The Roches (Maggie, Terre, and Suzzy Roche) were a vocal group of three son… Read Full Bio ↴The Roches (Maggie, Terre, and Suzzy Roche) were a vocal group of three songwriting Irish-American sisters from Park Ridge, New Jersey, known for their "unusual" and "rich" harmonies, quirky lyrics, and casually comedic stage performances.

The Roches were active as performers and recording artists from the mid-1970s through 2007, at various times performing as a trio and in pairs.
In the late 1960s, eldest sister Maggie (October 26, 1951 – January 21, 2017) and middle sister Terre (pronounced "Terry", born April 10, 1953) quit school to tour as a duo. Maggie wrote most of the songs, with Terre contributing to a few. The sisters got a break when Paul Simon brought them in as backup singers on his 1973 #2 album There Goes Rhymin' Simon. They got his assistance (along with an appearance by The Oak Ridge Boys) on their only album as a duo, Seductive Reasoning (1975). Shortly after that, youngest sister Suzzy (rhymes with "fuzzy", born September 29, 1956) joined the group to form The Roches trio.

Around this time, they parlayed bartending jobs at famous Greenwich Village folk venue Gerde's Folk City into stage appearances, an experience they commemorated in their song, "Face Down at Folk City" (from Another World, 1985). It was here that they met many of their future singing and songwriting collaborators. Terre was now writing songs as well, and by the time of their first album as a trio, The Roches (1979), Suzzy had also begun writing. Robert Fripp produced the album. Maggie's "The Married Men" from this album was eventually to become the biggest hit of the songwriting trio — not for them, but for Phoebe Snow. After Snow and Linda Ronstadt performed the song in a duet on Saturday Night Live, the Roches were invited themselves to perform on the show a few months later in 1979 at the behest of Paul Simon. They did two songs, both unreleased at the time, "Bobby's Song" and "The Hallelujah Chorus".

Throughout the 1980s, The Roches continued to release their music to small audiences, little or no air play, and only modest record sales. Their widest exposure in the '80s was an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson in November 1985, where they performed their song "Mr. Sellack". In 1990, they returned to their Christmas-caroling roots with the release of the 24-track We Three Kings, which included the a cappella "Star of Wonder", written by Terre. After another pop album (A Dove, 1992), they recorded an entire album of children's songs entitled Will You Be My Friend?, featuring a song by brother David and various young backup singers, including Suzzy's daughter Lucy Wainwright Roche.

After a tour interrupted by the death of their father, The Roches released Can We Go Home Now (1995), the last original recording they released as a trio until 2007.

In 1997, the sisters formally put their group on long-term hold. They continued to work on solo projects and often collaborated on albums and performances. Terre teaches guitar workshops and has released a solo album. Suzzy, who has acted on the stage and in several movies, released two of her own albums and two with Maggie, with whom she has toured. All three sisters periodically participated in New York-area events. At the end of 2005, the three Roches (with brother Dave) reunited for a short but highly successful holiday tour. Several more appearances in the U.S. and Canada took place in 2006–07, and in March 2007, after a 12-year hiatus, The Roches released a new studio album, Moonswept. Following the tour for Moonswept, the Roches announced that they would no longer be touring, although they have made isolated appearances individually and as a group, mostly in and around New York City.

On January 21, 2017, Maggie Roche died of cancer at age 65.

Maggie had an "unusual" contralto voice – "almost a baritone." Terre provides a soprano that brackets the upper range of the sisters, while Suzzy fills in the middle range. While touring, the sisters accompany themselves with guitars and keyboards, occasionally with additional musicians.

Brother David is also a singer-songwriter with his own solo album, and has often backed up the trio on their recordings. Maggie's son, Felix McTeigue, has recorded three albums (one with his group Filo). Suzzy's daughter, Lucy, has also contributed vocals on the Roches' and McTeigue's albums, and in 2007 she produced an EP of her own, 8 Songs, followed by 8 More in 2008 and tours opening for acts such as Amos Lee and the Indigo Girls. Lucy has released two full-length albums, "Lucy" in 2010, and "There's a Last Time for Everything" in 2013. Her father is Loudon Wainwright III, and she is the half-sister of singers Martha and Rufus Wainwright.

