Lewis and Sennett are former child actors and were introduced to each other by Tara Subkoff, a mutual friend, in 1993. In 2001, original drummer Dave Rock left the band and was replaced by Boesel.
They began their career on Barsuk Records, releasing Take Offs And Landings in 2001. They moved to Omaha-based indie label Saddle Creek for their second album, 2002's The Execution of All Things. But come time for their third release, More Adventurous in 2004, the band left Saddle Creek for Brute/Beaute, a Warner Bros. imprint.
2004 saw a great increase in recognition for the band, as Sennett and Boesel released an album with their band The Elected and Lewis sang backup on Ben Gibbard's (Death Cab For Cutie) indie electronic side project The Postal Service. Lewis toured with The Postal Service before heading out on two tours in support of Rilo Kiley's More Adventurous in the summer and fall of 2004. The album spent late 2004 high on Billboard Magazine's Heatseekers Chart, success only furthered by appearances on the Late Night with Conan O'Brien and Jimmy Kimmel Live. The band opened for Bright Eyes on the international leg of Conor Oberst's tour for 2005's i'm wide awake, it's morning. In Fall 2005, Rilo Kiley were the opening act for the North American dates of Coldplay's Twisted Logic Tour.
Lewis released her first solo album in January of 2006, with Leigh and Chandra Watson as Jenny Lewis with the Watson Twins. The album, entitled Rabbit Fur Coat, was co-produced by Clifford M Ward and Mike Mogis. Furthermore, The Elected released their second album, sun, sun, sun on the same day as Lewis' album.
The 4th Rilo Kiley LP, Under the Blacklight, was released in August 2007. This has a more pop-influenced sound and received mixed reviews.
The band broke up in 2011 after vague statements made by Blake Sennett comparing the band to a "corpse" and referring to disagreements among members.
A Man/Me/Then Jim
Rilo Kiley Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Recently he hung himself with string.
His note said, 'If living is the problem,
Well, that's just baffling.'
And at the wake I waited around
To see my ex first love,
And I barely recognized her,
But I knew exactly what she was thinking of.
We sat quietly in the corner,
Whispering close about loss.
And I remembered why I loved her,
And I asked her why I drove her off.
She said, "The slow fade of love,
Its soft edge might cut you
And our poor friend Jim, well, he just lived within
The slow fade of love."
A woman calls my house once a week,
She's always selling things.
Some charity, a phone plan,
Or subscription to a magazine.
And as I turned her down (I always do),
There was something trembling in her voice.
I said, 'Hey, what troubles you?'
She said, "I'm surprised you noticed.
Well, my husband, he's leaving,
And I can't convince him to stay.
And he'll take our daughter with him,
She wants to go with him anyway.
I'm sorry I'm hard to live with,
Living is the problem for me.
I'm selling people things they don't want,
When I don't know what she needs.
He said, 'The slow fade of love,
And its mist might choke you.
It's my gradual descent into a life I never meant.
It's the slow fade of love."
I was driving south from Melrose.
I happened upon my old lover's old house.
I found myself staring at the closed up door
Like the day she threw me out.
"Diana, Diana. Diana, I would die for you.
I'm in love with you completely,
I'm afraid that's all I can do."
She said, "You can sleep upon my doorstep,
You can promise me indifference, Jim.
But my mind is made up,
And I'll never let you in again.
For the slow fade of love.
It might hit you from below.
It's your gradual descent into a life you never meant.
It's the slow fade of love."
It's the slow fade of love.
It's the slow fade of love.
It's the slow fade of love.
Baby, It's the slow fade of love.
It's the slow fade of love.
It's the slow fade of love.
It's the slow fade of love.
Slow fade of love.
It's the slow fade of love.
The lyrics of Rilo Kiley's "A Man/Me/Then Jim" explore various ways in which love and life can falter gradually. The first verse describes a friend who committed suicide, leaving behind a note that expressed confusion about the problem of living. At his wake, the singer runs into his ex-first love, with whom he shares a moment of connection over their mutual sense of loss. She tells him that their friend Jim "lived within the slow fade of love," which suggests that his gradual decline mirrored the fading of a relationship.
In the second verse, the singer speaks with a woman who calls his house trying to sell him things. She reveals that her husband is leaving her and taking their daughter with him, leaving her feeling adrift and purposeless. She tells him that "living is the problem for me," which echoes their friend's note about the problem of living. She too is caught in a slow fade of love, with her husband gradually pulling away from her.
