The Fiery Furnaces are an inventive and often challenging art pop group fro… Read Full Bio ↴The Fiery Furnaces are an inventive and often challenging art pop group from Brooklyn, New York. Originally from Oak Park, Illinois -- a suburb of Chicago -- they consist of the brother and sister team of Matthew Friedberger and Eleanor Friedberger, and are currently joined by Jason Loewenstein (Sebadoh), Bob D'Amico and Michael Goodman when playing live on tour.

The Fiery Furnaces signed with the Rough Trade Records music label in 2002, and recorded their debut album in the same year.

Gallowsbird's Bark, released in the autumn of 2003, garnered critical praise for its clever wordplay and original songwriting.

Anybody who thought they had the band pinned at that point was quickly proven wrong with the 2004 release Blueberry Boat, a rock-operatic album whose track lengths were often six minutes long or longer.
While some critics adored the album for its vast complexity, others found it all a little too overwhelming.

After releasing EP in 2005 (considered a full-length album because of its 41 minute play time, but is "officially" an EP) the band then released two further albums - Rehearsing My Choir (2005), a radio-dramaesque concept album about the Friedbergers' Greek grandmother; and Bitter Tea (2006), which is a comparably more conventional album built on still-bent song structures, but with more pop-oriented stylings.

In October 2007 the band released their fifth full-length album, Widow City.

Trivia

- Their name is both a reference to the film "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968)" and to the book of Daniel in the Bible.
- Matthew Friedberger has also released two solo albums simultaneously.
- Eleanor Friedberger is rumoured to be in a relationship with Alex Kapranos of Franz Ferdinand, because the song "Eleanor Put Your Boots On" from their second album is about her.
- Due to the garage blues elements of the band’s sound and the fact that the band members are siblings, The Fiery Furnaces was often compared by the press to The White Stripes (The White Stripes sometimes promote themselves as siblings, though they are not).

Official Website: www.thefieryfurnaces.com

Evergreen
The Fiery Furnaces Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I was wielding my axe drunk whisky at the bar every night coming home
Out of the windshield of my car
I would look through the boughs and think I saw my lucky star.
I was spreading my sheets took dinner all alone every night of the week
Awaiting by the phone
And I'd dab off my tears with my favorite pine cone.

Needle prick my spruce root

Dear little hemlock shoot
Make me stay sharp and keen, evergreen.

I would tend to my bees sell honey on the road every fall
In the wet watching lorries take their load
And I'd get all my winnings ask for special sap in code
In August for three weeks I'm back in the village
Where I clip all sorts of brambles and thorns from up the hill I pip
In a little clay cup the stuff I cross myself and sip.

Needle prick my spruce root
Dear little hemlock shoot
Make me stay sharp and keen, evergreen.
I was casting my line angling way the day.

The stream was swift, it was clear, out the light was getting gray.
I bent down by the thistle and thought of what it was I'd say.
Needle prick my spruce root

Dear little hemlock shoot
Make me stay sharp and keen, evergreen.

Overall Meaning

The Fiery Furnaces's song "Evergreen" is a reflective, melancholy track that explores themes of regret, loneliness, and the desire for immortality. The first verse introduces the singer, who spends his nights at the bar, drinking whiskey and staring out at the stars through the branches of the trees. He is alone, perpetually waiting for someone to call, wiping away his tears with a pine cone. The imagery is poignant and visceral, painting a picture of a man who is lost and searching for something to cling to.

The chorus features a repeated plea to the evergreens - "Needle prick my spruce root / Dear little hemlock shoot / Make me stay sharp and keen, evergreen" - a desperate cry for the immortality that nature can provide. The verses that follow describe the singer's other pursuits - tending to bees, selling honey, fishing - but they all lead back to the same desire for eternal life. He asks for a special sap from his winnings, and drinks a concoction made from clay cups and thorns. The song ends with him by the river, thinking of what he would say if given the chance at permanence.

Line by Line Meaning

I was wielding my axe drunk whisky at the bar every night coming home
I used to drink heavily and play my guitar at the bar every night and then come home.

Out of the windshield of my car
While driving, I would gaze out of the car's windshield.

I would look through the boughs and think I saw my lucky star.
I would look at the branches of trees and believed my good fortune lies in it.

I was spreading my sheets took dinner all alone every night of the week
I would lay my bed and have dinner all alone every night throughout the week.

Awaiting by the phone
Waiting for a call from someone special.

And I'd dab off my tears with my favorite pine cone.
When shedding tears, I often used my favorite pine cone to soak them up.

Needle prick my spruce root
I'm requesting for my spruce roots to be pierced with needles.

Dear little hemlock shoot
I'm referring to a baby hemlock plant as dear.

Make me stay sharp and keen, evergreen.
I want to stay fresh and alert always.

I would tend to my bees sell honey on the road every fall
Every autumn, I would take care of my bees and sell honey on the way.

In the wet watching lorries take their load
I would observe lorries loading in the rain.

And I'd get all my winnings ask for special sap in code
I had a secret way of asking for a particular type of sap when I win.

In August for three weeks I'm back in the village
In the month of August, I spend three weeks in the village.

Where I clip all sorts of brambles and thorns from up the hill I pip
I cut off all kinds of thorny plants from the top of the hill where I pipe.

In a little clay cup the stuff I cross myself and sip.
I drink a substance that I pray over in a small clay cup.

I was casting my line angling way the day.
I spent the day fishing and casting my line.

The stream was swift, it was clear, out the light was getting gray.
The stream was fast-moving, bright and clear, but the daylight was almost over at dusk.

I bent down by the thistle and thought of what it was I'd say.
I crouched by a thistle plant and pondered what I was going to say next.

Needle prick my spruce root
I plead that needles should prick my spruce root.

Dear little hemlock shoot
I spoke fondly of a small hemlock plant.

Make me stay sharp and keen, evergreen.
I pray to remain sharp and alert all the time, lively and evergreen.

Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: JOE TANNER

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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