“Coming Up Close” is a song by the American new wave band ‘Til Tuesday, written by lead singer Aimee Mann and produced by Rhett Davies. It was released in 1986 as the second and final single from their second studio album, Welcome Home, peaking at No. 59 on the US Billboard Hot 100.
The track was one of the first songs Mann wrote using an acoustic guitar rather than her usual bass, composed during the band’s 1985 tour with Hall & Oates. Although the band preferred it as the lead single, the label chose “What About Love” for its more immediate pop appeal. The song is critically noted for its Raymond Carver-esque narrative detailing a summer night drive through the Iowa cornfields, where the narrator and a companion listen to a Bob Dylan tape and carve their hearts into an abandoned farmhouse.
Themes: Critics and fans interpret the lyrics as a poignant reflection on nostalgia, fleeting romantic connection, and a “missed connection” that feels like reaching a spiritual or emotional zenith (“coming up close”) without fully achieving it.
Legacy: While the Welcome Home album did not meet Epic Records’ commercial expectations, the song is often cited as a standout track that showcased Mann’s capacity for deep, introspective songwriting, paving the way for her later solo career. It was later included in the 1996 greatest hits compilation, Coming Up Close: A Retrospective.
[Verse 1]
One night in Iowa, he and I in a borrowed car
Went driving in the summer, promises in every star
Out in the distance I could hear some people laughing
I felt my heart beat back a weekend’s worth of sadness
[Verse 2]
There was a farmhouse that had long since been deserted
We stopped and carved our hearts into the wooden surface
We thought just for an instant we could see the future
We thought for once we knew what really was important
[Chorus]
Coming up close
Everything sounds like welcome home
Come home
And oh, by the way
Don’t you know that I could make
A dream that’s barely half-awake come true
I wanted to say–
But anything I could have said
I felt somehow that you already knew
[Verse 3]
We got back in the car and listened to a Dylan tape
We drove around the fields until it started getting late
And I went back to my hotel room on the highway
And he just got back in his car and drove away
[Chorus]
Coming up close
Everything sounds like welcome home
Come home
Oh, by the way
Don’t you know that I could make
A dream that’s barely half-awake come true
I wanted to say–
But anything I could have said
I felt somehow that you already knew
[Outro]
Coming up close
Everything sounds like welcome home
Come home
Coming up close
Everything sounds like welcome home
Come home
Come on home
