American Band lyrics & interpretations

[potatoeater]

I concede the compel/defeat debate, lol. The Cooley solo is very clear. Thanks guys! Updated!

I also updated line 21. The Cooley solo made it pretty damn obvious.

https://archive.org/details/mc2016-07-15

[potatoeater]

"What It Means"

What It Means (PATTERSON)

He was running down the street
when they shot him in his tracks
about the only thing agreed upon is he ain't coming back
there won't be any trial so the air it won't be cleared
There's just two sides calling names out of anger and of fear
if you say it wasn't racial when they shot him in his tracks
well I guess that means that you ain't black,
it means that you ain't black
I mean Barack Obama won and you can choose where to eat
but you don't see too many white kids
lying bleeding on the street

In some town in Missouri but it could be anywhere
it could be right here on Ruth Street,
in fact it happened here
it's happened where you're sitting, wherever that might be
it happened last weekend and it will happen again next week
and when they turned him over,
they were surprised there was no gun
I mean he must have done something,
or else why would he have run
and they'll spin it for the anchors on the television screen
so we can shrug and let it happen
without asking what it means. What it means?

Then I guess there was protesting
and some looting in some stores
and someone was reminded that
they ain't called colored folks no more
I mean we try to be politically correct when we call names
but what's the point of post-racial
when old prejudice remains
and that guy who killed that kid
down in Florida standing ground
is free to beat up on his girlfriend
and wave his brand new gun around
while some kid is dead and buried and laying in the ground
with a pocket full of Skittles

Astrophysics at our fingertips and
we're standing at the summit
some man with a joystick lands a rocket on a comet
We're living in an age where limitations are forgotten
the outer edges move and dazzle us
but the core is something rotten
We're standing on the precipice of prejudice and fear
we trust science just as long as it tells us
what we want to hear
we want our truths all fair and balanced as
long as our notions lie within it
There's no sunlight in our ass'
and our heads are stuck up in it
and our heroes may be rapists who watch us while we dream
but don't look to me for answers cuz
I don't know what it means
What it means?

[potatoeater]

"Ramon Casiano"

Ramon Casiano (COOLEY)

It all started with the border
and that's still where it is today
Someone killed Ramon Casiano
and the killer got away
Down by the sister city's river
two boys with way more pride than sense
One would fall and one would prosper
never forced to make amends

He became a border agent
and supplemented what he made
with creative deportation
and missing ammo by the case
Since Bullet ran the operation
there's hardly been a menace since
that ain't amassing at the border
from Chinese troops to terrorists

He had the makings of a leader
of a certain kind of men
who need to feel the world's against them
out to get them if it can
Men whose triggers pull they're fingers
Men who would rather fight than win
United in a revolution
Like in mind and like in skin

It all started with the border
and that's still where it is today
Down by the sister city's river
What for sure no one can say
but killing's been the Bullet's business
since back in 1931
Someone killed Ramon Casiano
and Ramon still ain't dead enough

[potatoeater]

"Darkened Flags On The Cusp Of Dawn"

Darkened Flags on the Cusp of Dawn (PATTERSON)

The darkest nights we look upon
They smolder on the lawn
What we smite and bathe in light
and where we crawl out from
Draw the blood, accept the stain
Everyone looks upon
Darkened flags on the cusp of dawn

We should light out for the trees or the great beyond
Light out for the love of thee, we build our lives upon
Cast aside the hurtful things that bear the fruit of scorn
Darkened flags on the cusp of dawn

So you've moved out from the city to horizons stretched out far
Beyond the pains and the reach of planes, chasing distant stars
The baggage that you take defines the things that you become
Darkened flags on the cusp of dawn

[potatoeater]

So to get it sort of all in one place that you can bookmark or what have you, here are the American Band interim lyrics links.

To bookmark this post click the following link then add that page to your bookmarks.
http://threedimesdown.com/forum/viewtop ... 04#p311404


Ramon Casiano
Darkened Flags on the Cusp of Dawn
Surrender Under Protest
Guns of Umpqua
Filthy and Fried
When The Sun Don't Shine
Kinky Hypocrites
Ever South
What It Means
Once They Banned Imagine
Baggage

Links to lists of live recordings of the new songs:
Set 1 as of 06-26-16: http://threedimesdown.com/forum/viewtop ... 20#p308701
Set 2 as of 08-05-16: http://threedimesdown.com/forum/viewtop ... 50#p311176

[brett27295]

Might need some help with this one too, folks. There are no real good recordings of this song.

"Darkened Flags On The Cusp Of Dawn"

You nailed it. That's exactly what I have...unless we're both wrong of course lol.

[drommel56]

[quote="potatoeater"]I will admit that this song brings tears to my eyes when I just sit and listen and think.

"Guns Of Umpqua"


"...heavens calling my name from the hallway outside the door"


Gut punch

[Kudzu Guillotine]

I don't think there's any questions about the meaning of Baggage: Robin Williams and depression

Just in case folks here don't already know, Joseph Arthur also has a nice tribute to Robin Williams:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MBCEL2Bj9n0
("youtube" linking didn't work)

FWIW, I'm not a long=time fan of either but JA and DBT are two of the handful of artists who've really resonated most with me in the last few years.

When you wrap a link to YouTube in the YouTube tags you only include the portion of the URL past the equal marks (in bold above). Someone was kind enough to point that out to me some time ago, otherwise it's not clear at all how the YouTube tags work.

Oh, and I love Joseph Arthur. I heard of him several years back when he did some shows with R.E.M. (and recorded with Stipe) but it wasn't until his The Ballad of Boogie Christ record that I became a fan. I was fortunate enough to catch him on tour with Mike Mills shortly thereafter. One of my favorites from that record is "All the Old Heroes", which has a kick ass video to match.

[beantownbubba]

So to get it sort of all in one place that you can bookmark or what have you, here are the American Band interim lyrics links.

To bookmark this post click the following link then add that page to your bookmarks.
http://threedimesdown.com/forum/viewtop ... 04#p311404


Ramon Casiano - http://threedimesdown.com/forum/viewtop ... 60#p311402
Darkened Flags on the Cusp of Dawn - http://threedimesdown.com/forum/viewtop ... 60#p311403
Surrender Under Protest - http://threedimesdown.com/forum/viewtop ... 30#p311389
Guns of Umpqua - http://threedimesdown.com/forum/viewtop ... 30#p311373
Filthy and Fried - http://threedimesdown.com/forum/viewtop ... 15#p311066
Sun Don't Shine - http://threedimesdown.com/forum/viewtop ... 30#p311174
Kinky Hypocrite - Not Yet Available
Ever South - http://threedimesdown.com/forum/viewtop ... 30#p311190
What It Means - http://threedimesdown.com/forum/viewtop ... 60#p311401
Once They Banned Imagine - http://threedimesdown.com/forum/viewtop ... 30#p311224
Baggage - http://threedimesdown.com/forum/viewtop ... 30#p311159

Links to lists of live recordings of the new songs:
Set 1 as of 06-26-16: http://threedimesdown.com/forum/viewtop ... 20#p308701
Set 2 as of 07-30-16: http://threedimesdown.com/forum/viewtop ... 50#p311176

Yeoman's job on the lyrics, spudman, topped by this index post. Great work, much appreciated.

[potatoeater]

Yeoman's job on the lyrics, spudman, topped by this index post. Great work, much appreciated.

Thanks and most welcome. I enjoyed the work. It allowed me to really connect with the songs more than I would have just passively listening. Additional thanks to Smitty and Duke Silver for lyric submissions. Smitty really is the one who got me started on this work when he messaged me to ask if I could post some on his behalf since he was having trouble doing so. I had already done some legwork posting links to available live recordings. I believe his ultimate goal is to get some real conversation started about these new songs. Having clean lyrics to reference will help that happen. I think this album is going to be some of their best work ever. I mean up to this point or going forward. This is award worthy music. All those pledging to leave, burn records and all that other bull really need to read these lyrics and wait for the album to come out. It is going to be an album of truths. But I guess it's like that line in What It Means... we want our truths fair and balanced as long as our notions lie within it.

