Critic Neal Justin (Minneapolis Star Tribune) stated about It’s Only Life After All (2023), a documentary about the Indigo Girls (duo Emily Saliers and Amy Ray, who also each record independently of the other), “…(T)he film is more interested in celebrating optimism and bringing viewers one step closer to fine.”
As Justin probably knows, “Closer to Fine,” indeed, is their most famous and most performed concert song.
The others in the top five, per Setlist:
- Closer to Fine (1989)
- Galileo (1992)
- Get Out the Map (1997)
- Shame on You (1997)
- Power of Two (1994)
Each brings a positive psychological, social, philosophical, or spiritual message that resonates with audiences. In reverse order…
I. “Power of Two”
Although most see it as a love song, writer Saliers has said, “It’s about repeating patterns in life” (Time). Lyrics such as these represent her theme:
…’Cause I’ve seen the shadows of so many peopleTrying on the treasures of youthBut a road that fancy and fast ends ends in a fatal crashAnd I’m glad we got offTo tell you the truth…
And these:
…All the shiny little trinkets of temptation (make new friends)Something new instead of something old (but keep the old)All you gotta do is scratch beneath the surface (but remember what is gold)And it’s fools gold…
The official video:
II. “Shame on You”
Written by Amy Ray, “Shame on You” celebrates diversity and criticizes the crackdowns, in an earlier era, on undocumented immigrants.
They say, “We be looking for illegal immigrants can we check your car?”
I say, “You know it’s funny I think we were on the same boat back in 1694.”
III. “Get Out the Map”
Genius.com: Saliers was “feeling the need to get out and go anywhere to escape a general malaise”: I’m gonna clear my head/I’m gonna drink that sun…
Live at The Fillmore some years back:
IV. “Galileo”
Per Saliers, these lyrics represent playful thoughts she’d had about the possibility of reincarnation.
…How long ’til my soul gets it rightCan any human being ever reach that kind of lightI call on the resting soul of Galileo king of night visionKing of insight…
As I can personally attest, all it takes is milliseconds of the opening riff (a percussive sound on acoustic guitar), and fans go wild.
V. “Closer to Fine”
In a 2006 interview Saliers explained (Songoftheday.ca), “I was with my family in Vermont, and we were sitting in this rustic cabin, and I was sitting on a front porch and looking out into the trees, which, you know, whenever you’re in such a bucolic setting, it can make you feel very philosophical. So that’s how I was feeling. And that song is about not beating yourself up too hard to get your answer from one place. There’s no panacea, that in order to be balanced or feel closer to fine it’s okay to draw from this or to draw from that, to draw from a bunch of different sources. So it’s about being confused but looking for the answers, and in the end knowing that you’re going to be fine. No seeking just one definitive answer.”
I’m trying to tell you something ’bout my lifeMaybe give me insight between black and whiteAnd the best thing you ever done for meIs to help me take my life less seriouslyIt’s only life after all, yeah…
“Closer to Fine” is often their concert finale, always an automatic and rousing stand-and-sing-along.
Interestingly, the girl-power Barbie movie also featured it, and for one version of its soundtrack, Brandi Carlile and wife Catherine Carlile did their own take:
