The first incarnation of what would later become the Nields came together in 1987 in McLean, Virginia, when Nerissa Nields met David Jones, a theater student, and the two of them started a band with Nerissa's sister Katryna. David changed his last name to Nields after marrying Nerissa.
1994 proved to be a watershed year for the Nields, with the band changing from a three-piece folk group to a five-piece rock band. The new members of the band were Dave Chalfant (bass), who Katryna had met in college, and Dave Hower (drums), a friend of Dave Chalfant's. Dave Chalfant also produced the band's album released that year, Bob on the Ceiling, which was named for a friend of Katryna's. This album featured a mix of the acoustic material that the Nields had previously specialized in and a more rock-oriented sound that would become their trademark. With their new sound, the Nields received critical acclaim, and quit their day jobs to become full-time musicians.
Their 1995 EP Abigail, named for Katryna and Nerissa's sister, would be the last self-released Nields album. In 1996, they released Gotta Get Over Greta on the independent Razor & Tie record label. The album was re-released in 1997 with three bonus tracks on Guardian, a division of Elektra Records. The group felt that with a major-label deal, they were on the brink of superstardom: they had a considerable grassroots following, and a mailing list that had tens of thousands of names and was growing continuously.
Unfortunately, the group suffered a number of setbacks the next year. Guardian folded, leaving them without a record label, and their tour van (nicknamed Moby) was growing increasingly unreliable. While they needed a new van urgently, their financial situation made it impossible for them to afford one. To raise money for the van, they self-released an album called Mousse (the nickname for Dave Chalfant's sister Andromache) and held a special 'Jam for the Van' concert where they debuted that album. As a result of that concert, the Nields were able to purchase a new van, which they nicknamed Nessie. They were also able to secure a new label, Zoë, a division of Rounder Records. All Nields records released since, except one, have been released on that label. Over the next three years, the Nields released two more records (Play and If You Lived Here You'd Be Home Now), and in 1999 Katryna Nields and Dave Chalfant got married, becoming the second married couple in the band after Nerissa and David Nields.
Although the band enjoyed a moderate degree of success, they remained in the red fiscally due to the high expenses they incurred (salaries for the band members, salaries for their manager, maintaining their van, lodging, etc.). Furthermore, the group was getting older, and people wanted to settle down and start families. The limits of what could been done in a 3-minute pop song also rankled some, who wanted to explore deeper themes. The combination of these factors led to the band's breakup in 2001. Their 2001 album, released that same year, was a two-disc album titled Live From Northampton. Like their 1993 album, it was recorded at the Iron Horse Music Hall, and was self-released by the band. The band ceased in 2001.
During the mid-2000s, the band occasionally performed shows, and, from 2006, went on the release a series of albums.
Check It Out
The Nields Lyrics
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But it made me so sleepy, and now I'm in a dream
A voice says, "Go down to the river between the bridge and the ravine
And don't come out of the water till your light shines clean"
Chorus
Check it out, check it out, check it out
Check it out, check it out, check it out
Check it out
I put my head underwater, it's like my childhood room
But the water won't clean me, it smells like women's perfume
How can I wash my sins away with the water from this poisoned stream?
And how can I get my light to shine when I don't know if I can be redeemed?
Chorus
I saw the Rocky Mountains on a dirty TV screen
But when I tried to polish it, I found that it was clean
Sometimes I want to buy Bob's old VW bug, drive back to 1969
But then who'd be around to polish it when I finally get my light to shine?
Chorus
The Nields’s song “Check It Out” is about the struggle to find inner beauty in a world that is too often superficial. In the first verse, the singer has tried to find beauty in magazines, but instead, she finds herself drifting off to sleep, lost in a dream. In the second verse, she is instructed by a voice to go to the river between the bridge and the ravine and not to come out until her light shines clean. She puts her head underwater, but the water doesn't wash her sins away, and she can’t find the redemption she seeks.
The chorus repeats the phrase “check it out” as if trying to emphasize a point that is difficult to grasp. In the final verse, the singer sees the Rocky Mountains on a dirty TV screen, but when she tries to clean it, she realizes that it was already clean. She wants to escape to a simpler time when she could be driving Bob's old VW bug back in 1969, but she wonders who would be around to polish it when she finally gets her light to shine. The song speaks to the desire for inner beauty in a world that is more concerned with surface appearances.
Line by Line Meaning
want to be beautiful, so I got a magazine
I desired to attain beauty and believed it was achievable through a magazine
But it made me so sleepy, and now I'm in a dream
The magazine was boring and now I am in a state of trance
A voice says, "Go down to the river between the bridge and the ravine
I heard a voice that instructed me to go to a particular location by the river
And don't come out of the water till your light shines clean"
I was advised not to leave the water till my soul became pure
Chorus
The chorus is a repetition of the phrase 'check it out'
I put my head underwater, it's like my childhood room
When I dipped my head in the water, it reminded me of my childhood bedroom
But the water won't clean me, it smells like women's perfume
The water was not cleansing, and it had a fragrance of women's perfume
How can I wash my sins away with the water from this poisoned stream?
I wondered how I could purify myself using water from a polluted source
And how can I get my light to shine when I don't know if I can be redeemed?
I was uncertain of my redemption and therefore felt unsure of making my soul pure
Chorus
Repetition of the phrase 'check it out'
I saw the Rocky Mountains on a dirty TV screen
The scene of the Rocky Mountains was displayed on a filthy television screen
But when I tried to polish it, I found that it was clean
Upon cleaning the screen, I discovered that the image was clear and not dirty
Sometimes I want to buy Bob's old VW bug, drive back to 1969
At times, I wished to own Bob's old VW automobile and go back to the year 1969
But then who'd be around to polish it when I finally get my light to shine?
I questioned who would be present to act as a supporting factor for me on achieving the purification of my soul
Chorus
A repetition of the phrase 'check it out'
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: NERISSA NIELDS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind