"Alice Childress" is a song from

Ben Folds Five Ben Folds Five is an American alternative rock trio formed in 1993 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The group comprises Ben Folds (lead vocals, piano), Robert Sledge (bass guitar, backing vocals) and Darren Jessee (drums, backing vocals). The gro ...

's 1995 self-titled debut album. It was written by

Ben Folds Benjamin Scott Folds (born September 12, 1966) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and composer, who is the first artistic advisor to the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., since May 2017. Folds was th ...

and Anna Goodman. The song is a look from a distance at the breakup of a couple who have fundamental differences in their outlooks on life.

History

Despite the name, the song has nothing to do with noted playwright and author Alice Childress. Anna Goodman, at the time Ben Folds' wife, was inspired to write the lyrics to a song as a parody of Folds' style.Ben Folds. '' iTunes Originals - Ben Folds''. "Writing About Yourself Without Being Emotionally Lewd" Folds has referred to Goodman's lyrics as "bad Folds," a wink to the now-defunct "

International Imitation Hemingway Competition The International Imitation Hemingway Competition, also known as the Bad Hemingway Contest, was an annual writing competition begun in Century City, California. Started in 1977 as a "promotional gag",Schwartz, Amy E. (August 12, 1994)Homage to Pop ...

" put on by Harry's Bar & Grill in Century City, California. The competition, commonly referred to as "Bad Hemingway", had participants submit "a really good page of really bad Hemingway." Folds was moved by the parody lyrics to write music. He eventually replaced nearly all of Goodman's words "line by line" as the focus of the song became clear: Because of her contributions to the song, Goodman retains a writing credit.

Additional versions

A live version of the song, recorded October 16, 1995, at the

Santa Monica, California Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast (California), South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 United Sta ...

public radio station

KCRW KCRW (89.9 MHz FM) is a National Public Radio member station broadcasting from the campus of Santa Monica College in Santa Monica, California, where the station is licensed. KCRW airs original news and music programming in addition to programm ...

during the program '' Morning Becomes Eclectic'', appears on the 1998 compilation and rarities album '' Naked Baby Photos''. An in-studio performance of the song was recorded for the 2005 download-only album '' iTunes Originals - Ben Folds''.

Singles

The song has not been released as a single and does not appear in a studio or live version as an additional track on any other single release.

Compilations and soundtracks

The album version of the song appears on the '' Summer EP'', a four song CD released by

Passenger A passenger (also abbreviated as pax) is a person who travels in a vehicle, but does not bear any responsibility for the tasks required for that vehicle to arrive at its destination or otherwise operate the vehicle, and is not a steward. The ...

Caroline Caroline may refer to: People * Caroline (given name), a feminine given name * J. C. Caroline (born 1933), American college and National Football League player * Jordan Caroline (born 1996), American (men's) basketball player Places Antarctica * ...

in 1995 to promote the band to radio programmers. The live version of the song appears on the 1997 album '' KCRW: Rare On Air, Vol. 3'', put out by the Santa Monica public radio station on Mammoth Records. The album also includes songs by

Cowboy Junkies Cowboy Junkies are an alternative country and folk rock band formed in Toronto, Ontario, Canada in 1985 by Alan Anton (bassist), Michael Timmins (songwriter, guitarist), Peter Timmins (drummer) and Margo Timmins (vocalist). The three Timminses ...

Fiona Apple Fiona Apple McAfee-Maggart (born September 13, 1977) is an American singer-songwriter. She has released five albums from 1996 to 2020, which have all reached the top 20 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' 200 chart. Apple has received numerous awards an ...

, Guided By Voices, Stereolab, and others.

Personnel

–

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

* Darren Jessee –

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

Robert Sledge Robert Sledge (born March 9, 1968) is an American musician, best known for his work with Ben Folds Five. Biography Robert Sledge began playing bass guitar at the age of eleven. His brother was playing guitar at his house so he also learned how ...

–

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

Production

*Producer:

Caleb Southern Caleb Southern (born December 26, 1969) is an American professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology, musician and record producer. He has worked with Ben Folds Five, Fear of Pop and Archers of Loaf. As of 2002, he was a member of Partners Ag ...

*Mixing: Marc Becker

References

{{authority control Alice Childress 1995 songs Songs written by Ben Folds Songs written by Anna Goodman