After the scene dies - lyrics question

[mgsooner]

The graffiti on the back stage wall gets painted over in muted shade
The club becomes an Old Navy
After the scene dies

When the last six-string slinger has to bow down for health insurance
and accept the mundane
After the scene dies

When the last one leaves and the last note fades and the last dream's been put away
Shut the light off / Shut the light off

When the front man turns to Jesus and the drummer moves away
I'll still be doing what pleases me
After the scene dies

When the bartender passes and the owner cashes out
And they box up the glasses and take the sound system down
Guitars back in their cases
Don't forget my fries
After the scene dies

Lyrics: Patterson Hood / Music: Cooley, Hood, Morgan, Neff, Tucker and Gonzalez
© Razor and Tie Music (BMI)
(September 2, 2006 - Corpus Christie TX. Bus)

Patterson Hood - Lead Vocal, Lead Guitar / Mike Cooley - Lead Guitar / John Neff - Lead Guitar / Shonna Tucker - Bass and Backing Vocal / Brad Morgan - Drums / Jay Gonzalez - B3 and Backing Vocal


Don't forget my fries?? Either this has some sort of significance that I'm not catching or that is a rather random lyric. Someone please enlighten me.

[mgsooner]

My interpretation is that he's saying "Don't forget my fries" to the musician who has quit the band and is now working in fast food.

Okay that makes some sense. Still a bit random, but at least I won't be asking myself WTF every time I hear it now. lol

[bootlegend]

I had the same interpretation as well, but agree that it is a bit of a head-scratcher.

[Clams]

My interpretation is that he's saying "Don't forget my fries" to the musician who has quit the band and is now working in fast food.

Okay that makes some sense. Still a bit random, but at least I won't be asking myself WTF every time I hear it now. lol

I can see it now.... Webisode # 142... Cooley talking in a dark room.... "The record was just about done, but Patterson had this one lyric that just didn't sound right... "Don't forget my KFC Double Down, After the scene dies." But we had just ordered McDonald's in the studio and we were all eating our fuckin' french fries. Well, we just looked at each other and we all knew. "Don't forget my fries" rhymes with "After the scene dies!" The motherfuckin' record was done!"

[bovine knievel]

Everytime I hear the "fries" reference, I think of the Todd Snider tune - I Can't Complain.

A little out of place, a little out of tune
Sorta lost in space, racin' the moon
Climbin' the walls of this hurricane
Still overall I can?t complain

All I wanted was one chance
To let freedom ring
They said I had to get a permit
Tags and everythin'

I never made it through their red tape
I got this paper hat
I got a job workin' weekdays
You want fries with that...

[mgsooner]

I can see it now.... Webisode # 142... Cooley talking in a dark room.... "The record was just about done, but Patterson had this one lyric that just didn't sound right... "Don't forget my KFC Double Down, After the scene dies." But we had just ordered McDonald's in the studio and we were all eating our fuckin' french fries. Well, we just looked at each other and we all knew. "Don't forget my fries" rhymes with "After the scene dies!" The motherfuckin' record was done!"

[RevMatt]

I interpreted it a little bit different, don't know if it is right or wrong. The singer is the last one to leave. So as everyone else is packing up he's still got an order into the kitchen for a plate of fries. He's the last customer on the last day and if they are locking up and closing down for good he'll have his to go.

[hpz4]

My interpretation is that he's saying "Don't forget my fries" to the musician who has quit the band and is now working in fast food.

I thought maybe the club that's shutting down is being turned into a fast food place.

[beantownbubba]

I interpreted it a little bit different, don't know if it is right or wrong. The singer is the last one to leave. So as everyone else is packing up he's still got an order into the kitchen for a plate of fries. He's the last customer on the last day and if they are locking up and closing down for good he'll have his to go.

My interpretation is pretty similar to yours, Rev, but really, i'm thinking we're all stretching because it's a weak lyric, basically a random rhyme and a very noticeable weak moment in an otherwise stellar song.

[Clams]

I interpreted it a little bit different, don't know if it is right or wrong. The singer is the last one to leave. So as everyone else is packing up he's still got an order into the kitchen for a plate of fries. He's the last customer on the last day and if they are locking up and closing down for good he'll have his to go.

My interpretation is pretty similar to yours, Rev, but really, i'm thinking we're all stretching because it's a weak lyric, basically a random rhyme and a very noticeable weak moment in an otherwise stellar song.

I doubt it's random. There are enough words that rhyme with "dies" that he could've easily come up with something that made sense if he wanted to. I'm sure Patterson knew people would wonder about it and that's why he left it in there.

[ramonz]

Clams, I asked the same question in an "old" 9B thread a few months back - you were able to scare up a bit more commentary than I was. I think it was in a "Best Lines in TBTD" thread.

My interpretation was somewhat similar to RevMatt's. Sort of. Well, maybe not. Anyway, Dude is resigned to the fact that it's all over and the dream has died. The things most important to him (the band, the tunes, the venue, his guitars, etc.) are all going or gone....and he's left with just the base human needs, like hunger, thirst, sex, shelter, etc. "Don't forget my fries."

[whatwouldcooleydo?]

FRIES FRIES FRIES, AT LEAST I'M ENJOYIN' THE FRIES

[ramonz]

Clams, I asked the same question in an "old" 9B thread a few months back - you were able to scare up a bit more commentary than I was. I think it was in a "Best Lines in TBTD" thread.

My interpretation was somewhat similar to RevMatt's. Sort of. Well, maybe not. Anyway, Dude is resigned to the fact that it's all over and the dream has died. The things most important to him (the band, the tunes, the venue, his guitars, etc.) are all going or gone....and he's left with just the base human needs, like hunger, thirst, sex, shelter, etc. "Don't forget my fries."

Woops, sorry mg, meant to reply to your original post....that's what I get for trying to sneak a 3DD sesh into Friday afternoon work.

[EddieHinton]

I interpreted it a little bit different, don't know if it is right or wrong. The singer is the last one to leave. So as everyone else is packing up he's still got an order into the kitchen for a plate of fries. He's the last customer on the last day and if they are locking up and closing down for good he'll have his to go.

My interpretation is pretty similar to yours, Rev, but really, i'm thinking we're all stretching because it's a weak lyric, basically a random rhyme and a very noticeable weak moment in an otherwise stellar song.

Horseshit. These guys don't write weak lyrics or use randon rhymes. The worst nightmare of any professional musician, or at least Patterson, is to go back to flipping burgers. This lyric captures that perfectly. My favorite line in the song.

[Tequila Cowboy]

I interpreted it a little bit different, don't know if it is right or wrong. The singer is the last one to leave. So as everyone else is packing up he's still got an order into the kitchen for a plate of fries. He's the last customer on the last day and if they are locking up and closing down for good he'll have his to go.

My interpretation is pretty similar to yours, Rev, but really, i'm thinking we're all stretching because it's a weak lyric, basically a random rhyme and a very noticeable weak moment in an otherwise stellar song.

Horseshit. These guys don't write weak lyrics or use randon rhymes. The worst nightmare of any professional musician, or at least Patterson, is to go back to flipping burgers. This lyric captures that perfectly. My favorite line in the song.

I completely agree with this.

[beantownbubba]

Yeah, well, you can interpret it any way you want, but i don't see how u get there from here:

When the front man turns to Jesus and the drummer moves away
I'll still be doing what pleases me
After the scene dies

When the bartender passes and the owner cashes out
And they box up the glasses and take the sound system down
Guitars back in their cases
Don't forget my fries
After the scene dies

What you're saying is that, despite declaring in the next to last verse that come hell or high water the singer's gonna keep on keepin on, one verse later he's somehow referencing flipping burgers as his next step? If you're saying that "don't forget my fries" is the singer imagining a customer talking to him at a burger joint, you're talking about changing POV, tense, and just about everything else in the space of both one line (describing a very specific moment) and one verse (when he's already looked ahead and basically said he won't be giving up). Everyone's entitled to their interpretation, and i've already said that i'm not too sure of mine, but please don't tell me that (i) it's clear and (ii) "these guys don't write weak lyrics". EVERYONE writes weak lyrics sometimes. I'll admit i don't know if they've ever just written random rhymes, but it seems a lot more likely to me that they have than that they never have. Last i heard, all of 'em were human. Hell, even Dylan's been known to throw in the occasional random rhyme and throwaway couplet or verse. Some would say he's done whole albums like that

[beantownbubba]

Oh, and welcome eddie.

[Tequila Cowboy]

Beantown, I think part of where we differ in the interpretation is that I don't think the narrator is the singer. Otherwise why would the line be "when the "frontman turns to Jesus"? I think the narrator is a follower of the scene and "don't forget my fries' is his derision of everyone giving up and, to paraphrase, accepting the mundane.

[EddieHinton]

Oh, and welcome eddie.

Thanks. Sorry for the abrupt entry onto the board. I'm a bit of a fanatic.
Of Course you can interpret lyrics anyway you like. That's one of the best things about songs.
What are some other examples of what you consider weak lyrics?

[RevMatt]

I can't think of any weak lyrics, just songs I don't like as much as others.

[Clams]

Oh, and welcome eddie.

Thanks. Sorry for the abrupt entry onto the board. I'm a bit of a fanatic.
Of Course you can interpret lyrics anyway you like. That's one of the best things about songs.
What are some other examples of what you consider weak lyrics?

I remember some discussion a long while back about "bitch slapped and abandoned" from The Home Front. I think it perfectly nails the sentiment of the soldier's young wife but others considered it weak.

[lajakesdad]

I always thought it to mean he would end up working fast food after the band breaks up. But I like Rev's angle. Makes total sense.


When I first heard it, I thought it was don't forget my prize

[Smitty]

My interpretation is that he's saying "Don't forget my fries" to the musician who has quit the band and is now working in fast food.

I thought maybe the club that's shutting down is being turned into a fast food place.

