Ben Folds's Songs Multiple Choice Quiz | Music

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. A little Ben Folds "Math": What is the age difference between Yuko and Hiro?

Answer: 29 years

The lyrics of the slightly rarer "Hiro's Song" include the lines

"My name is Hiro, I am 51" and
"Her name is Yuko she is 22"

51-22=29

2. A little Ben Folds "Poetry": While the words "he", "she", and "uses" appear frequently in the song "She Don't Use Jelly", only one word ever follows the combination of "He uses..." What is this word?

Answer: magazines

After the character in the song (a cover of a Flaming Lips original) gets back from his shows, he blows his nose not using tissues, napkins, or his sleeve, but rather the grosser and (slightly) more abrasive "magazines".

3. A little Ben Folds "Foreign Languages": What language does the character in the song "Your Redneck Past" DEFINITELY not speak well?

Answer: French

Based on the botched pronunciation of some of the words in the song, our buddy needs to go back to French class and practice that embouchure! The lyrics are

"D�sol� je suis am�ricain. Please cook my steak again. Je suis am�ricain. D�sol� je ne parle pas fran�ais."

Translated:

"Sorry, I'm American. Please cook my steak again. I'm American. (Must've been trying steak tartare-a raw meat dish served in France) Sorry, I don't speak French."

Personally, I assume that within the context of the song Ben is discussing the problems of American egocentricism, shortsightedness, and unwillingness to try new things. The title of the song itself suggests this.

4. A little Ben Folds "Life Skills": Which of these Ben Folds songs would you be LEAST likely to hear being played at a wedding reception? Or at least, you would hope!

Answer: Cigarette

"Cigarette" being played at a wedding reception = one of the signs of the apocalypse. The song is actually just one (amazingly well-written) sentence:

"Fred Jones was worn out from caring for his often screaming and crying wife during the day; but, he couldn't sleep at night for fear that she... in a stupor from the drugs (that didn't ease the pain)-- would set the house ablaze with a cigarette."

"The Luckiest" is a beautiful song that contains the lyrics

"I love you more than I could ever find the way to say to you"

and also compares the love the singer feels to the love that an old married couple faces and the tragedy of one dying, then the other one follows along soon because life is too different and painful. It's a strange juxtaposition, but it works.

"Gracie" is a song Ben wrote for his daughter and "Dog" talks about growing old together, walking the same path for the rest of their lives, and placing their "teeth in the same jar" when they grow old together.

5. A little Ben Folds "Home Economics": You're in class and you want to make an outfit for Ben's "Still Fighting It" music video, and you want it to be lyrically attentive. What are you going to use to make his shirt?

Answer: Brown polyester

The first line of the song is

"Good morning, son. I am a bird wearing a brown polyester shirt."

He wrote this song for his son after his son was born and included it on his "Rockin' the Suburbs" album. His wife, Frally, also directed the ACTUAL music video for the song, which featured both Ben and his son, and a rather humorous scene of Ben getting tripped by a running dog.

6. A little Ben Folds "Religion": According to the song "Mess", which of these words most likely describes the person singing?

Answer: Atheist

The lyrics include the lines

"No I don't believe in God so I can't be saved. All alone as I've learned to be in this mess I have made."

7. A little Ben Folds "Shop": Which one of these items does Darren Jessee NOT want to borrow in "For Those of Ya'll Who Wear Fannie Packs"?

Answer: A subwoofer

I'm not sure that we actually know WHY he wants to borrow these things, but what REALLY makes sense at all in this song? Some of the amazingly complex lines include

"I'm sorry, I can't give you any more monitor than that. It won't go any higher than that because the transistors, the resistors, they won't go any higher."

From the liner notes of "Naked Baby Photos", the album this comes from:

"Engineers tend to go out for coffee while we're on these kicks and luckily they often leave the tape machines on."

This was a quasi-jam session that was unscripted and is one of the few heavier, rap-ish songs the group Ben Folds Five released.

8. A little Ben Folds "Geography": Where hasn't Uncle Walter been?

Answer: The Nile

Uncle Walter is quite the raconteur! (storyteller)

With "tobacco juice rolling down his chin" he tells his nephews and nieces fascinating stories of what he's done in his life (while never leaving his tattered armchair, no less!) like "getting rich from a mail-order scheme". "What a perfect world would be if he was President!"

Apparently, when Ben was in high school, he was in a band with some college students who would leave him with one of their uncles (named Walter) and the inspiration for this song was gleaned through these visits.

9. A little Ben Folds "Fashion": Which one of these fashions is not mentioned in the song "Underground"?

Answer: big tattoo

In one of Ben Folds's more famous song openings, one of his bandmates asks someone to "hand me my nose ring" while another wants someone to "show me the mosh pit".

10. A little Ben Folds "Numbers": You'll probably need to sing the whole song to yourself to eventually arrive at the correct answer to this question: How many DIFFERENT people are mentioned in "Lullabye"? Hint: One is James Earl Jones

Answer: 12

These are the people mentioned, in the order they are mentioned:

The singer (1)
The singer's parents (3)
Lorraine (4)
The singer's aunt, grandma, and brother (7)
Uncle Richard (8)
James Earl Jones (9)
The pilot (10)
A tall dark man (11)
The "sweet baby" to whom the song is being sung (12)

I hope this quiz was as fun for you as it was for me while I was making it. It's my first attempt. Don't hesitate to let me know!

Source: Author testudfan

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor agony before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

Ben Folds's Songs Trivia Quiz

Ben Folds is taking you to school! If you didn't like school to begin with, you might want to take a hall pass and use the lavatory, but if you want to show off your lyrical knowledge, then take out your #2 pencils and get to the head of the class!

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>