The two families, the Watkinses and the Thiles, met after Sean Watkins and Chris Thile had mandolin lessons with the same music instructor, John Moore. Sara Watkins studied with Moore's bandmate, Dennis Caplinger. The band name came from a song by Byron Berline, who was Sara Watkins' fiddle instructor.
Nickel Creek's first performance was at That Pizza Place in Carlsbad, California in 1989 with Scott Thile, Chris's father, playing string bass. Sean Watkins was only twelve years old at the time. At the start Chris Thile played guitar and Sean Watkins played mandolin but later they decided to switch instruments. The band played many bluegrass festivals throughout the 1990s, and the band members were home-schooled to accommodate their tour schedule. Nickel Creek's first two albums were Little Cowpoke (1993) and Here to There (1997).
The group received two Grammy nominations: Best Bluegrass Album and Best Country Instrumental for the song "Ode to a Butterfly". The trio was nominated at the CMA Awards for Best Vocal Group and the Horizon Award and were named one of the "Five Music Innovators of the Millennium" by TIME Magazine in May 2000. Nickel Creek's "The Lighthouse's Tale" video was nominated for a CMT "Flameworthy Video Award" for Group/Duo Video of the Year.
In 2002 the band released their fourth album, This Side, produced by Alison Krauss. It was a departure from their previous releases which were purely bluegrass. Although the core influence of bluegrass remained, other genres such as indie rock and folk rock were present in their music included cover songs Spit on a Stranger by Pavement, and Should've Known Better by Carrie Newcomer.
In 2005 the band released their fifth album, Why Should the Fire Die? with more rock and pop influences. The album debuted and peaked at No. 17 on the Billboard 200 and topped the Billboard bluegrass chart.
In late summer 2006, via Billboard and their official website, Nickel Creek announced that at the end of the year they would no longer be recording as a group and their tour, scheduled through 2007, would be their last for an indefinite period of time so band members could expand their musical horizons.
The band had plans to record its final performance at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville in November 2007 but the idea was later "scrapped".
The band released a new album in the spring of 2014. They also played a handful of live shows and festival dates, including a concert at the Ryman Auditorium, the last venue the band played when it played its last show.
Beauty And The Mess
Nickel Creek Lyrics
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If any could come this close, I'd let them see
Get it out again, play 'em one more song
It's all they really want, and who's to say that's wrong
Ain't that what you want them to know?
All they get of you is what they get out of the show
The rest is mine, I guess the beauty and the mess
I pull myself under, and down I go again
It's just a little bit hard letting them in
Looking at the world through illusive eyes
I hide in the spotlight, its a great disguise
Ain't that what you want them to know?
All they, all they get of you is what they get out of the show
The rest is mine, I guess the beauty and the mess
To hide
Behind the melody, the words don't mean a thing
But every tone I play will give whatever I've not said away
Behind the melody, the words don't mean a thing
But every tone I play will give whatever I've not said away
Behind the melody, the words don't mean a thing
But every tone I play will give whatever I've not said away
Hey
Ain't that what you want them to know?
All they, all they get of you, is all they get of you is what they get out of the show
The rest is mine, I guess the beauty and the mess
Ain't that what you want them to know?
All they get of you is what they get out of the show
The rest is mine, I guess the beauty and the mess, the rest, the rest is mine,
I guess the beauty and the mess, the rest, the rest is mine I guess,
I guess the beauty and the mess
To hide
The song "Beauty And The Mess" by Nickel Creek is a reflection on the complexities of performing on stage and allowing oneself to be vulnerable in front of an audience. The lyrics suggest that the performer often feels a tension between wanting to share their true selves with their fans and wanting to maintain some level of privacy and control. The opening lines, "Blue water, blue eyes color me / If any could come this close, I'd let them see," suggest that the singer is open to sharing their true self with others, but only in a controlled environment. The song goes on to explore the idea that the performer's public persona is only a small part of who they really are, and that there is both beauty and messiness in the parts of themselves that they keep hidden.
The chorus of the song repeats the lines "Ain't that what you want them to know? / All they get of you is what they get out of the show / The rest is mine, I guess the beauty and the mess to hide." These lines capture the core tension at the heart of the song: the performer wants to be seen and appreciated by their fans, but they also want to maintain some level of privacy and control. The song ultimately suggests that the beauty and messiness that the performer keeps hidden from the public eye are an essential part of who they are, and that they are ultimately responsible for how much of themselves they choose to share with others.
Overall, "Beauty And The Mess" is a reflection on the complexities of performing and the tension between public persona and private self. It suggests that being a performer involves both sharing oneself with others and maintaining some level of privacy and control, and that the beauty and messiness of one's private self are as important as the image they present to the public.
Line by Line Meaning
Blue water, blue eyes color me
The singer is describing how the blue water and blue eyes around them are affecting their mood and emotions.
If any could come this close, I'd let them see
The singer is saying that they are open to letting others see who they truly are, but only if those people are able to come close enough to truly understand them.
Get it out again, play 'em one more song
The singer wants to perform another song for their audience, believing that this is all their audience really wants from them.
It's all they really want, and who's to say that's wrong
The artist is questioning whether it's wrong to give the audience what they want and if it really matters in the end.
Ain't that what you want them to know?
The artist is asking if the audience really understands them and if they are showing their true selves during their performance.
All they get of you is what they get out of the show
The singer is saying that the audience only sees what they show them during their performance and nothing beyond that.
The rest is mine, I guess the beauty and the mess, To hide
The singer is acknowledging that there are parts of themselves that they keep hidden from their audience, the parts that make up the beauty and the mess of who they really are.
I pull myself under, and down I go again
The artist is struggling with feeling overwhelmed and like they are drowning in their own thoughts and emotions.
It's just a little bit hard letting them in
The artist recognizes that it's difficult for them to open up and let others see the parts of themselves they keep hidden.
Looking at the world through illusive eyes
The artist sees the world around them as if it is constantly changing and difficult to grasp, making it hard to remain grounded and steady.
I hide in the spotlight, its a great disguise
The singer uses their performance and the spotlight as a way to hide their true self from the audience and keep themselves distanced from others.
Behind the melody, the words don't mean a thing
The artist is acknowledging that the words of their songs are not the most important part of their performance and that there is more to it than that.
But every tone I play will give whatever I've not said away
The singer believes that even without the words, their music is still telling a story and revealing parts of themselves they may not have intended to share.
Hey
This is just an interjection and doesn't carry much meaning on its own.
The rest is mine, I guess the beauty and the mess
The singer is reiterating that the parts of themselves they keep hidden from the audience are both beautiful and messy, and that they belong to them alone.
The rest, the rest is mine, I guess the beauty and the mess
The artist is emphasizing that the beauty and mess inside of themselves are truly theirs and that nobody else can take them away.
Lyrics © BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC
Written by: CHRIS THILE, LUKE BULLA
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind