What the hell does this lyric mean?

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Smitty
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Re: What the hell does this lyric mean?

Post by Smitty »

Clams wrote:I would love to hear Rev Matt's thoughts. He's our premier lyric breaker downer.


Me too - Jeremy's giving him a run for his money on this one though.
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one belt loop
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Re: What the hell does this lyric mean?

Post by one belt loop »

'Scratch wrote:
bovine knievel wrote:First line of Goddamn Lonely Love...

I got green and I got blues
and everyday there's a little less difference between the two.


:?:


I have money and I am depressed. Money doesn't alway buy happiness.


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Re: What the hell does this lyric mean?

Post by Sirk »

Duke Silver wrote:
And as long as we're asking random questions about The Dirty South, here's one. In the liner notes Jason says the horn parts for Danko/Manuel came to him in a dream. What horn parts? I've listened to that song a million times and have never heard horns.


The horns are blowing long notes in the chorus. They are subtle and low in the mix, but they aren't exactly hidden either.

As for green and blues, like someone else suggested in this thread, I've always thought of it as envy and depression.

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Re: What the hell does this lyric mean?

Post by Smitty »

Sirk wrote:
Duke Silver wrote:
And as long as we're asking random questions about The Dirty South, here's one. In the liner notes Jason says the horn parts for Danko/Manuel came to him in a dream. What horn parts? I've listened to that song a million times and have never heard horns.


The horns are blowing long notes in the chorus. They are subtle and low in the mix, but they aren't exactly hidden either.



Now that you mention it, I don't know how I missed it as I've listened to that song hundreds of times.
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Re: What the hell does this lyric mean?

Post by Sterling Big Mouth »

While we're talking about lyrics and Goddamn Lonely Love, anyone have an interpretation of:

Stop me if you've heard this one before:
A man walks into a bar and leaves before his ashes hit the floor.

I've assume he means if you have a real drinking problem, you're dead before your body actually taps out (and that's why he says "stop me if I ever get that far"), but I'd like to hear more opinions. And apologies if this is in the wrong thread or if my take is a Major League-esque "juuusst a bit outside."
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Re: What the hell does this lyric mean?

Post by Clams »

Sterling Big Mouth wrote:While we're talking about lyrics and Goddamn Lonely Love, anyone have an interpretation of:

Stop me if you've heard this one before:
A man walks into a bar and leaves before his ashes hit the floor.

I've assume he means if you have a real drinking problem, you're dead before your body actually taps out (and that's why he says "stop me if I ever get that far"), but I'd like to hear more opinions. And apologies if this is in the wrong thread or if my take is a Major League-esque "juuusst a bit outside."



I always assumed that meant that he leaves the bar after a very short time.
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Re: What the hell does this lyric mean?

Post by Jeremy »

Maybe the guy was smoking a cigarette and that's what he means about leaving real quick before his ashes hit the floor. Maybe the guy stays with a girl usually about that long. But think he is referring to a guy that bounces from girl to girl, bar to bar and town to town, maybe a musician and does so all his life. So the guy singing is scared to turn into the "man" in the story because he is already so lonely but can't make a commitment or ran out on his ole lady.

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Re: What the hell does this lyric mean?

Post by Sterling Big Mouth »

And that's why I asked. Thanks a lot.
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Re: What the hell does this lyric mean?

Post by Duke Silver »

Sterling Big Mouth wrote:While we're talking about lyrics and Goddamn Lonely Love, anyone have an interpretation of:

Stop me if you've heard this one before:
A man walks into a bar and leaves before his ashes hit the floor.

I've assume he means if you have a real drinking problem, you're dead before your body actually taps out (and that's why he says "stop me if I ever get that far"), but I'd like to hear more opinions. And apologies if this is in the wrong thread or if my take is a Major League-esque "juuusst a bit outside."


I took it as black humor. A reference to all the jokes that begin "So and so walks into a bar..." The narrator is using alcohol to deal with his loneliness, so the idea of leaving a bar so quickly (before his "ashes hit the floor") is funny to him.

But I like Jeremy's interpretation, too.
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Re: What the hell does this lyric mean?

Post by grayotis »

beantownbubba wrote:The drug interpretation makes as much sense as any, except i'm bothered by the singular "green" - that's a weird way to refer to "greens" or "greenies" - it's pretty much always one of those 2, isn't it? "Greenies" wouldn't fit but "greens" would so why not refer to 'em that way if that's what he meant?

I sort of leaned towards the green = money, blues = the blues interpretation but haven't been totally satisfied w/ it. But I like mwh's version, so for now, that works for me :)


IMHO, I think he meant to be ambiguous with the green and blues references. Down here in Louisiana, green can mean pot or reefer...or it can be money. Blues can mean the emotional state...or in my neck of the woods "blues" can mean Valium tablets.

It's one of my favorite songs & I like that he left the lyrics a little vague in spots...makes the song that much more intriguing.

g-o

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Re: What the hell does this lyric mean?

