I was surprised by the interpretations that the narrator was beaten by his father, but i find it very interesting and freshens up the song for many more listens
I tend to agree w/ gerg's interpretation of that one and I most definitely agree w/ his comments about the narrator being intensely loyal to his family just because that's the way it is and always has been, while still understanding how futile the whole thing is.
What used to be is gone and what ought to be ought not to be so hard
Marry Me is, IMO, the best song on Decoration Day and possibly the best song the band has recorded (apologies to Living Bubba). That song blew me away on first listen in a way that few (if any) songs ever had.
Heathens is a phenomenal song, but on an album that I think was the best album of the 00's, there are a good 6 songs that are even better. It's not a slag to Heathens so much as it is an endorsement to the brilliance of that album.
I don't think he's loyal to his family at all. I think he was born into a family feud and no one knows why they're fighting anymore. Every time he tried to talk his daddy out of fighting, he got his ass beat. He lived in fear, and now he lives in bitterness. He hates his family and he even says that if he was on the other side, he'd fight everyone in his family till the end.
And I knew when I woke up Rock N Roll would be here forever
Now I said, "they ain't give us trouble no more that we ain't brought down on ourselves" But a chain on my back and my ear to the floor and I'll send all the Hill Boys to hell.
It's a beat down. His dad hates the Hills. To even suggest the Hills might not be in the wrong is enough reason to beat him till he agrees. This is the deep south yall! You don't go against family in a feud.
and the rest as they say is uh er uh, well somebodies history somewhere?
beantownbubba wrote:I tend to agree w/ gerg's interpretation of that one and I most definitely agree w/ his comments about the narrator being intensely loyal to his family just because that's the way it is and always has been, while still understanding how futile the whole thing is.
Maybe he's stuck in this situation because he's the only one his dad has left. He has dead brothers everywhere and his dad had no one to fall on but him. No matter how stupid or futile he thinks this is, it would be hard to leave your dad alone in it.
beantownbubba wrote:I tend to agree w/ gerg's interpretation of that one and I most definitely agree w/ his comments about the narrator being intensely loyal to his family just because that's the way it is and always has been, while still understanding how futile the whole thing is.
Maybe he's stuck in this situation because he's the only one his dad has left. He has dead brothers everywhere and his dad had no one to fall on but him. No matter how stupid or futile he thinks this is, it would be hard to leave your dad alone in it.
beantownbubba wrote:I tend to agree w/ gerg's interpretation of that one and I most definitely agree w/ his comments about the narrator being intensely loyal to his family just because that's the way it is and always has been, while still understanding how futile the whole thing is.
Maybe he's stuck in this situation because he's the only one his dad has left. He has dead brothers everywhere and his dad had no one to fall on but him. No matter how stupid or futile he thinks this is, it would be hard to leave your dad alone in it.
Yep. Loyalty.
Loyalty like a beaten wife is loyal to her husband
And I knew when I woke up Rock N Roll would be here forever
mwh wrote: Maybe he's stuck in this situation because he's the only one his dad has left. He has dead brothers everywhere and his dad had no one to fall on but him. No matter how stupid or futile he thinks this is, it would be hard to leave your dad alone in it.
Yep. Loyalty.
Loyalty like a beaten wife is loyal to her husband
Nope. Loyalty DESPITE being beaten (if the beaten part is right), and not out of fear. Loyalty DESPITE knowing the feud is pointless. Loyalty DESPITE wishing he could just leave it all behind. Call it family. Call it loyalty. Call it pigheadedness. Call it what you will but to me, at least, it's very recognizable and very real and very honorable in its way. Also a sad waste, and tragic to the extent that this apparently good man can't escape his milieu, but that's another story for another song.
What used to be is gone and what ought to be ought not to be so hard
Zip City wrote:Loyalty like a beaten wife is loyal to her husband
Nope. Loyalty DESPITE being beaten (if the beaten part is right), and not out of fear. Loyalty DESPITE knowing the feud is pointless. Loyalty DESPITE wishing he could just leave it all behind. Call it family. Call it loyalty. Call it pigheadedness. Call it what you will but to me, at least, it's very recognizable and very real and very honorable in its way. Also a sad waste, and tragic to the extent that this apparently good man can't escape his milieu, but that's another story for another song.