The majority of Roches songs are written by the three sisters, whether individually, in every combination, or collaborating with other songwriters. They have also recorded their own arrangements of songs by a variety of New York folk artists, as well as a few covers of famous songs. Their three-part arrangement of the four-part "Hallelujah Chorus" from Handel's Messiah, featured on Keep On Doing (1982), is well regarded in a cappella circles.

Discography

- Maggie and Terre Roche
Seductive Reasoning (Columbia, 1975)
I Gave My Love a Kerry (Earth Rock Wreckerds, 2004)

- The Roches
The Roches (Warner, 1979)
Nurds (Warner, 1980)
Keep On Doing (Warner, 1982)
Another World (Warner, 1985)
No Trespassing (Real Live Records, 1986)
Speak (MCA, 1989)
We Three Kings (MCA, 1990)
A Dove (MCA, 1992)
Will You Be My Friend? (Baby Boom, 1994)
Can We Go Home Now (Rykodisc, 1995).
The Collected Works of the Roches (Rhino/Warner, 2003)
Moonswept (429 Records, 2007)
Rhino HiFive: The Roches (Rhino/Warner, 2007)

- Suzzy Roche
Holy Smokes (Red House, 1997)
Songs from an Unmarried Housewife and Mother, Greenwich Village, USA (Red House, 2000)

- Terre Roche
The Sound of a Tree Falling (Earth Rock Wreckerds, 1998)

- Suzzy & Maggie Roche
Zero Church (Red House, 2002)
Why The Long Face (Red House, 2004)
Suzzy Roche & Lucy Wainwright Roche[edit]
Fairytale and Myth (2013)
Mud and Apples (2016)

- Terre Roche, Sidiki Conde and Marlon Cherry (as Afro-Jersey)
Afro-Jersey (2013)

Here We Go
The Roches Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

There's a magic in our little room
Floating up like a colored balloon
It goes right to the top
Just so it can pop
And sprinkle down the sound of a tune

Hey yea
And hey yo

Hey whadayasay
And hey whadayaknow
Hey yea
And hey yo
Hey here we come
And hey here we go

The next thing you know there's a song
It's made up as we go along
Then when we hear it
It brightens our spirit
And we know that we can't go wrong

Hey yea
And hey yo
Hey whadayasay
And hey whadayaknow
Hey yea
And hey yo

Hey here we come
And hey here we go

Overall Meaning

The Roches's song "Here We Go" is a joyful celebration of the creative process of making music, and the sense of magic that comes with it. The song starts with an image of the creative spark, a "magic in our little room," that evokes a sense of wonder and possibility. This spark is compared to a "colored balloon" that floats up to the top, and then bursts, "sprinkling down" the sound of the tune that is being created.

As the song progresses, the Roches celebrate the joy of making music with others, and the sense of spontaneity and improvisation that comes with it. The opening line of the second verse, "The next thing you know there's a song," captures the sense of surprise and delight that comes with the discovery of a new melody or lyric. The Roches emphasize the importance of making music together, and the way it can brighten one's spirit.

The refrain of the song, "Hey yea, and hey yo, hey whadayasay and hey whadayaknow, hey yea and hey yo, hey here we come and hey here we go," is a joyful expression of the sense of excitement and anticipation that comes with making music together. It is an invitation to join in the creative process, and to experience the magic and joy of music-making.

Overall, "Here We Go" is a celebration of the creative process of making music, and the sense of magic and joy that comes with it. It captures the spontaneity and improvisation of making music with others, and celebrates the way music can lift one's spirit and bring people together.

Line by Line Meaning

There's a magic in our little room
There is a special feeling in our small space.

Floating up like a colored balloon
This feeling rises and grows, like a balloon filled with colors.

It goes right to the top
The feeling reaches its peak.

Just so it can pop
It bursts open and releases its energy.

And sprinkle down the sound of a tune
This energy creates a melody that fills the air.

Hey yea
An expression of excitement and anticipation.

And hey yo
Another expression of excitement and anticipation.

Hey whadayasay
What do you say? Are you ready?

And hey whadayaknow
What do you know? Let's find out!

Hey yea
An expression of excitement and anticipation.

And hey yo
Another expression of excitement and anticipation.