The members were all siblings of the Dedrick family: Chris Dedrick (who wrote most of the songs), sister Sandy Dedrick and brother Bruce Dedrick were the original lineup. Younger sister Ellen Dedrick joined the group later, as did cousin Jeff Dedrick for a brief time, and youngest sister Stefanie joined near the end of their initial career. Their father, Art Dedrick, was a trombonist and music arranger. Their uncle, Rusty Dedrick, was a jazz trumpeter with Claude Thornhill and Red Norvo. They formed the band while living in New York City. Chris has said the group was influenced by vocal groups like The Hi-Los (who performed in Greenwich Village frequently at the time) along with Peter, Paul and Mary and the counterpoint experiments of Benjamin Britten. Their trademark sound involved complex harmonies, jazz-like chord progressions, and off-beat time signatures; all products of Chris's classical training.
The band released six albums from 1967 to 1972, all on Enoch Light's Project 3 label. For the most part, they were accompanied on the albums by studio musicians.
Revival of interest
During their career, The Free Design never gained the commercial success they, and a small fan-base, felt they deserved; a plight they noted in their 1969 song "2002 - A Hit Song", in which they describe how to create a hit, then continue, "there's just one fact that we can't quite shirk/ we did all this last time, but it did not work." They remained in obscurity after disbanding in 1972. Starting in the mid-90's, however, interest in them began to grow as part of a general resurge of interest in easy listening music from the 60's and 70's. In 1994, Japanese musician Cornelius began the revival by re-issuing the Free Design catalog on his "Trattoria" label. In 1997, the band Tomorrow's World covered their song "Kites Are Fun", and in 1998, the Spanish "Siesta" label put out four compilation albums of their music. Stereolab, whose lounge-inspired music clearly showed a Free Design influence, named a 1999 single "The Free Design" (though the song itself had no direct connection to the band). The Free Design song "Bubbles" was covered by Dressy Bessy on the 2000 Powerpuff Girls soundtrack.
Perhaps inspired by this newfound interest, in 2000 the band re-grouped, after a nearly 30-year retirement, to record the song "Endless Harmony" on the Beach Boys tribute album Caroline Now. This experience convinced them to record a new full-length album, 2001's Cosmic Peekaboo, which featured the original lineup minus Ellen Dedrick.
In 2001 the label Cherry Red released a Best of Free Design compilation. Their song "I Found Love" was included on the 2002 Gilmore Girls soundtrack. Another song, 'Love You' featured over the end credits to the Emma Thompson and Will Ferrell film, 'Stranger Than Fiction' in 2006. From 2002 to 2005, the original albums were reissued in the United States by the Light in the Attic label. In 2005, the label put out The Now Sound Redesigned, an album of Free Design remixes from established acts like Stereolab, Super Furry Animals and Peanut Butter Wolf.
The recognizable sound of this influential band can be felt in modern-day acts such as Stereolab, Cornelius, The Pizzicato Five, Beck, The High Llamas, and many others.
Chris Dedrick is now an established film composer, most notably for his Genie-awarded soundtrack for Guy Maddin's "The Saddest Music In The World."
Light My Fire
The Free Design Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You know that I would be a liar
If I was to say to you
Girl, we couldn't get much higher
Come on baby, light my fire
Come on baby, light my fire
Try to set the night on fire
No time to wallow in the mire
Try now we can only lose
And our love become a funeral pyre
Come on baby, light my fire
Come on baby, light my fire
Try to set the night on fire, yeah
The time to hesitate is through
No time to wallow in the mire
Try now we can only lose
And our love become a funeral pyre
Come on baby, light my fire
Come on baby, light my fire
Try to set the night on fire, yeah
You know that it would be untrue
You know that I would be a liar
If I was to say to you
Girl, we couldn't get much higher
Come on baby, light my fire
Come on baby, light my fire
Try to set the night on fire
Try to set the night on fire
Try to set the night on fire
Try to set the night on fire
The lyrics to The Free Design's song Light My Fire are a call to action, a plea for the object of the singer's affection to ignite the passion between them. The repeated refrain "Come on baby, light my fire" is a declaration of the singer's desire, while the verses acknowledge the potential consequences of pursuing that desire. The line "You know that it would be untrue/ You know that I would be a liar" is a nod to the fact that the singer's desire may not be entirely pure or without risk, but they are willing to take that risk nonetheless.
The song can be interpreted as a metaphor for the struggle to find meaning and purpose in life. The repeated refrain could represent the search for something that truly excites and engages us, while the cautionary verses acknowledge the risks and consequences of pursuing that passion. The line "And our love become a funeral pyre" suggests that the pursuit of passion can be dangerous or self-destructive, but the singer is willing to take that risk in order to feel truly alive.
Overall, the lyrics to Light My Fire are a powerful statement about the human desire for passion and excitement, and the risks we are willing to take to find it.
Line by Line Meaning
You know that it would be untrue
I am aware that what I am about to say may not be completely true
You know that I would be a liar
I acknowledge that I may be lying or stretching the truth
If I was to say to you
If I were to express a particular sentiment to you
Girl, we couldn't get much higher
I believe that we have the potential to reach new heights together
Come on baby, light my fire
I am urging you to incite passion or excitement within me
Come on baby, light my fire
I am once again urging you to incite passion or excitement within me
Try to set the night on fire
I want to ignite a passionate flame between us and create lasting memories
The time to hesitate is through
There is no longer any reason to delay or second-guess ourselves
No time to wallow in the mire
We should not dwell on past struggles or hardships
Try now we can only lose
Although there is a risk of being hurt, we should try anyway
And our love become a funeral pyre
If we do not try to maintain our relationship, it may turn into a bleak and sorrowful state
Come on baby, light my fire
I am continuing to urge you to ignite passion or excitement within me
Come on baby, light my fire
I am once again urging you to incite passion or excitement within me
Try to set the night on fire, yeah
I want us to spark something special that will burn brightly and passionately
You know that it would be untrue
I am aware that what I am about to say may not be completely true
You know that I would be a liar
I acknowledge that I may be lying or stretching the truth
If I was to say to you
If I were to express a particular sentiment to you
Girl, we couldn't get much higher
Once again, I believe that we have the potential to reach new heights together
Come on baby, light my fire
I am urging you to incite passion or excitement within me
Come on baby, light my fire
I am once again urging you to incite passion or excitement within me
Try to set the night on fire
I want to ignite a passionate flame between us and create lasting memories
Try to set the night on fire
I am repeating my desire to ignite a passionate flame between us
Try to set the night on fire
I am still urging us to ignite a passionate flame between us
Lyrics © Wixen Music Publishing
Written by: John Densmore, Jim Morrison, Robby Krieger, Ray Manzarek
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind