Peak
52
Weeks
9
Score
574
Chart Year
1989
Amy Ray and Emily Saliers of the Indigo Girls write separately. "Closer To Fine" was written by Saliers, who told Songfacts it's based on real experiences. Said Saliers: "All of my songs, they're a combination of real experiences and what I observe through other people's behavior and experience. 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." Regarding the "Doctor of philosophy" in the lyrics, Saliers explains that it wasn't a real person. "It's sort of a stereotype," she said in her Songfacts interview. "I remember in high school one of my teachers had a poster of Rasputin on his door, and his pictures just looked so bizarre to me, and always struck me. I sort of put those images together, and it was sort of a poke at academia and the way it can sometimes be removed from reality. So I was saying I don't think this professor has the right to judge me in terms of real life, when we're caught up in this insular, sort of strange academic world." This was the first hit song for The Indigo Girls, and the album was their major-label debut. They paid their dues playing small venues before they were signed to Epic Records, and this was reflected in the lyrics about a late night/early morning trip to a bar. Says Saliers: "Amy and I used to be a bar band, and we would play 'til 3 a.m. like every night, practically for 13 nights in a row, three sets, finishing at 3 a.m., so I had some early experiences at bars at 3 a.m., certainly." This song won the 1989 Grammy award for Best Contemporary Folk Recording. The Indigo Girls were nominated for a Best New Artist Grammy, but lost to Milli Vanilli, who later gave up the award when it was discovered they did not sing on their album. >> In the season 3 "Diwali" episode of The Office, Jim and Andy sing this while drunk, much to Karen's annoyance. It was also used in these TV shows: Transparent ("Oscillate" - 2015) Happy Endings ("Pilot" - 2011) Cold Case ("Maternal Instincts" - 2004) And in these movies: The Hollars (2016) It Had To Be You (2015) Momma's Man (2008) Park (2006) "Closer To Fine" made the Modern Rock Tracks chart at #26. Brandi Carlile covered this song alongside her wife Catherine Carlile for the deluxe edition of the Barbie soundtrack album. "Closer to Find" is a recurring musical cue in the Barbie movie. Barbie croons the song while packing up to leave Barbieland, while Gloria, a Mattel employee who helps Barbie in the real world, belts it out in the car in another scene.
I'm tryin' to tell you somethin' 'bout my life Maybe give me insight between black and white And the best thing you've ever done for me Is to help me take my life less seriously It's only life after all, yeah Well darkness has a hunger that's insatiable And lightness has a call that's hard to hear I wrap my fear around me like a blanket I sailed my ship of safety 'til I sank it I'm crawling on your shores And I went to the doctor, I went to the mountains I looked to the children, I drank from the fountains There's more than one answer to these questions Pointing me in a crooked line And the less I seek my source for some definitive The closer I am to fine, yeah The closer I am to fine, yeah And I went to see the doctor of philosophy With a poster of Rasputin and a beard down to his knee He never did marry or see a B-Grade movie He graded my performance, he said he could see through me I spent four years prostrate to the higher mind Got my paper and I was free I went to the doctor, I went to the mountains I looked to the children, I drank from the fountains There's more than one answer to these questions Pointing me in a crooked line And the less I seek my source for some definitive The closer I am to fine, yeah The closer I am to fine, yeah I stopped by the bar at three A.M. To seek solace in a bottle, or possibly a friend And I woke up with a headache like my head against a board Twice as cloudy as I'd been the night before And I went in seeking clarity I went to the doctor, I went to the mountains I looked to the children, I drank from the fountains We go to the doctor, we go to the mountains We look to the children, we drink from the fountain Yeah, we go to the Bible, we go through the work out We read up on revival, we stand up for the lookout There's more than one answer to these questions Pointing me in a crooked line And the less I seek my source for some definitive The closer I am to fine The closer I am to fine The closer I am to fine, yeah
| Week | Chart Date | Position | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jul 22, 1989 | 85 | 41 |
| 2 | Jul 29, 1989 | 74 | 52 |
| 3 | Aug 5, 1989 | 66 | 60 |
| 4 | Aug 12, 1989 | 60 | 66 |
| 5 | Aug 19, 1989 | 55 | 71 |
| 6 | Aug 26, 1989 | 52 | 74 |
| 7 | Sep 2, 1989 | 55 | 71 |
| 8 | Sep 9, 1989 | 76 | 50 |
| 9 | Sep 16, 1989 | 86 | 40 |