[potatoeater]

So I want to take a shot at what Darkened Flags is about or what the message of the song is. Since I am not 100% sure about all of my lyrics and the song doesn't seem to be quite as direct as other Patterson songs, I may be way off here.

I interpret the title line as basically saying this time we are in is the precursor to something better, once we get past all this hate and division.

I think the three verses represent three different stages of the message. Verse one representing where we are at, verse two representing where we should be heading and verse three reinforcing what we should keep in mind, once we get there.

I would love to hear y'alls thoughts on this. Lets decode this seemingly cryptic Patterson song.

[John A Arkansawyer]

So I want to take a shot at what Darkened Flags is about or what the message of the song is. Since I am not 100% sure about all of my lyrics and the song doesn't seem to be quite as direct as other Patterson songs, I may be way off here.

I interpret the title line as basically saying this time we are in is the precursor to something better, once we get past all this hate and division.

I think the three verses represent three different stages of the message. Verse one representing where we are at, verse two representing where we should be heading and verse three reinforcing what we should keep in mind, once we get there.

I would love to hear y'alls thoughts on this. Lets decode this seemingly cryptic Patterson song.

I don't disagree with any of this, but I think Patterson writing this at the same time he'd moved his family thousands of miles is part of it, too.

[potatoeater]

I also see there has not been much discussion about Ever South on here yet, either. The few live recordings we have are pretty decent quality and with each one the lyrics were pretty easy to assemble. I am confident this song will remain one of my top favorites from the new album.

While it seems to begin by speaking about immigrants coming to this country and influencing its future and diversity, later in the song it seems to reflect more on personal experiences from Patterson's own life, even if it is done in a double meaning sort of way. Speaking of course about his own moving out of the southern part of the country and resettling his family in the PNW. Kind of like he talked about his travels out of the south in The Three Great Alabama Icons years ago.

I don't know if Patterson has talked publicly about his experiences with people in the PNW, being from Alabama and the southern draw in his voice and how that has affected his interactions with his new friends and neighbors. If he has, I would love some links to those articles or what have you. But that is how I interpret the latter portion of this great song.

[Duke Silver]

I also see there has not been much discussion about Ever South on here yet, either. The few live recordings we have are pretty decent quality and with each one the lyrics were pretty easy to assemble. I am confident this song will remain one of my top favorites from the new album.

So far it's the song I'm least enthused about. I hope the studio version has more going on than the live versions I've heard.

[potatoeater]

Yea the song doesn't appear to have any thing fancy going on musically but I really dig the lyrics.

[John A Arkansawyer]

I also see there has not been much discussion about Ever South on here yet, either. The few live recordings we have are pretty decent quality and with each one the lyrics were pretty easy to assemble. I am confident this song will remain one of my top favorites from the new album.

So far it's the song I'm least enthused about. I hope the studio version has more going on than the live versions I've heard.

I think the music is trying to stay out of the way of the words.

[beantownbubba]

the darkest night we look upon
the smolder on the lawn
??what we smite and bathe in light??
and where we crawl out from
??draw the blood, accept the strain??
everyone looks appalled
darkened flags on the cusp of dawn

we should light out for the trees
or the great beyond
light out for the love of thee
we build our lives upon
cast aside the hurtful things
that bear the fruit of scorn
darkened flags on the cusp of dawn

so you moved out from the city
to the rising stretched out far
beyond the pains and the reach of planes
chasing distant stars
the baggage that you take defines
the things that you become
darkened flags on the cusp of dawn

So I want to take a shot at what Darkened Flags is about or what the message of the song is. Since I am not 100% sure about all of my lyrics and the song doesn't seem to be quite as direct as other Patterson songs, I may be way off here.

I interpret the title line as basically saying this time we are in is the precursor to something better, once we get past all this hate and division.

I think the three verses represent three different stages of the message. Verse one representing where we are at, verse two representing where we should be heading and verse three reinforcing what we should keep in mind, once we get there.

I would love to hear y'alls thoughts on this. Lets decode this seemingly cryptic Patterson song.

This is one of the more cryptic songs on the album and I'm not at all sure what it means (so to speak) but what the hell, talking about it is still fun.