In the final verse, the singer revisits his old lover's house and declares his love for her despite their past conflicts. She rebuffs him, saying that she will never let him in again because of the slow fade of love. The song ends with a repetition of the phrase "it's the slow fade of love," reinforcing the idea that love and life can slip away gradually over time.
Overall, the lyrics to "A Man/Me/Then Jim" offer a poignant meditation on the inevitability of change and loss, and the way that love can often dissolve slowly rather than in a sudden burst.
Line by Line Meaning
I had one friend in high school,
I had only one friend when I was in high school
Recently he hung himself with string.
He recently committed suicide by hanging himself with a string
His note said, 'If living is the problem,
His suicide note mentioned that living was the problem
Well, that's just baffling.'
It was inexplicable to him that living could be the problem
And at the wake I waited around
I stayed at the funeral to see
To see my ex first love,
To see the woman I used to love
And I barely recognized her,
She had changed so much that I almost didn't recognize her
But I knew exactly what she was thinking of.
I knew exactly what was on her mind
We sat quietly in the corner,
We sat in a corner, speaking softly to each other
Whispering close about loss.
We spoke about our feelings of grief and sadness
And I remembered why I loved her,
I remembered the reasons why I had fallen in love with her
And I asked her why I drove her off.
I asked her why I had caused her to leave me
She said, "The slow fade of love,
She said it was the slow fading of love
Its soft edge might cut you
The softness of the fading love can be as painful as a sharp edge
And our poor friend Jim, well, he just lived within
Our friend Jim was unable to escape
The slow fade of love."
The slow fading of love was the cause of his problems as well
A woman calls my house once a week,
A woman calls my house every week
She's always selling things.
She's always trying to sell me something
Some charity, a phone plan,
Whether it's for charity or phone plans
Or subscription to a magazine.
Or magazine subscriptions
And as I turned her down (I always do),
And as I refused (as I always do)
There was something trembling in her voice.
I could hear the tremble in her voice
I said, 'Hey, what troubles you?'
I asked her what was bothering her
She said, "I'm surprised you noticed.
She was surprised that I noticed
Well, my husband, he's leaving,
She explained that her husband was leaving her
And I can't convince him to stay.
She was unable to change his mind
And he'll take our daughter with him,
He was taking their daughter with him
She wants to go with him anyway.
Their daughter wanted to leave with her father
I'm sorry I'm hard to live with,
She apologized for being difficult to live with
Living is the problem for me.
She found living to be problematic for her
I'm selling people things they don't want,
She was selling things to people that they didn't really need
When I don't know what she needs.
She didn't know what people actually needed
He said, 'The slow fade of love,
Her husband believed it was the slow fading of love
And its mist might choke you.
The mist of the fading love can be suffocating
It's my gradual descent into a life I never meant.
He was gradually descending into a life he never wanted
It's the slow fade of love."
The slow fading of love was the root of their problems as well
I was driving south from Melrose.
I was driving down south from Melrose
I happened upon my old lover's old house.
I came across my old lover's previous house
I found myself staring at the closed up door
I found myself staring at the closed door
Like the day she threw me out.
It was like the day she had kicked me out
"Diana, Diana. Diana, I would die for you.
I called out her name repeatedly and professed my love for her
I'm in love with you completely,
I was completely in love with her
I'm afraid that's all I can do."
But that was all that I could do, express my love through words
She said, "You can sleep upon my doorstep,
She offered me a place to sleep
You can promise me indifference, Jim.
She asked me to pretend to be indifferent
But my mind is made up,
She had made up her mind
And I'll never let you in again.
She would never let me back in
For the slow fade of love.
Once again, the slow fading of love was the root of the problem
It might hit you from below.
The slow fading of love can hit you unexpectedly
It's your gradual descent into a life you never meant.
It's a gradual fall into a life that you didn't intend to have
It's the slow fade of love."
Once again, the slow fading of love was the culprit
It's the slow fade of love.
The slow fading of love is the recurring theme
Baby, It's the slow fade of love.
It's a slow fading of love, my dear
It's the slow fade of love.
The slow fading of love cannot be escaped
It's the slow fade of love.
The slow fading of love is the problem
Slow fade of love.
Love can fade slowly
It's the slow fade of love.
Love can fade slowly, and it's difficult to avoid
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Blake Sennett, Jenny Diane Lewis
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind