What does that song mean?

Ben Folds Five: Brick Meaning

Song Released: 1998



Brick Lyrics

6 am day after Christmas
I throw some clothes on in the dark
The smell of cold
Car seat is freezing
The world is sleeping
I am numb

Up the stairs to the apartment
She is balled up on the couch
Her mom and dad went down to...

  1. 1TOP RATED

    mmmmllll
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     May 30th 2005, 15:26 report


    When Ben was in high school his girlfriend and he had an abortion. Ben Folds himself said that the song is simply about the whole experience and the emotions he and his girlfriend felt. He also makes it a point to say that he wrote the lyrics with no intentions of making any sort of political statement, or any statement about abortion, the song is just about how he felt because it was a very sad time for him.

    Her parents didn't know that their daughter had the abortion "Her mom and dad went down to Charlotte they're not home to find us out." However, the girlfriend was so upset that her parents could tell something had happened; "As weeks went by it showed that she was not fine..." So eventually Ben was over at their home and the Father got him to confess to what they had hidden: "They told me son it's time to tell the truth She broke down and I broke down
    Cause I was tired of lying"

    The song ends with an account of how alone that the two felt post-abortion and their sadness. "Driving home to her apartment
    For the moment we're alone / She's alone I'm alone / Now I know it"

    So that's what the song is about.



  2. 2TOP RATED

    anonymous
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     Dec 11th 2006, 13:49 report


    This song is about a masonry expert who falls in love with a brick. He gets in a wreck with a frozen car seat, and throws some clothes on once he hits the lake, then he drowns. Off the coast, he heads nowhere. Its really beautiful because it goes so far in depth of describing the loneliness of a mason worker. Its not sick to love bricks. Its just natural. At least that's what it means to me. Either that or an abortion.



  3.  

    anonymous
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     Jun 1st 2012, 03:02 report


    i feel sorry for the girl now...with a song written about her abortion



  4.  

    anonymous
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     Oct 13th 2010, 20:53 report


    You aren't allowed to have anyone in the room with you when you have an abortion.. from my experience.. so i'm thinking that's why he is pacing in the parking lot, not because he doesn't want to be in there with her



  5.  

    buckw
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     Jul 23rd 2010, 17:28 report


    How could it not be about AIDS? AIDS - it's about AIDS

    This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway


  6.  

    anonymous
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     Jul 2nd 2010, 14:02 report


    The song doesnt need much interpretation for me as it is also a similar life experience. Two weeks before Christmas,2002, my wife and I had an abortion as we didnt want any more kids. The emotions felt in the song are exactly what we felt. We fought about it alot because I didnt think it was mine but she insisted it was. Seven years later I found out I was right that she had had and affair and that was the end of the marriage but for those 7 years I felt like I was drowning slowly.



  7.  

    anonymous
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     Apr 4th 2010, 09:19 report


    I think for me, in other way...in our class, the is discussed in this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3q7PKZ_wYCM its a sad love story...about he boy who didn't tell his true feelings about the girl who used to be his best friend until the girl's death...in the end, the boy saw the girl's diary and what is actually written to the boys diary is one written to the girl's diary too...because the boy's diary says: "I don't want her to be my friend...I want her, I love her...i want to tell her I love you but I'm just too shy and I don't know why" and vice versa to the girl..:(

    This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway


  8.  

    megvba11
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     Jan 19th 2010, 20:52 report


    The speaker of the song was the lead singer. This whole song is based on a man and a woman who decided the woman should get an abortion. This song really wasn't that difficult to figure out for me. When the singer says, "It's not me you're dying for" it most certainly can't be the woman, and because "they call her name at 7:30," you know that the woman has gone into some kind of appointment. This all fits in with the abortion. The tone of this song is sad, remorseful, regretful, and shameful. It's clear it wasn't the mans choice on the abortion, and afterwards the really hadn't wanted the abortion. In the phrase "she broke down, and I broke down, cause I was tired of lying" could mean the man put on a strong face for her to get the abortion because he thought she wanted one, but she didn't, which in turn made her think she didn't have a choice. In the end maybe his lie is what caused the abortion.

    This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway


  9.  

    anonymous
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     Feb 16th 2009, 13:25 report


    Really good interpretations on this page. One thing I haven't seen regarding this line:
    "to sell some gifts that I got"
    Keep in mind they WERE going to have a baby. Maybe they got gifts for the baby. Now, with the baby gone, he sells the gifts.

    Although he didn't tell this story from any kind of political point of view, I hope that someone considering abortion would hear this song and think twice. Having an abortion is a life altering decision ... as is having a baby.



  10.  

    kcollier66
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     Jan 20th 2009, 16:22 report


    Imagine how the girlfriend must feel 33 years later, driving down the road and hearing the song come on about her worst nightmare; reliving it every time it comes on. I really feel for her.



  11.  

    BicycleThief14
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     Nov 17th 2008, 23:36 report


    I agree completely with the Top-Rated interpretation.
    I do, however, have something to add.

    This is a story about a moment of realization.
    The first half of the song goes thru all of his feelings. Anxiety, fear, and guilt. Ben cares for this girl. He's not in the room with her during the procedure because he doesn't want to be, but because she doesn't want him there. Despite this, he's out buying her flowers. This is when it becomes clear. He changes tone mid-verse.
    "Can't you see it's not me you're dying for?"
    It's a re-evaluation of the couple's situation. This has nothing to do with death in its literal form- the abortion. It's his recognition of the fact that the woman he loved wasn't getting rid of the child because she wasn't ready to have one, but, in fact, because she didn't love him.
    The story continues, but now with a sense of despair with his own epiphany.
    "You're alone, and I'm alone... AND NOW I KNOW IT."



  12.  

    anonymous
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     Nov 2nd 2008, 21:27 report


    I found this interpretation and find it to be a very good one.

    Some lyric interpretation:
    "Now that I have found someone
    I'm feeling more alone
    Then I ever have before
    She's a brick and I'm drowning slowly
    This is the main symbol in this song: the brick and drowning. "She" refers to the girlfriend. Just imagine yourself underwater, running out of air, and trying to resurface... all the while carrying a brick. A little hard, eh? This is how Ben Folds Five meant it, that the girlfriend is dragging him down. Another good twist on this is this: one lifeguard certification test is to retrieve a brick from underwater. Could it be that the guy in the song wasn't ready for this kind of responsibility and commitment, just like a beginning lifeguard wouldn't be ready for that test?
    "Off the coast and I'm headed nowhere"
    My interpretation of this line was that the abortion is throwing him off track. 'Off the coast' meaning his life has suddenly taken a little detour, and 'headed nowhere' is him realizing that becoming a teenage father will get him nowhere in life.
    "They call her name at 7:30"
    'They' meaning the people at the abortion clinic.
    "Then I walk down to buy her flowers
    and sell some gifts that I got"
    Buying her flowers is maybe the one indication in the whole song that he still cares for this girl. He is selling some gifts (Christmas gifts, remember this is the day after Christmas) to help pay for the abortion.
    "Can't you see
    It's not me you're dying for"
    This is an interesting two lines, as it is him talking to the unborn child.
    "Now she's feeling more alone
    Then she ever has before"
    This is where we finally learn the girl's state of mind in all this, and this indicates she's not doing too well. This girl is very upset about the abortion, and might be becoming depressed.
    "They told me son its time to tell the truth
    She broke down and I broke down
    Cause I was tired of lying"
    The parents have finally realized something was up with those two, and both of them broke down and told the truth.
    "Driving home to her apartment
    For the moment we're alone
    She's alone
    I'm alone
    Now I know it."
    This is perhaps the saddest part of the song. Even though they both went through this experience, they aren't truly in it together. 'For the moment we're alone' makes you think he means that the two of them are away from everyone else, but the next two lines show that what he really meant was that she was alone, and he was alone. Despite being "alone" in the car together, they were separate. Going through this kind of experience is tough, and it helps if you're going through it together. But we finally realize they are on two totally different wavelengths, and while they may still love each other (I am assuming here that they do), they will never be as close as they were before. (thanks, Jen - Mt. Laurel, NJ)



  13.  

    anonymous
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     Apr 29th 2008, 08:27 report


    I think that the part where it says 'she's a brick and I'm drowning slowly' could mean that she has been strong and together like a Brick throughout the whole ordeal while he is unable to cope or is 'drowning slowly'. I don't think when they 'broke down' they were speaking to the girl's parents. I think that he didn't really want the abortion and neither did she but they both thought it was for the best and so they didn't really share their true feelings with each other. The line 'cause I was tired of lying' refers to not letting his true feelings show to his girlfriend. Throughout the whole song it shows that he is reluctant to go through with the abortion with the lines 'can't you see it's not me you're dying for' and 'I pace around the parking lot' reinforce it. His girlfriends has doubts about the abortion but goes through with it and then she has regrets and the event has a huge emotional impact on her. When the song says 'as weeks went by, I realised she was not fine' it's talking about him discovering that she was not sure about their decision. The words 'she was balled up on the couch' also indicates that she is upset or insecure when he comes to pick her up. Also, the part that says 'to sell some gifts I got' doesn't really make sense to me. If he was selling some of his Christmas presents to pay for the abortion, wouldn't he want to make sure he could get the money before she had her abortion instead of while she was at the clinic.



  14.  

    anonymous
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     Dec 15th 2007, 21:58 report


    I used to love this song, now I hate it...Murderers!

    Enough said.

    This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway


  15.  

    anonymous
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     Feb 21st 2007, 23:54 report


    The idea that the girlfriend is the brick "she's the brick and I'm drowning slowly", I think is his interpretation of how he feels that she sunk straight into a depression. She never hesitated to show her emotions being the mother she feel fastest. He feels that he is slowly sinking, not feeling the physical pain of it or the complete emotional pain of it yet.

