Closer to Fine
{{Short description|1989 single by Indigo Girls}}
{{Infobox single
| name = Closer to Fine
| type = single
| artist = Indigo Girls
| album = Indigo Girls
| B-side = History of Us
| released = 1989
| genre = Folk
| label = Epic
| writer = Emily Saliers
| producer = Scott Litt
| prev_title = Land of Canaan
| prev_year = 1989
| next_title = Hammer and a Nail
| next_year = 1990
}}
"Closer to Fine" is a folk single by Indigo Girls, an American songwriting duo consisting of Amy Ray and Emily Saliers. The single, released in 1989 from their eponymous second album, was written by Saliers. The song primarily speaks to the search for meaning in life. "Closer to Fine" was reviewed favorably, and appeared in the 2023 film Barbie.
Composition
"Closer to Fine" is written by Emily Saliers, half of the Indigo Girls duo. Both Saliers and Amy Ray, the other band member, play acoustic guitar and sing on this track, giving the song a melody and a countermelody.{{Cite news |last1=Thompson |first1=Stephen |last2=Lorusso |first2=Maria |date=June 19, 2023 |title=Three songs for the perfect summer road trip playlist |work=All Things Considered |url=https://www.npr.org/2023/06/19/1183098058/three-songs-for-the-perfect-summer-road-trip-playlist |access-date=August 31, 2023}}{{Cite encyclopedia |title=Closer to Fine (1989)—Indigo Girls |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Great Popular Song Recordings |publisher=Scarecrow Press |last=Sullivan |first=Steve |date=2013 |page=247 |isbn=9780810882966}} The lyrics, termed by Trish Bendix of The New York Times as "slightly inscrutable", center around the search for meaning in life introspectively and in the wider world. The verses of the song, which are sung over four chords, build to the chorus, louder and resting an octave higher:{{Cite news |last=Bendix |first=Trish |date=July 24, 2023 |title=How the Indigo Girls brought Barbie 'Closer to Fine' |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/24/arts/music/barbie-indigo-girls-closer-to-fine.html |access-date=August 31, 2023}}
"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,
Closer I am to fine."{{Cite news |last=Polgreen |first=Lydia |date=August 8, 2023 |title=Why is everyone suddenly listening to a staple of my angsty adolesence? |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/08/opinion/indigo-girls-barbie-cringe.html |access-date=August 31, 2023}}
The song does not directly answer the question of meaning, instead advising to take life less seriously – one lyric reads "it's only life, after all". In an interview with The New York Times, Saliers said she felt that the song advised making life a little better by seeking small pieces of knowledge from a wide variety of sources, instead of looking for a universal truth in one place.
Reception
| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"
|+Chart performance for "Closer to Fine" |
| scope="col"|Chart (1989)
!scope="col"|Peak |
|---|
| {{single chart|Billboardhot100|52|artist=Indigo Girls|rowheader=true}} |
| {{single chart|Billboardadultcontemporary|48|artist=Indigo Girls|rowheader=true}} |
| {{single chart|Billboardalternativesongs|26|artist=Indigo Girls|rowheader=true}} |
| {{single chart|Billboardmainstreamrock|48|artist=Indigo Girls|rowheader=true}} |
Reception for "Closer to Fine" was positive. In 2016, NME ranked it 15th on its list of the 50 best tracks of 1989.{{Cite news |date=October 10, 2016 |title=NME's best albums and tracks of 1989 |work=NME |url=https://www.nme.com/features/1989-2-1045381 |access-date=August 30, 2023}} Billboard ranked it 17th on its list of the 65 best LGBTQ anthems.{{Cite magazine |date=June 2, 2023 |title=65 top LGBTQ+ anthems of all time |magazine=Billboard |url=https://www.billboard.com/lists/lgbtq-anthems-queer-pride-songs/ |access-date=August 30, 2023}} Reviewers have hailed "Closer to Fine" as a road trip song: Maria Lorusso of All Things Considered argues that the friendship between Ray and Saliers, and the melody/counter-melody singing it gives rise to, gives the song "extremely high singalong potential". Saliers agreed with the idea an interview, commenting that "it's got a very easy melody and really easy chorus, and the chorus repeats".
"Closer to Fine" experienced a resurgence in popularity when it was featured on the 2023 film Barbie. It was played on three occasions in the film, first as the song that plays when the titular character takes a road trip to leave Barbieland for the real world. It also appears in the trailer. Reviewers noted that the song was an anomaly among tracks by contemporary pop stars such as Dua Lipa and Lizzo, but spoke positively to its placement in the movie. Brandi Carlile covered the song with backup vocals from her wife in the film's accompanying soundtrack, although the original is the version that appears in the movie.