American Band lyrics & interpretations

[LBRod]

And I just want to quickly apologize to everyone here for even getting involved in something on this thread that has absolutely nothing to do with the thread title or the content of the thread itself.

I am not going to stand idly by while you suggest that there's something wrong w/ thread hijacking, a time honored 3dd tradition if ever there was one. Well, maybe I will.

Besides, it has been a while since anyone picked at that particular scab.

[lylabean]

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 rarely post here, but I just had to comment on how happy I am this forum exists. I just finished listening to the album for the third time and was wondering if anyone hears Filthy & Fried the way I hear it. I should have known that all of you deep thinking people over here have been covering this topic for months now.

PonyGirl, I am so with you on this. Especially about Cooley's ability to write so empathetically. It seems like with every new album there is a song that makes me think, damn, he did it again.

[schlanky]

"Sun Don't Shine" reminds me of Magnolia Electric's "Hammer Down" in places.

[dime in the gutter]

"Sun Don't Shine" reminds me of Magnolia Electric's "Hammer Down" in places.

nice.

and that slide. are you kidding me?

[Smitty]

"Sun Don't Shine" reminds me of Magnolia Electric's "Hammer Down" in places.

nice.

and that slide. are you kidding me?

the slide reminds me of Bloodkin's "Blues in Heaven"
See if you can hear it

[buddymo]

This lyric's sticking out for me on "Ever South":

"We prayed to what would have us, every doubting John Thomas
spreading through the Appalachia ever south"

Everything I know about Christianity, I learned from Craig Finn. So I know who Doubting Thomas is, and I would understand "every doubting John and Thomas." But I have no idea who "doubting John Thomas" would be, and Google isn't helping.

Any ideas?

[ndavis86]

Hmm. Just gonna leave this here:

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.p ... n%20Thomas

[dime in the gutter]

i think mrs. clams is right about title 9 and girls collecting trophies in filthy and fried.

mrs. clams is a fucking genius.

[Clams]

mrs. clams is a fucking genius.

True.

Since bullet ran the operation
Who's "bullet"? Harlan Carter? Someone else? A metaphor for the border patrol?

[The Fool in Me]

mrs. clams is a fucking genius.

True.

Since bullet ran the operation
Who's "bullet"? Harlan Carter? Someone else? A metaphor for the border patrol?

A relative of "grabby" perhaps?

[beantownbubba]

mrs. clams is a fucking genius.

True.

Since bullet ran the operation
Who's "bullet"? Harlan Carter? Someone else? A metaphor for the border patrol?

In the unofficial lyrics distributed at the time of the album leak, "Bullet" is capitalized making it pretty clear that it's a reference to Carter. In the official lyrics that's not the case. Whether that's meaningful, and what the change might mean, is beyond me but my best guess is that despite the change "bullet" is a reference to Carter. Both references are clearly not to bullets, the noun:

"Since bullet ran the operation" is in the verse about Carter making a name for himself in the border service. "Killing's been the bullet's business since back in 1931" makes perfect sense if it's a reference to Carter, who killed Casiano in 1931, and no sense if it's meant to be the noun bullets, which have been around since well before 1931.

[Duke Silver]

sounds like it's "Bullet," referring to Carter

How NRA’s true believers converted a marksmanship group into a mighty gun lobby

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics ... story.html

[Carter] had a shaved head (“bullet-headed” was one description) and vaguely resembled Nikita Khrushchev. A former U.S. Border Patrol agent and chief, Carter was an outstanding marksman who racked up scores of national shooting records. (Four years into his tenure, he would acknowledge that, as a 17-year-old, he’d shot and killed another youth, claiming self-defense. He was convicted of murder, but the verdict was overturned on appeal.)

[pearlbeer]

mrs. clams is a fucking genius.

True.

Since bullet ran the operation
Who's "bullet"? Harlan Carter? Someone else? A metaphor for the border patrol?

In the unofficial lyrics distributed at the time of the album leak, "Bullet" is capitalized making it pretty clear that it's a reference to Carter. In the official lyrics that's not the case. Whether that's meaningful, and what the change might mean, is beyond me but my best guess is that despite the change "bullet" is a reference to Carter. Both references are clearly not to bullets, the noun:

"Since bullet ran the operation" is in the verse about Carter making a name for himself in the border service. "Killing's been the bullet's business since back in 1931" makes perfect sense if it's a reference to Carter, who killed Casiano in 1931, and no sense if it's meant to be the noun bullets, which have been around since well before 1931.

