I'm Fading / Down So Long

ItBeThatWay27 · 08-23-2006, 10:59 PM

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 · 08-24-2006, 03:26 AM

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 · 08-24-2006, 03:28 AM

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

ItBeThatWay27 · 08-24-2006, 11:51 AM

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 · 08-24-2006, 06:50 PM

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

ItBeThatWay27 · 08-25-2006, 12:58 PM

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

DreamsLast · 08-30-2006, 07:14 AM

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 · 08-30-2006, 01:28 PM

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

DreamsLast · 08-31-2006, 06:04 AM

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 · 08-31-2006, 07:02 PM

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

M€RIO · 01-24-2007, 03:13 PM

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 · 01-24-2007, 03:35 PM

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

JewelWiki · 01-24-2007, 04:58 PM

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 · 01-24-2007, 11:45 PM

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 · 01-25-2007, 12:21 AM

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.

08-23-2006, 10:59 PM	#1
ItBeThatWay27 Gary, 'Disposable-Hero' Join Date: May 2006 Location: Austin, Texas Posts: 2,242 Rep Power: 0	I'm Fading / Down So Long 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?

08-24-2006, 03:26 AM	#2
DreamsLast ~~Moderator~~ Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Florida, USA Posts: 1,635 Rep Power: 243	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. __________________ "We are loved beyond our capacity to comprehend..." -Jewel Kilcher, Acoustic Goddess Of Song & Modern Day Troubador

08-24-2006, 03:28 AM	#3
kjm030584 Moderator Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Pennsylvania, USA Posts: 1,843 Rep Power: 265	yup, they're both such delightfully depressing songs! LOL __________________

08-25-2006, 12:58 PM	#6
ItBeThatWay27 Gary, 'Disposable-Hero' Join Date: May 2006 Location: Austin, Texas Posts: 2,242 Rep Power: 0	I Love Jewel!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! __________________ so close no matter how far couldn't be much more from the heart forever trusting who we are and nothing else matters

08-30-2006, 07:14 AM	#7
DreamsLast ~~Moderator~~ Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Florida, USA Posts: 1,635 Rep Power: 243	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. __________________ "We are loved beyond our capacity to comprehend..." -Jewel Kilcher, Acoustic Goddess Of Song & Modern Day Troubador

08-24-2006, 11:51 AM	#4
ItBeThatWay27 Gary, 'Disposable-Hero' Join Date: May 2006 Location: Austin, Texas Posts: 2,242 Rep Power: 0	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"

08-24-2006, 06:50 PM	#5
guitargirl Members Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 35 Rep Power: 239	I always wonder how you can get such nice melodies with such simple chords.

08-30-2006, 01:28 PM	#8
ItBeThatWay27 Gary, 'Disposable-Hero' Join Date: May 2006 Location: Austin, Texas Posts: 2,242 Rep Power: 0	Does anyone know if there is more than just one version of I'm Fading out there? __________________ so close no matter how far couldn't be much more from the heart forever trusting who we are and nothing else matters

08-31-2006, 06:04 AM	#9
DreamsLast ~~Moderator~~ Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Florida, USA Posts: 1,635 Rep Power: 243	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??? __________________ "We are loved beyond our capacity to comprehend..." -Jewel Kilcher, Acoustic Goddess Of Song & Modern Day Troubador

08-31-2006, 07:02 PM	#10
Little Bird Administrator Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Wicklow, Ireland Posts: 6,178 Rep Power: 10	I've only every heard 1 but I think there are a couple.

01-24-2007, 03:13 PM	#11
M€RIO aUsTrIaN kIlChErIaN Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Austria Posts: 606 Rep Power: 0	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? __________________ ~from the air the things look so ridicuolus ~our fears so small our fights so vain ~i wanna pilot a plane with you ~so all our problems look small too ~its just an inch from me to you ~depending on what map you use *jewelonpianoandmore=)*

01-24-2007, 03:35 PM	#12
last_dance_rodeo Temporarily Absent Mod Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: South Dakota Posts: 2,212 Rep Power: 262	it's about entrapment in her body, she feels alone and i think the soil is supposed to symbolize hope __________________ Her face is moonworn and thin, she's been wishing on too many stars again.

01-24-2007, 04:58 PM	#13
JewelWiki JKF Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Charlottesville, VA, USA Posts: 805 Rep Power: 0	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?) __________________ JewelWiki!

01-24-2007, 11:45 PM	#14
ItBeThatWay27 Gary, 'Disposable-Hero' Join Date: May 2006 Location: Austin, Texas Posts: 2,242 Rep Power: 0	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 __________________ so close no matter how far couldn't be much more from the heart forever trusting who we are and nothing else matters

01-25-2007, 12:21 AM	#15
JewelWiki JKF Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Charlottesville, VA, USA Posts: 805 Rep Power: 0	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!