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
Nevers
The Fiery Furnaces Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
No nevers,
Never wasn't was what it weren't
When it wasn't once. Knew Nevers,
Knew Nevers.
Nothing never I'll ever learnt.
Sorta vaguely...
Vaguely!: yes I seem to recall.
Though it's unclear, clearly: Vaguely.
Very vaguely
Can't say it's been there once and for all.
I put back on my overshoes
And got in my Renault
The trips reset so I'm unsure
How far it is to go
But then it hits me (slap):
I've left it off my map.
There's a city I saw signed Something.
Must be something,
Something never quite so defined.
So much so how somewhere something
(though some sing)
So to speak's the uncertain kind.
In an index looked up Where-it-Was.
Exactly where it was,
Just in fact to make sure I can't
Set a course straight through to Where-It-Ain't.
And Where-It-Ain't:
Ain't gotten to except at a slant.
I put on my new black boots
And pack up my citroen.
And out of town it huffs and puffs
I set off there alone.
And then it hits me (slap):
I've left it off my map
There's a place I passed called Once-Upon-a-Time,
Tiny Once-Upon-a-Time.
Never wasn't weren't what it was.
Set the clock back twice or once upon a time,
In Once-Upon-a-Time,
Never knew when it wasn't there because.
The Fiery Furnaces' song "Nevers" is a playful and whimsical exploration of places that may or may not exist. The song begins with a town called Nevers, which seems to exist in a state of paradox - it's both never and not never. The singer claims to "know" Nevers but admits to having never learned anything about it. This creates a sense of uncertainty and doubt - if Nevers wasn't what it wasn't, what was it?
The next location mentioned is a village called Vaguely, which is similarly ambiguous. The singer recalls having visited Vaguely but describes it as "unclear, clearly." This suggests that the memory of Vaguely is hazy and incomplete. The singer then puts on their overshoes and gets in their Renault to travel to an unknown destination. They realize that they've left the location they're looking for off their map, adding to the sense of confusion and disorientation.
The song continues in this vein, with the singer describing a city called Something that is never quite defined and a place called Once-Upon-a-Time that exists in a state of timeless nostalgia. The overall effect is one of playful confusion - the song seems to be poking fun at the human tendency to create stories and myths about places that may or may not exist. It's a reminder that our maps and atlases can only tell us so much, and that there will always be places that are undefined and uncertain.
Line by Line Meaning
There's a town I know called Nevers.
I know of a place named Nevers.
No nevers,
It's not true that never wasn't was what it weren't.
Never wasn't was what it weren't
When it wasn't once. Knew Nevers,
Knew Nevers.
Nothing never I'll ever learnt.
Nevers was always what it was and I have never learned anything about it.
There's a village I visit, that's Vaguely.
There's a village that I visit that's vaguely familiar.
Sorta vaguely...
I only remember it somewhat vaguely.
Vaguely!: yes I seem to recall.
I can recall it vaguely.
Though it's unclear, clearly: Vaguely.
It's unclear, but it's clear that I remember it vaguely.
Very vaguely
Can't say it's been there once and for all.
I don't know if I've ever actually been there.
I put back on my overshoes
And got in my Renault
The trips reset so I'm unsure
How far it is to go
But then it hits me (slap):
I've left it off my map.
I put on my shoes and got into my car, but the trip reset so now I'm not sure how far it is. I then realize I forgot to put it on my map.
There's a city I saw signed Something.
I saw a city that had a sign that said Something.
Must be something,
Something never quite so defined.
It must be something, but I'm not quite sure what it is.
So much so how somewhere something
(though some sing)
So to speak's the uncertain kind.
It's so uncertain that some people sing about it when referring to an unknown place or thing.
In an index looked up Where-it-Was.
I looked up Where-it-Was in an index.
Exactly where it was,
Just in fact to make sure I can't
Set a course straight through to Where-It-Ain't.
And Where-It-Ain't:
Ain't gotten to except at a slant.
I found exactly where it was so that I can't accidentally go to Where-It-Ain't. Where-It-Ain't is something I haven't explored extensively.
I put on my new black boots
And pack up my citroen.
And out of town it huffs and puffs
I set off there alone.
And then it hits me (slap):
I've left it off my map
I put on my new boots and packed up my car to head out there alone. I then realize I forgot to include it on my map.
There's a place I passed called Once-Upon-a-Time,
Tiny Once-Upon-a-Time.
Never wasn't weren't what it was.
I came across a small place called Once-Upon-a-Time where things were never something they weren't supposed to be.
Set the clock back twice or once upon a time,
In Once-Upon-a-Time,
Never knew when it wasn't there because.
During a certain time period in Once-Upon-a-Time, things were never out of place but I'm not sure when that was.
Contributed by James A. Suggest a correction in the comments below.