I'm interpreting this as a reference to Harlon Carter's takeover of the NRA. The asshole staged a hostile takeover of the NRA in the late 70s through a series of floor fights and procedural issues. From my understanding, the NRA was planning on moving their headquarters to Denver to focus on firearm safety and sporting firearms (which was the initial focus of the NRA).

Harlon Carter essentially led the NRA in a vastly different direction, remaining in Washington DC, and becoming a policy and lobbying organization rather than the sporting organization of their genesis. This move created a laser focus on the Second Amendment and the creation of a firm absolutionist policy. So, that son of a bitch murderer created the NRA we know today.

"Killing's been the bullet's business since back in 1931" - I think Cooley is referring to Carter's takeover of the NRA. "The bullet's business" became about self-defense rather than recreation. "The bullet's business" is now about killing rather than sport. That change metamorphized in 1977, but started in 1931 when Harlon Carter got away with what he did. (and then did it for a living - he was a Border Patrol agent and eventually held a significant leadership position in the US Border Patrol)

Since bullet ran the operation
There's hardly been a minute since
There ain't a massing at the border
From Chinese troops to terrorists

So, I think "b/Bullet" in this lyric probably refers to BOTH Carter and an actual bullet. Both are now one in the same, focused on killing, focused on fear.

Men whose trigger pull their fingers
Of men who'd rather fight than win
United in a revolution
Like in mind and like in skin

Now, we are left with the murderer Harlon Carter's NRA, which, like it or not, isn't far from overtly promoting racism. The NRA trades in fear: fear of crime, fear of illegal immigration, fear of terrorism. Just about any way you cut it, those that the NRA tells you to fear, they ain't white. Someone killed Ramon Casiano / And Ramon still ain't dead enough

How Cooley gets all of that (and more) out of a 4 min song is sheer genius. Reminds me of the Professor in The Secret to a Happy Ending that says (something like) "I've had students take YEARS to write dissertations on the TVA and Cooley did a much better job in 5 minutes with Uncle Frank"


Wow. Sorry, a quick thought turned into a rambling. Note: these are just general recollections of the facts. I can't read about the NRA for more than a few minutes without screaming obscenities into the air.

...it's a damn good song...

[RolanK]

Minor detail, but curious to know if anyone else have thought of this line from Baggage

Fighting with the baggage that is pulling down on me
like an undertow pulls into the sea

I guess it's a well established fact that the song is "about" Robbin Williams. In one of his early movies - The World According to Garp - undertow (jokingly referred to as The Under Toad) is a recurring topic, used as a reference to Anxiety. Just a coincidence?

[beantownbubba]

Minor detail, but curious to know if anyone else have thought of this line from Baggage

Fighting with the baggage that is pulling down on me
like an undertow pulls into the sea

I guess it's a well established fact that the song is "about" Robbin Williams. In one of his early movies - The World According to Garp - undertow (jokingly referred to as The Under Toad) is a recurring topic, used as a reference to Anxiety. Just a coincidence?

I briefly had this thought and dismissed it as overthinking. But seeing it here in "print" and knowing of Patterson's passion for movies, maybe overthinking is the way to go here . I don't have a firm opinion but it might well be more than coincidence. And FWIW, undertoad is still an expression in my family.

[potatoeater]

While we're on Williams I wanted to share this link in case many of you have not run across it yet.

http://moviepilot.com/p/robin-williams- ... im/4111477

Robin Williams had a lot more going on than just depression. I would say his depression was more a product of his many other mental issues.

[Kudzu Guillotine]

Lyrics, liner notes and credits are up on the official site.

[Zip City]

Lyrics, liner notes and credits are up on the official site.

3DD shout out. Also Chris Funk of The Decemberists listed in the Special Thanks

[dime in the gutter]

seems that grabby has got something new to grab.

[beantownbubba]

This lyric's sticking out for me on "Ever South":

"We prayed to what would have us, every doubting John Thomas
spreading through the Appalachia ever south"

Everything I know about Christianity, I learned from Craig Finn. So I know who Doubting Thomas is, and I would understand "every doubting John and Thomas." But I have no idea who "doubting John Thomas" would be, and Google isn't helping.

Any ideas?

When I originally heard it, I assumed it was a regional variation on the "doubting Thomas" phrase. If that's not it, I don't really know but my guess would be something like yours, i.e. that "John Thomas" is meant to stand for "everyman" in the same way that "John and Thomas" would but it fits the meter better.

[beantownbubba]

I wonder whether Cooley made a conscious decision between "oppressors" and "aggressors" in "Surrender Under Protest."

To my ears, "victims and oppressors" sounds like a more natural pairing and oppressors would definitely be the word that I would come up w/ first if i were asked to fill in the blank or something like that. But not only does aggressors work fine, I can think of reasons why Cooley would prefer it. Then again I am prone to overthinking. No big deal, just curious about the writing process.