Post by midniterambler »

GuitarManUpstairs wrote:
midniterambler wrote:To the original point of this post..........everybody made some good points with their personal interpretations. Cooley has stated in interviews before though that sometimes he just writes the songs not really understanding what some of the lyrics mean. So it's hard to say what he was going for in this case or if he just found a few things that sounded good and stuck them together with a pre-existing theme.

Great song regardless.


I'm gonna call B.S. on Cooley. For some reason I don't believe him when he says these things. I mean I think its just him saying "Awe shucks..." He comes up with too much really good, profound shit for it to just be there happenstance 'cause it sounds right.... He probably just doesn't want to explain himself everytime he turns around about subjects that can be pretty complex if you really want to get into them. Or maybe he just enjoys the fact that folks interpret his lyrics differently - maybe that's why he never chimes in on his songs like Patterson does in the liner notes. Maybe I'm wrong, but I think its him being modest in his own way.



Maybe you're right. And I'm not saying that's the case with "Where The Devil Don't Stay", but I do think there's a "happenstance" element to some of Cooley's writing. Things that he puts in there because they sound cool and maybe he doesn't (consiously) know what they mean at the time. Being a musician myself and having written a few songs on my own, I think I sort of understand where Cooley's coming from.

Now, to your point, I think Cooley probably exaggerates how much this happens. It's probably a very small percentage of what he writes....5% of his lyrics maybe. But really, lets take a line from "Cartoon Gold"....."a mule with only two legs countin' steps to danglin' carrots don't add up"......I don't really get that line. Don't really think it makes much sense but I'm sure alot of people on this board have their own interpretation for it. It's a pretty weird, almost Dylan-esque image but it makes about as much sense as some of Dylan's mid-60's work. I think lines such as that are what Cooley's refering to. I don't think he writes whole songs or even whole verses not knowing what they mean.

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Re: What the hell does this lyric mean?

Post by Tequila Cowboy »

midniterambler wrote:."a mule with only two legs countin' steps to danglin' carrots don't add up"......I don't really get that line. Don't really think it makes much sense but I'm sure alot of people on this board have their own interpretation for it.


I just assume it's about people living their lives with false motivation to a better life that really doesn't exist. Frankly it's about the only line in the song I think is straightforward. :lol:
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Re: What the hell does this lyric mean?

Post by Smitty »

Tequila Cowboy wrote:
midniterambler wrote:."a mule with only two legs countin' steps to danglin' carrots don't add up"......I don't really get that line. Don't really think it makes much sense but I'm sure alot of people on this board have their own interpretation for it.


I just assume it's about people living their lives with false motivation to a better life that really doesn't exist. Frankly it's about the only line in the song I think is straightforward. :lol:


x2. The visual works well with the "Cartoon" motif too.
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Re: What the hell does this lyric mean?

Post by GuitarManUpstairs »

Smitty wrote:
Tequila Cowboy wrote:
midniterambler wrote:."a mule with only two legs countin' steps to danglin' carrots don't add up"......I don't really get that line. Don't really think it makes much sense but I'm sure alot of people on this board have their own interpretation for it.


I just assume it's about people living their lives with false motivation to a better life that really doesn't exist. Frankly it's about the only line in the song I think is straightforward. :lol:


x2. The visual works well with the "Cartoon" motif too.


I wonder how much this line has to do with the fact that the members of DBT actually refer to themselves as "Mules" with The Matador being the "Head Mule Wrangler". Just an interesting side to me. as for Cartoon Gold as a whole - its probably the most cryptic of all teh Cooley songs for me. I really dig the tune and after about 7 months of hearing it often i think I am finally starting to get some of it but its still half baked in my head. I have bits and pieces here and there for various lines but have not put together a cohesive take on all those ideas quite yet.
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Re: What the hell does this lyric mean?

Post by beantownbubba »

GuitarManUpstairs wrote:Just an interesting side to me. as for Cartoon Gold as a whole - its probably the most cryptic of all teh Cooley songs for me. I really dig the tune and after about 7 months of hearing it often i think I am finally starting to get some of it but its still half baked in my head. I have bits and pieces here and there for various lines but have not put together a cohesive take on all those ideas quite yet.


Sounds like a volunteer for SOTW to me. ;) I bet Clams has already written your name/assignment in the schedule.
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Re: What the hell does this lyric mean?

Post by GuitarManUpstairs »

beantownbubba wrote:
GuitarManUpstairs wrote:Just an interesting side to me. as for Cartoon Gold as a whole - its probably the most cryptic of all teh Cooley songs for me. I really dig the tune and after about 7 months of hearing it often i think I am finally starting to get some of it but its still half baked in my head. I have bits and pieces here and there for various lines but have not put together a cohesive take on all those ideas quite yet.


Sounds like a volunteer for SOTW to me. ;) I bet Clams has already written your name/assignment in the schedule.


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Re: What the hell does this lyric mean?

Post by midniterambler »

Tequila Cowboy wrote:
midniterambler wrote:."a mule with only two legs countin' steps to danglin' carrots don't add up"......I don't really get that line. Don't really think it makes much sense but I'm sure alot of people on this board have their own interpretation for it.


I just assume it's about people living their lives with false motivation to a better life that really doesn't exist. Frankly it's about the only line in the song I think is straightforward. :lol:



I agree with you....with you're interpretation of it. I think that's what Cooley was probably getting at but I don't think it's straight forward at all. At least not for me. To me it's vague and ambiguous. It's probably about pursuing something (happiness? wealth?) quite helplessly and hopelessly but to me it's not obvious.

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Re: What the hell does this lyric mean?

Post by phungi »

bovine knievel wrote:First line of Goddamn Lonely Love...

I got green and I got blues
and everyday there's a little less difference between the two.


:?:


which I interpret as:" I got jealousy and I got sadness"
We got messed up minds for these messed up times...

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Re: What the hell does this lyric mean?

Post by Rocky »

Now this is how you bump an old thread kids.
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Re: What the hell does this lyric mean?

Post by phungi »

Rocky wrote:Now this is how you bump an old thread kids.


this really is Clams' fault
We got messed up minds for these messed up times...

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Re: What the hell does this lyric mean?

Post by Tequila Cowboy »

phungi wrote:
Rocky wrote:Now this is how you bump an old thread kids.


this really is Clams' fault


it usually is.
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Re: What the hell does this lyric mean?

Post by Immunogoblin »

While we're analyzing lyrics, here's what I've always wondered about:

"Don't ever say your car is broke."

Should we take this to mean that if you have car trouble, you should keep quiet about it? Or does the narrator just dislike the particular way of stating "my car is broke." ?

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Re: What the hell does this lyric mean?

Post by Zip City »

Immunogoblin wrote:While we're analyzing lyrics, here's what I've always wondered about:

"Don't ever say your car is broke."

Should we take this to mean that if you have car trouble, you should keep quiet about it? Or does the narrator just dislike the particular way of stating "my car is broke." ?


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Re: What the hell does this lyric mean?

Post by Markalanbishop »

^^^

I think it means that you should be self-sufficient and be able to handle things like, fixing your car or being able to round up some friends to help you fix it. In other words, don't admit defeat, don't give up, etc.
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Re: What the hell does this lyric mean?

Post by bovine knievel »

Markalanbishop wrote:^^^

I think it means that you should be self-sufficient and be able to handle things like, fixing your car or being able to round up some friends to help you fix it. In other words, don't admit defeat, don't give up, etc.


That's my interpretation too. Plus, Southern ingenuity can fix anything.
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Re: What the hell does this lyric mean?

Post by Markalanbishop »

bovine knievel wrote:
Markalanbishop wrote:^^^

I think it means that you should be self-sufficient and be able to handle things like, fixing your car or being able to round up some friends to help you fix it. In other words, don't admit defeat, don't give up, etc.


That's my interpretation too. Plus, Southern ingenuity can fix anything.


Another excellent band name: Southern Ingenuity.
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Re: What the hell does this lyric mean?

Post by Cole Younger »

Blast from the past.

Cartoon Gold is a puzzle. All this time later I still don't get a lot of it. Cooley said that a lot of it was inspired by a crack a bartender made to him while the Truckers were in L.A. He had been walking around and had his sunglasses on. By the time he decided to hit a bar it was night. He had set his sunglasses up on his head and forgotten they were there. The bartender cracked, "what is that your thing? Going around at night with sunglasses on?"

Telling the story Cooley said, "I thought to myself, 'did an L.A. Bartender just accuse me of being pretentious?" I thought pretension in L.A. Was like children's laughter in the the Pixar movie about the monsters. I thought it kept the lights on."

Funny and it seems that was the starting point for the song and how that maybe made him homesick. But a lot of it seems totally unrelated to that. Maybe just a song about the grind of the road. I've always interpreted "a mule with only two legs takin steps toward dangling carrots don't add up." as him saying that busting your hump for something better takes you away from the ones you love. That seem to jibe with "once the driver knows you've got good sense he takes away the carrots too." Basically, once you prove yourself reliable the prospect of reward goes away because it's obvious that you are gonna do your part.

As for "don't ever say your car is broke". Jason has explained that. His dad was telling him to at least know enough to be able to tell a mechanic what is most likely the problem. That way you are less likely to get treated like a sucker and taken to the cleaners.
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Re: What the hell does this lyric mean?

Post by Smitty »

phungi wrote:
bovine knievel wrote:First line of Goddamn Lonely Love...

I got green and I got blues
and everyday there's a little less difference between the two.


:?:


which I interpret as:" I got jealousy and I got sadness"


Or weed & Lorcets (or valium; both are referred to as "blues" in Al/Ga). I think that double meaning was intentional, especially considering the song.
Jason Isbell wrote:I tried real hard to come up with a different way of saying this, but it just seemed to fit.
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Re: What the hell does this lyric mean?

Post by dbtfan4life »

thats what i always thought. In TN green and blues means weed and xanax

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Re: What the hell does this lyric mean?

Post by buddymo »

bovine knievel wrote:First line of Goddamn Lonely Love...

I got green and I got blues
and everyday there's a little less difference between the two.


:?:
It’s a commentary on the rapidly dropping price of Viagra. It took another 12 years for the blue to require the same amount of green as a Happy Meal.

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