Thats what I got out of it too. Works either way though

[laraelisabeth]

I have to agree w/ BtB on this. I think it is a very weak lyric. This would be a contender for my favorite song on the album if not for that one line. And while it may indeed be indicative of Patterson's worst nightmare and may be there intentionally, that doesn't mean it isn't weak. In my opinion, it does not flow well at all. If you have to pause and wonder about a lyric every time you hear it- not in a good way, but in a why-is-this-in-the-middle-of-the-song way, something is lacking. There have been many songs on other albums that I haven't completely grasped the meaning or significance of every line in, but without thinking that it made the song jerky or awkward. Other awkward lyric contender, to me, is 4th night. My checks and balances up shit creek... A disposition of valleys and peaks... My friends list was shrinking... I know a lot of y'all love this song, and even these exact lyrics, but they seem too strained or contrived to me. Again, it doesn't flow effortlessly as his best work does. ARGHH. I am now late for work. More later...

[beantownbubba]

Oh, and welcome eddie.

Thanks. Sorry for the abrupt entry onto the board. I'm a bit of a fanatic.
Of Course you can interpret lyrics anyway you like. That's one of the best things about songs.
What are some other examples of what you consider weak lyrics?

LOL, i knew this question was coming and i know i'm fucked: Any song i mention will be somebody's favorite. But it's actually a harder question than i thought when i originally posted above. If "weak" means in the sort of creative writing class sense, that's different and harder than what the Rev said about some songs he just likes less. I thought of that thread about "The Home Front" right away, but i have to agree w/ Zip that awkward's a better description. "Little Pony and Great Big Horse" and "You and Your Crystal Meth" are imo examples of mediocre writing. Take the menacing music out of "A Blessing and a Curse" and what's left is a bit muddled to me, especially the glory/story rhyme (though i like the song). Most of the other ones that come immediately to mind are more songs i don't like as much rather than being examples of weak writing per se, but if my memory is jogged as I listen in the next couple of days, I'll post again.

[cortez the killer]

There exists a delicious irony here regarding what is the best word to describe a songwriter's decision to use a particular lyric or verse.

Count me in the camp that likes the "Don't forget my fries" line.

[John A Arkansawyer]

The club becomes an Old Navy, not a fast food place. I think it's just an unmistakeable reference to ordering fast food and what you take away from it is yours.

[mgsooner]

LOL, i knew this question was coming and i know i'm fucked: Any song i mention will be somebody's favorite. But it's actually a harder question than i thought when i originally posted above. If "weak" means in the sort of creative writing class sense, that's different and harder than what the Rev said about some songs he just likes less. I thought of that thread about "The Home Front" right away, but i have to agree w/ Zip that awkward's a better description. "Little Pony and Great Big Horse" and "You and Your Crystal Meth" are imo examples of mediocre writing. Take the menacing music out of "A Blessing and a Curse" and what's left is a bit muddled to me, especially the glory/story rhyme (though i like the song). Most of the other ones that come immediately to mind are more songs i don't like as much rather than being examples of weak writing per se, but if my memory is jogged as I listen in the next couple of days, I'll post again.

Not to turn this into a "bitch about what you feel are bad Truckers lyrics thread", but every time I hear "you'll have a big ol' brain" in Eyes Like Glue it kind of makes me cringe. I'm sure a lot of people will disagree with me on that one.

As for Scene, lots of great insight here. It will always be a bit curious to me, but at least now I have several plausible theories about why it's in there. That will make it much less "cringeworthy" for me.

[RevMatt]

I think there are two approaches to songwriting. Patterson Hood strikes me as someone who writes a lot of songs, probably much more than the average songwriter. He tends not to dicker too much with the lyrics, maybe fixing a few things on the fly in rehearsal. The result: lots of songs but stray lines here and there. Neil Young is a similar writer but probably puts more half finished songs on albums than any other artist. I don't know if this increases the amount of great songs an artist will write. But it does mean lots more albums than most other artists or, as in the case of Bruce Springsteen, thirty plus songs to choose from when putting together a twelve song album.

Other songwriters tend not to present a song to a band, let alone record it, until in their minds it seems perfect. Leonard Cohen is such a songwriter. He goes something like five years between albums but when he does release an album nearly every song is a classic.

Neil Young and Leonard Cohen have been recording approximately the same amount of time during the same time period. I think each writer has an equal amount of great songs. Neil has way more albums than Cohen. But Cohen's songs are so good that you need to buy and listen to the entire album.

I don't think Patterson Hood is as extreme as Neil Young in that I don't think you can say that he puts unfinished songs on an album. But he is prolific and, unlike Springsteen, willing to release a large percentage of what he writes. The result is a stray line here and there or an awkward phrase every now and then. But fans get a new DBT album just about every year. I think we like it that way.

Also, Patterson Hood experiments a whole lot more with his songs. I can identify at least a half dozen styles he uses and there seems to be new things he is doing on each album. The only way to develop this is to write a lot of songs.

[mgsooner]

Excellent post.