hunger beyond hunger
'Til the cloudy blue Pacific
Took the air in my lungs
And if I knew heartbreak was coming
I would've set out running
'Cause I just can't shake this feeling
That I'm nothing in your eyes
Read more: Neko Case - Set Out Running Lyrics | MetroLyrics
@user-fr2vf1yh7i
I am so in love with Neko’s Art.
@katydiehl5093
I've spent my life setting out running...now there's nowhere left to run but I keep running back to this song...
@jmyers95655
I can't fucking get enough of this song. It totally speaks to that feeling of being crushed, devastated by unrequited love that we've all experienced at one time or another.
@Eviluting
This IS my favorite Neko song. Every time I hear it I can just picture a nice warm sunny day driving through the country.
@RaoulDuke504RC
One of my favorite Neko Case songs! I wish she would play it at her live shows again.
@richardgray8763
Permanently on my life soundtrack.
@LaurelleStar
This is one of my favourite Neko Case songs, thanks for posting it.
@nomanmcshmoo8640
Ain't enough whiskey to kill the pain of this gorgeous song but, by God, I am gonna see if I can find that Golden Ratio of booze to heartache that'll kill that agony once and for all.
@smitmon
She has evolved...Great artists do that.
@christopherpesqueira8169
What a heavenly voice!