I agree with Zip - loyalty by oppression - although he knew the feud was wrong and questioned it, he was beaten (pretty sure it's not a metaphor) and to avoid his daddy's wrath he went along with it - he completely resents his dad, for all his dad put him through (the beatings, the deaths of his brother, a meaningless feud, ultimately his dad's own death), and now that his dad's gone, he tries to put it all behind him (not taking his family to see his dad's grave/rolling a stone) but he can't escape it (Keeping me down boy won't keep me away - in early versions it was "keep you away"). There is familial love there though, as evidenced with the I know the caliber in daddy's chest, I know what Holland Hill drives line - no reason to say that unless he's considered avenging his daddy's murder.
It could be a parable for the way racism (or hate in general) is passed down from generation to generation; not saying jason meant it that way, but it does work on that level.
Oh did I mention the false-ending and coda is a motherfucker? *air drums into air guitar*
DD, Never Gonna Change, and maybe John Henry are the only JI songs I really consider DBT songs. The others, good as they are, are basically Jason solo songs that happen to feature DBT as the backing band.
Tyler wrote:DD, Never Gonna Change, and maybe John Henry are the only JI songs I really consider DBT songs. The others, good as they are, are basically Jason solo songs that happen to feature DBT as the backing band.
That's an interesting take. I see what you're saying...other than the songs you mentioned, you don't really see the band's personality come through in Jason's songs (good as they are) the way you do on Patterson's and Cooley's.
I think you have to include Outfit as a "DBT" song, though, if only because of Cooley's killer solo at the end.
Tyler wrote:DD, Never Gonna Change, and maybe John Henry are the only JI songs I really consider DBT songs. The others, good as they are, are basically Jason solo songs that happen to feature DBT as the backing band.
you could say that Heathens is just a solo Patterson song, or Loaded Gun is a solo Cooley song. It's a weird take on things
And I knew when I woke up Rock N Roll would be here forever
Sub wrote:I'll say something a little more controversial then that...
I never got into Marry Me half as much as everyone else around here, it just feels generic to me.
I've seen it take a Truckers show to the next level on at least one occasion. As in, it was taking them a while to hit their stride but once they unleashed "Marry Me" they were clearly firing on all cylinders.
cortez the killer wrote:I'll say something a little more controversial then that...
I never got into Marry Me half as much as everyone else around here, it just feels generic to me. I like "Marry Me" a lot. However, I'd place it in the bottom half of songs on Decoration Day.
I tried to find seven songs I liked more than Marry Me, but I couldn't do it. It's in my top 6 at least.
Sounds Better in the Song Outfit Decoration Day Marry Me When the Pin Hits the Shell
Middle tier:
Heathens My Sweet Annette Sinkhole The Deeper In Loaded Gun in the Closet Hell No, I Ain't Happy Your Daddy Hates Me
Bottom tier:
Careless Something's Gotta Give Pretty Soon Do It Yourself
If you put Something's Gotta Give at the top of the second tier, and drop Your Daddy Hates Me to the bottom tier, this would be almost exactly how I rank the album.
Sounds Better in the Song Outfit Decoration Day Marry Me When the Pin Hits the Shell
Middle tier:
Heathens My Sweet Annette Sinkhole The Deeper In Loaded Gun in the Closet Hell No, I Ain't Happy Your Daddy Hates Me
Bottom tier:
Careless Something's Gotta Give Pretty Soon Do It Yourself
If you put Something's Gotta Give at the top of the second tier, and drop Your Daddy Hates Me to the bottom tier, this would be almost exactly how I rank the album.
Mine's more like: Heathens Outfit Sinkhole Decoration Day Marry Me The Deeper In When the Pin Hits the Shell
Middle tier: Hell No, I Ain't Happy My Sweet Annette Something's Gotta Give Pretty Soon Do It Yourself Sounds Better in the Song Loaded Gun in the Closet
