I'm Fading / Down So Long

[ItBeThatWay27]

I was listening to I'm Fading the other night when DUH! It hit me and I got the refernce to Down So Long. I talked to Chris and he said he hadn't realized it before either.

"It's K-Mart, the bathroom...." <---she is in the bathroom..

"Where did the angel go? Cigarette smoke is all that's left"

Down So Long lyrics:

"I saw an angel in the bathroom who said she saw no one worth saving anywhere.."

Did anyone else ever notice this before?

[DreamsLast]

NOPE, not til you just pointed it out!!! Nice catch, Gary!! BTW I'm now loving "I'm Fading" too, now that I have it!! It's a cool song, I love the melody.:)

[kjm030584]

yup, they're both such delightfully depressing songs! LOL

[ItBeThatWay27]

I don't think Down So Long is depressing at all, I think it's the light at the end of the tunnel sort of song... like to give you hope to hold on just a little longer :) But yeah I'm Fading is kind of depressing haha my fav line is

"I peel back the concrete, I hope there's still some soil left"

[guitargirl]

I always wonder how you can get such nice melodies with such simple chords.

[ItBeThatWay27]

I Love Jewel!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[DreamsLast]

Yes, Jewel's songwriting ability simply blows me away!!! Coming up with topics & the actual writing of the lyrics is hard enough, but coming up with all of these delicious melodies that she does is just mind-bogling!!

I read somewhere that her song catalog has over 500 songs....what an accomplishment. She could keep putting out records for years without ever writing any new material if she wanted. She's got hundreds of her own songs to choose from!!! I love that about Jewel, she writes her own music and performs it as she intended it to be heard. Her performances seem so much more genuine than someone who can just "sing" someone else's song. That's just my opinion, of course.

What tends to happen to some artists over time is that many of their songs start sounding the same, but NOT OUR JEWEL! She constantly surprises me with these wonderful melodies, and I love how she can change style at the drop of a hat. AND THAT VOICE...I read in one of her biographies describing it as 'crystalline' and I think that sums it up perfectly. There's so many sounds and articulation she uses, many times in the same phrase. She has the "sweet" almost childlike voice, but she can be sassy and get some scratchiness in it too. And if you've heard her sing the 1st song on the Live @ Humphrey's DVD, that's a completely different voice, more like opera. I can see why she went to school for operatic performance.....she can sing like an angel. :)

[ItBeThatWay27]

Does anyone know if there is more than just one version of I'm Fading out there?

[DreamsLast]

Good question, now I'm curious to know as well. I think you and I probably have the same version, but would you like for me to send it to you so you can compare???

[Little Bird]

I've only every heard 1 but I think there are a couple.

[M€RIO]

What did jewel mean with "I peel back the concrete, I hope there's still some soil left", i could not translate it directly in german. But could someone tell me this line in other words? by the way i have a (low version) of im fading too! its really a very cool song. from the funny lyrics to the catchty melodies, its awesome! But i was shocked when i read that she only played it in 1996, did she never played it again?

[last_dance_rodeo]

it's about entrapment in her body, she feels alone and i think the soil is supposed to symbolize hope

[JewelWiki]

I took it as she had felt like she was losing touch with her Alaskan (and wilderness-y) heritage from living in an urban area and was hoping she hadn't lost touch with her "earthiness"

Guess that's the great thing about her lyrics-the multiple meanings. :)

(did we answer your question, Merio?)

[ItBeThatWay27]

Wow vansciver I like your interpretation. I guess I just thought of it as meaning she was losing touch w/ her true self, she is the soil and the pavement is the exterior she is becoming and it isn't real, she doesn't want to be that way... but I like both the other interpretations as well :)

[JewelWiki]

I like yours too Gary... :)
It kind of reminds me of hearing how she used to carry around a little Tupperware container of soil from home around with her. Don't remember where I read it. :)

[JewelWiki]

October 14, 1996, USA Today Farm-Aid article:

The cause brought out the farmer in all the performers.
How else might the world have learned that one-name alternative folk
sensation Jewel carries around a Tupperware container filled with soil
from the Alaskan homestead founded by her grandfather?
Jewel, whose songs bounce between sweetness and anger, played selections
from her million-selling debut album "Pieces of You". Backstage, the 22
year-old singer spoke of the "emotional support and stability that open
land gives us." as well as of the benefits of touring with enduring rock
legend and Farm-Aid co-founder Neil Young. "It gives me hope that I can
sustain a career for a lifetime."


That's what it was... :)

Found Here (http://www.smoe.org/lists/jewel/angels/oldnews.html)

[greenpoet]

Yes, Jewel's songwriting ability simply blows me away!!! Coming up with topics & the actual writing of the lyrics is hard enough, but coming up with all of these delicious melodies that she does is just mind-bogling!!

I read somewhere that her song catalog has over 500 songs....what an accomplishment. She could keep putting out records for years without ever writing any new material if she wanted. She's got hundreds of her own songs to choose from!!! I love that about Jewel, she writes her own music and performs it as she intended it to be heard. Her performances seem so much more genuine than someone who can just "sing" someone else's song. That's just my opinion, of course.

What tends to happen to some artists over time is that many of their songs start sounding the same, but NOT OUR JEWEL! She constantly surprises me with these wonderful melodies, and I love how she can change style at the drop of a hat. AND THAT VOICE...I read in one of her biographies describing it as 'crystalline' and I think that sums it up perfectly. There's so many sounds and articulation she uses, many times in the same phrase. She has the "sweet" almost childlike voice, but she can be sassy and get some scratchiness in it too. And if you've heard her sing the 1st song on the Live @ Humphrey's DVD, that's a completely different voice, more like opera. I can see why she went to school for operatic performance.....she can sing like an angel. :)

I also have the same review on Jewel like you do . I've seen her concert on DVD "Live at Humphrey". She's all pieces of everything like singer-composer, poet, award winning - writer, guitarist, rock star, sex symbol, soprano, actress- ohhh.. what can we ask for more. She 've gotten everything from heaven. She's almost an angel!!!

[DreamsLast]

I like yours too Gary... :)
It kind of reminds me of hearing how she used to carry around a little Tupperware container of soil from home around with her. Don't remember where I read it. :)

I believe it is mentioned in most (if not all) of the books about her life. I definitely know it talks about it in the book 'Angel Standing By'...I read that one most recently.

[M€RIO]

thank you very much for your help =) , but @last dance rodeo, because you said you speak a little bit german, does "I peel back the concrete" mean "Ich schiebe den Beton zurück?" ^^?

[last_dance_rodeo]

Yeah pretty much, literally it means do i push the concrete back so it's a pretty close translation

[JewelWiki]

Is there a way to say remove the concrete in german? I feel like that is more accurate? :)

[last_dance_rodeo]

I'm a bit rusty so I don't know.

[M€RIO]

"Ich entferne den Beton, und hoffe es bleibt ein wenig Boden übrig" so circa, i understand the meaning of the words, but i was not sure if it literally means that. Thx for your help + interpretations =)