I think your take is a bit too optimistic potatoeater. To me the first verse is very dark, a low point. What's smoldering on the lawn is a flag, symbolizing some dark event - race riot, anti-desegregation violence, burning out of a black family from their home or church, something like that. So PH establishes the baseline from which we crawl out from. People are appalled, but what did they do? What should they have done? Implicit is the question, where do we go from here?

The answer in the second verse seems to be the classic American story, "go West young man," "light out for the territories," that sort of thing. "Love of thee" is now the bedrock upon which to build a life but I'm not sure if that refers to the USofA or a significant other. Probably the latter, i.e. in crazy and uncertain times, circle the wagons, family, the basic unit of me & you (love?) is all.

The third verse looks back at someone(s) who took the advice of the second verse. Somebody who "went back to the land," tried to remove themselves from the worst parts of modern society, urban living and the like. BUT, the baggage that you take defines the things that you become. IOW, you can't outrun your past, or maybe past is prologue or maybe you are who you are no matter where you are (different versions of the same thing). And that ugly, ugly moment or that memory of that horrible moment in the first verse lives on despite one's attempt to outrun it. All 3 verses end the same way, with "darkened flags on the cusp of dawn." In the first verse it's basically optimistic, right? It's always darkest before the dawn but dawn is coming. But by the third verse it still hasn't come...

[Smitty]

I think "Darkened Flags" was inspired by the Charleston shooting.

[beantownbubba]

I think "Darkened Flags" was inspired by the Charleston shooting.

Well, that's consistent w/ what I said about the first verse so I'll take that as a friendly amendment

[potatoeater]

Great assessment btb! Definitely sounds more plausible than what I came up with. I like it. I definitely think the song is darker than I originally thought, now.

[Duke Silver]

my favorite thing about darkened flags is the riff. that's some classic patterson riffage, up there with sinkhole, lookout mountain, and murdering oscar.

[PonyGirl]

I haven't actually heard the song, but reading through it, it seems like a commentary on how back in the old man's time, it was the young men who were out tearing up the town, getting drunk and high and finding the loose girls for some action, but now the women are doing it too. He sees more "walks of shame", he sees girls sleeping with any many guys as they can (their trophies), and living their lives without thoughts to the consequences

Yep, and at first I thought he was detached from the situation, possibly just pondering on it as he watched from traffic or something. Knowing it's his daughter and he's picking her up after a night of debauchery is heartbreaking, at least to these ears.

I feel like the "voice" of the song is a narrator, not necessarily the old man. Doesn't mean the old man's thoughts aren't given, of course, but it doesn't sound like it's his POV

I don't usually play this game, but I will for this song. To me, it's clear that this is Cooley's anti-slut-shaming song.

I don't feel as though it's a story as much as it's a thought provoking image of some girl walking away from a night of partying and possibly hooking up.

To me it seems clear that the browns and whites are types of liquor and what he is saying is that if you are drinking wine, don't start mixing in whiskey and vodka or whatever other brown and white booze because it will fuck you up and make you very sick.

I think that the word "deserve" combined with the description of 27 being the hardest thing she will have to survive, at that moment, is a reference to the fact that this particular girl went out, got hammered and while she will be hurting from her hangover, she is lucky because she managed to escape the night unscathed by rape (sorry, heavy, but I think that is what he is saying). There are so many heinous stories in the media about girls who have been brutally victimized and then made to feel as though they deserved it because they were drunk, the recent Stanford rape case being a notable example of an incident where this went on.

I think the verse about the dog days of summer further indicates that just like boys, girls get bored and want to go out and blow off steam. I think the implication is that they should be able to do so without the specter of life-changing horror at the hands of some creep hanging over them or even just nasty, hypocritical judgement.

I'm not sure if the old man is an observer who's watching this girl and kind of realizing these things as he does, or if Cooley himself is the old man, sitting in a bus, reading the news and figuring this stuff out for himself. I don't think he is her dad and I don't know the relevance of the car.

I feel like the verse about trophies serves to reinforce the idea that imposing a sexual double standard on women and girls is bullshit.

