This song is a fictionalized account of Jenny Lewis’s formative experience backpacking through Europe as a teenager and meeting a follower of the songwriter Lou Barlow. His band, Sebadoh, was one of Lewis’s first introductions to the world of Indie Rock.
It describes a sexual coming of age of the...
[Verse 1]
When I turned 16, I was furious and restless
Got a Chelsea girl haircut and a plane ticket to Paris
I stayed there with Pansy, he had a studio in the seventh
Lost his lover to a sickness, I slept beside him in his bed
That's when I met Nancy, she was smoking on a gypsy
She had a ring in her nose and her eyes were changin' like mood stones
[Chorus 1]
And she said, "Open up late bloomer
It'll make you smile
I can see that fire burning
In you, little child"
[Verse 2]
Nancy came from Boston, she got in trouble very often
'Cause her parents had forgotten her, she escaped over the pond
She was searching for the writer of a song that made her shiver
She listened over and over on her Walkman cassette
[Chorus 2]
And she said, "Come with me late bloomer
For a little while
I wanna see that fire burning
In you, little child"
[Verse 3]
How could I resist her, I had longed for a big sister
And I wanted to kiss her, but I hadn't the nerve
We found the writer, he was just some kid from Boston
I was jealous as I watched him talking to her
But man was I astonished, he didn't look like no Adonis
But as Nancy had promised, he was heavy as lead
[Chorus 3]
And he said, "Come with us late bloomer
For a little while
We wanna feel that fire burning
In you, little child"
[Verse 4]
Forgive me my candor, but I just had to have her
And at the time, I didn't mind sharing with him
We rode in silence, all the way back to the seventh
And I promised I'd write her, but I never did
[Chorus 4]
And she said, "Au revoir, late bloomer
For a little while
You gotta keep that fire burning
In you, little child"
Late Bloomer was written by Jenny Lewis.
Late Bloomer was produced by Mike Viola & Ryan Adams.
Jenny Lewis released Late Bloomer on Fri Jul 25 2014.