    This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway


  16.  

    Jerseh
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     Feb 14th 2007, 04:24 report


    this is about two teenagers and the girl gets pregnant and they have to go and get an abortion and then about the guilt they felt and how it caused a separation between them.
    "6 am day after Christmas
    I throw some clothes on in the dark
    The smell of cold
    Car seat is freezing
    The world is sleeping
    I am numb"
    This is when he gets up the morning of and is feeling a bit scared and worried.
    "Up the stairs to the apartment
    She is balled up on the couch
    Her mom and dad went down to Charlotte
    They're not home to find us out
    And we drive
    Now that I have found someone
    I'm feeling more alone
    Than I ever have before"
    This is when he goes to pick her up and she's really scared. Her parents obviously don't know about it and they won't get caught because theyre not there to catch them. As their driving to the clinic theyre both silent and are feeling alone because they only have each other for support because no one else knows but they don't feel close to each other anymore and have nothing to say.
    "They call her name at 7:30
    I pace around the parking lot
    Then I walk down to buy her flowers
    And sell some gifts that I got
    Can't you see
    It's not me you're dying for
    Now she's feeling more alone
    Than she ever has before"
    This is when she gets called in for the procedure and he waits anxiously in the parking lot, and then buys her flowers to make her feel better. He feels guilty but knows it was for the best, and the girlfriend is also feeling guilty and sad and empty.
    "As weeks went by
    It showed that she was not fine
    They told me son, it's time to tell the truth
    She broke down, and I broke down
    Cause I was tired of lying"
    The following weeks after the abortion it's clear that the girlfriend still isn't ok and her parents notice and finally ask what's really going on and they finally give in and tell them because keeping the secret and the guilt was weighing down on them and eating away at them and theyd had enough of lying.
    "Driving back to her apartment
    For the moment we're alone
    Yeah she's alone
    I'm alone
    Now I know it"
    This shows that they aren't close anymore since the abortion and they know that their relationship will never be the same.
    The brick in the chorus I think is the guilt, the secrets and the lies weighing him down and making him feel worse and worse and more alone.

    This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway


  17.  

    anonymous
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     Dec 25th 2006, 05:49 report


    The line "Can't you see, it's not me you're dying for" is pretty much his way of apologizing to the unborn child, because even though he wants the baby, he know that he and his girl cannot take care of it.



  18.  

    anonymous
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     Oct 4th 2006, 14:16 report


    Interesting how most feel that the "brick" is the girlfriend. I believe the brick in the song is the aborted baby. Not in a literal sense, of course, but that brick (thought) that weighs down and overcomes ben folds is his unborn child.



  19.  

    anonymous
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     May 2nd 2006, 13:38 report


    Another aspect of this song that nobody's pointed out which really increases the melancholie is the fact that the abortion was the 'day after christmas.' You can imagine the pain and dread they had to endure over the holidays while having to put on a show of fake happiness for family.



  20.  

    anonymous
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     Jan 3rd 2006, 05:19 report


    As it has been said, it is about Ben's girlfriend having an abortion. The thing is, a baby is something that can truly connect a couple, but after the abortion has taken place the couple seem distant and almost as individuals again, alone, single individuals. The lyrics tell of the male waiting in the parking lot, meaning that the woman was alone during the precedure, further indicating the seperated state of the couple and the differed reactions to the devastating situation.



  21.  

    bella dea
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     Sep 6th 2005, 08:21 report


    Most of this song is just a story of life. He talks about the world and what's going on as he is preparing for this even in his life; the abortion of his child.

    "Now that I have found someone
    I'm feeling more alone
    Than I ever have before"

    Just because you have someone doesn't mean that you are never alone. He can't understand the choice she has made. He doesn't want this but is supporting her because he thinks its what he should do. He doesn't want this abortion and the fact that she is doing it has put a divider between them.

    "Can't you see
    It's not me you're dying for
    Now she's feeling more alone
    Than she ever has before"

    She knows that he isn't with her on this and that in the end, we are alone in our decisions.

    "She's a brick and I'm drowning slowly
    Off the coast and I'm headed nowhere
    She's a brick and I'm drowning slowly"

    He can't understand why he is feeling this way and the situation they are in has made things seem lonely and far away. They aren't together on this and because of that, they are each alone in this. Neither can support the othe. Every day they sink farther and farther into their own darkness and sadness. The gap between them gets bigger with every day.

    They finally realize that this is bigger then both of them. And she realizes that she isn't ok. And this has torn them apart.

    This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway


  22.  

    anonymous
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     Jun 7th 2004, 09:06 report


    Ben Folds has said in interviews that, in fact, the lyrics were taken from his life. when his girlfriend at the time became pregnant, they (as teenagers, i believe) had an abortion performed without their parents finding out. They did, and later ben wrote a song about it and even sought out the ex-girlfriend to seek her permission. The chorus was written by a bandmate a number of years later, and seemed to fit with the lyrics ben had previously written.



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