I think that the songs on this record are strong, well-written and sound great. I will buy the record for sure and likely wear it out. But I don't think I find the work quite as progressive as many others do. The first time I saw Billy Bragg I was 17 and now I'm 47, so I've been listening to political music for at least 30 years and to be honest, I would expect that almost all the bands I listen to espouse the values that are represented on this record.

The same goes for this song, which I really love (nice to hear some twang!). Most people should have got the memo about this from Kathleen Hanna and the riot grrrls back in the early 90's. Unfortunately most people didn't, so it looks to me as though Cooley decided he needed to step in to try to update those who's ideas need updating on this subject. My feeling is that this could actually be one of the more provocative songs on the record.

Mike Cooley is one of the great ironies of DBT in my opinion. Amidst his swagger and songs about cars and criminals and boys getting up to no good, you find songs like this one and like "Sounds Better in the Song." I honestly don't know another songwriter who writes with more empathy and compassion about the shit women have to deal with or at least I don't know another one who does it as well.

[brett27295]

I don't usually play this game, but I will for this song. To me, it's clear that this is Cooley's anti-slut-shaming song.

I don't feel as though it's a story as much as it's a thought provoking image of some girl walking away from a night of partying and possibly hooking up.

To me it seems clear that the browns and whites are types of liquor and what he is saying is that if you are drinking wine, don't start mixing in whiskey and vodka or whatever other brown and white booze because it will fuck you up and make you very sick.

I think that the word "deserve" combined with the description of 27 being the hardest thing she will have to survive, at that moment, is a reference to the fact that this particular girl went out, got hammered and while she will be hurting from her hangover, she is lucky because she managed to escape the night unscathed by rape (sorry, heavy, but I think that is what he is saying). There are so many heinous stories in the media about girls who have been brutally victimized and then made to feel as though they deserved it because they were drunk, the recent Stanford rape case being a notable example of an incident where this went on.

I think the verse about the dog days of summer further indicates that just like boys, girls get bored and want to go out and blow off steam. I think the implication is that they should be able to do so without the specter of life-changing horror at the hands of some creep hanging over them or even just nasty, hypocritical judgement.

I'm not sure if the old man is an observer who's watching this girl and kind of realizing these things as he does, or if Cooley himself is the old man, sitting in a bus, reading the news and figuring this stuff out for himself. I don't think he is her dad and I don't know the relevance of the car.

I feel like the verse about trophies serves to reinforce the idea that imposing a sexual double standard on women and girls is bullshit.

I think that the songs on this record are strong, well-written and sound great. I will buy the record for sure and likely wear it out. But I don't think I find the work quite as progressive as many others do. The first time I saw Billy Bragg I was 17 and now I'm 47, so I've been listening to political music for at least 30 years and to be honest, I would expect that almost all the bands I listen to espouse the values that are represented on this record.

The same goes for this song, which I really love (nice to hear some twang!). Most people should have got the memo about this from Kathleen Hanna and the riot grrrls back in the early 90's. Unfortunately most people didn't, so it looks to me as though Cooley decided he needed to step in to try to update those who's ideas need updating on this subject. My feeling is that this could actually be one of the more provocative songs on the record.

Mike Cooley is one of the great ironies of DBT in my opinion. Amidst his swagger and songs about cars and criminals and boys getting up to no good, you find songs like this one and like "Sounds Better in the Song." I honestly don't know another songwriter who writes with more empathy and compassion about the shit women have to deal with or at least I don't know another one who does it as well.

What a great analysis! I have to say I am completely on board with it.

[potatoeater]

Im on board as well. Well done.

[potatoeater]

I must admit, Filthy was the track I anticipated hearing the least. Since I hadn't really dug in to it, because the lyrics had already been posted by someone else I hadn't paid it much attention. I saw the previous analysis and interpretation and moved on. Your write up just changed everything. I believe you are dead on with it. These stories have been far too common the past year and I believe it easily fits in with the mix. Damn PonyGirl, you nailed it.

[potatoeater]

I updated the index post as well as set 2 of the live recordings posts with a show that was dropped on Archive today from the Dixie Mattress set.

https://archive.org/details/ph2016-07-24.aud.at835
3. Sun Don't Shine
10. Guns Of Umpqua
11. Ever South
15. What It Means

[Kudzu Guillotine]

I must admit, Filthy was the track I anticipated hearing the least. Since I hadn't really dug in to it, because the lytics had already been posted by someone else I hadn't paid it much attention. I saw the previous analysis and interpretation and moved on. Your write up just changed everything. I believe you are dead on with it. These stories have been far too common the past uear and i believe it easily fits in witg the mix. Damn Brett, you nailed it.

Unless I missed a post somewhere, I think you mean PonyGirl.

[potatoeater]

Unless I missed a post somewhere, I think you mean PonyGirl.

Indeed. Updated!

[beantownbubba]

I don't usually play this game, but I will for this song. To me, it's clear that this is Cooley's anti-slut-shaming song.

I don't feel as though it's a story as much as it's a thought provoking image of some girl walking away from a night of partying and possibly hooking up.

To me it seems clear that the browns and whites are types of liquor and what he is saying is that if you are drinking wine, don't start mixing in whiskey and vodka or whatever other brown and white booze because it will fuck you up and make you very sick.

I think that the word "deserve" combined with the description of 27 being the hardest thing she will have to survive, at that moment, is a reference to the fact that this particular girl went out, got hammered and while she will be hurting from her hangover, she is lucky because she managed to escape the night unscathed by rape (sorry, heavy, but I think that is what he is saying). There are so many heinous stories in the media about girls who have been brutally victimized and then made to feel as though they deserved it because they were drunk, the recent Stanford rape case being a notable example of an incident where this went on.

I think the verse about the dog days of summer further indicates that just like boys, girls get bored and want to go out and blow off steam. I think the implication is that they should be able to do so without the specter of life-changing horror at the hands of some creep hanging over them or even just nasty, hypocritical judgement.

I'm not sure if the old man is an observer who's watching this girl and kind of realizing these things as he does, or if Cooley himself is the old man, sitting in a bus, reading the news and figuring this stuff out for himself. I don't think he is her dad and I don't know the relevance of the car.

I feel like the verse about trophies serves to reinforce the idea that imposing a sexual double standard on women and girls is bullshit.

I think that the songs on this record are strong, well-written and sound great. I will buy the record for sure and likely wear it out. But I don't think I find the work quite as progressive as many others do. The first time I saw Billy Bragg I was 17 and now I'm 47, so I've been listening to political music for at least 30 years and to be honest, I would expect that almost all the bands I listen to espouse the values that are represented on this record.

The same goes for this song, which I really love (nice to hear some twang!). Most people should have got the memo about this from Kathleen Hanna and the riot grrrls back in the early 90's. Unfortunately most people didn't, so it looks to me as though Cooley decided he needed to step in to try to update those who's ideas need updating on this subject. My feeling is that this could actually be one of the more provocative songs on the record.

Mike Cooley is one of the great ironies of DBT in my opinion. Amidst his swagger and songs about cars and criminals and boys getting up to no good, you find songs like this one and like "Sounds Better in the Song." I honestly don't know another songwriter who writes with more empathy and compassion about the shit women have to deal with or at least I don't know another one who does it as well.

I don't think there's any doubt that you nailed it, ponygirl. Nicely done. But I do think you got a couple of details wrong: There's no doubt that the woman hooked up. There are at least 2 direct references to sex, I think. And there is no old man in the song. The reference to "the old man" is the girl's hook up's father as the guy tries to figure it out and thinks that it was easier in the old man's day.

And yeah, there's a fascinating term paper, maybe even a thesis on the women in Cooley's songs. I think it's pretty clear by now that Cooley was that HS cut up who got mostly C's (except in the couple of classes where his teachers recognized his talent and really reached him and pushed him) and then went out and scored 99th percentile on his SAT's but didn't tell anyone. I'm not saying that's how it literally was but it seems to me that this guy came from that kind of kid.

[potatoeater]

I think it's pretty clear by now that Cooley was that HS cut up who got mostly C's (except in the couple of classes where his teachers recognized his talent and really reached him and pushed him) and then went out and scored 99th percentile on his SAT's but didn't tell anyone. I'm not saying that's how it literally was but it seems to me that this guy came from that kind of kid.

This is great! I absolutely find this plausible.