[Duke Silver]

hmm

What is the meaning of John Thomas?
John Thomas: n penis. The term derives from the name given to the appendage of the leading man in D.H. Lawrence's novel, Lady Chatterley's Lover. The book was made famous by the obscenity trial it landed Penguin Books in during the 1950s.

[RolanK]

I wonder whether Cooley made a conscious decision between "oppressors" and "aggressors" in "Surrender Under Protest."

To my ears, "victims and oppressors" sounds like a more natural pairing and oppressors would definitely be the word that I would come up w/ first if i were asked to fill in the blank or something like that. But not only does aggressors work fine, I can think of reasons why Cooley would prefer it. Then again I am prone to overthinking. No big deal, just curious about the writing process.

Not that I shall pretend that I had ever thought about this until you pointed it out, but if I dare offer my opinion on this as a foreigner and non-english speaker, I would say that it is plausible that the alternative you suggest may have been considered, but also that it is not a coincidence which one ended up in the song. Not sure if I am able to articulate why I think aggressor is probably a more fitting word in the context (as perceived by me anyway) of the song.

(Always curious about songwriting in general and how artists approach this. There are probably as many different "methods" as there are songwriters out there but if it is possible to generalize to some extent, it would be interesting to speculate if Cooley and Patterson fall into different "categories". Based on their songs alone I would not be surprised if they approach songwriting in very different ways. (Which one has the thicker notebook?))

[beantownbubba]

I wonder whether Cooley made a conscious decision between "oppressors" and "aggressors" in "Surrender Under Protest."

To my ears, "victims and oppressors" sounds like a more natural pairing and oppressors would definitely be the word that I would come up w/ first if i were asked to fill in the blank or something like that. But not only does aggressors work fine, I can think of reasons why Cooley would prefer it. Then again I am prone to overthinking. No big deal, just curious about the writing process.

Not that I shall pretend that I had ever thought about this until you pointed it out, but if I dare offer my opinion on this as a foreigner and non-english speaker, I would say that it is plausible that the alternative you suggest may have been considered, but also that it is not a coincidence which one ended up in the song. Not sure if I am able to articulate why I think aggressor is probably a more fitting word in the context (as perceived by me anyway) of the song.

(Always curious about songwriting in general and how artists approach this. There are probably as many different "methods" as there are songwriters out there but if it is possible to generalize to some extent, it would be interesting to speculate if Cooley and Patterson fall into different "categories". Based on their songs alone I would not be surprised if they approach songwriting in very different ways. (Which one has the thicker notebook?))

Yes, without question and Patterson.

I don't have time now to explain why I agree w/ you, but I do - the choice was most likely intentional and it was the better choice, whatever my ear might think.

[RolanK]

Yes, without question and Patterson.

Also if divided per songs written (not necessarily recorded)?

[John A Arkansawyer]

hmm

What is the meaning of John Thomas?
John Thomas: n penis. The term derives from the name given to the appendage of the leading man in D.H. Lawrence's novel, Lady Chatterley's Lover. The book was made famous by the obscenity trial it landed Penguin Books in during the 1950s.

John Thomas sign:

The John Thomas sign, also known as the Throckmorton sign, is a slang or joke term used in the field of radiology. It refers to the position of a penis as it relates to pathology on an x-ray of a pelvis. When the penis (visible on the x-ray as a shadow) points towards the same side as a unilateral medical condition such as a broken bone, this is considered a "positive John Thomas sign", and if the shadow points to the other side, it is a "negative John Thomas sign."

(above) Positive John Thomas sign displayed by a patient who sustained a pertrochanteric fracture on the left.

[RolanK]

I just wrote a huge ass post detailing the story in the song as it appeared to me, but then I googled b-model Mazda and that negated almost everything I wrote. I ignorantly assumed the Mazda was the girl's and she was stumbling towards it and the old man wasn't necessarily her father, just a guy witnessing the scene from the highway. Now that I've actually seen a b-model Mazda, I recognize it as the Official Vehicle for Working Class Dads Picking Up Their Daughters at Odd Hours in Unlikely Locations™. Seriously, Cooley could not have nailed that any more perfectly. Just the fact that the old man drives that truck makes me tons more sympathetic to him than before. It changes the entire meaning of the song to me.

I thought trophies=conquests, but I'm not sure anymore. I still don't think it's track marks unless it is a Cooleyism (which I doubt as the final lines seem to be the old man's thoughts and not the narrator's)

Turns out the Mazda was Cooley's.

[John A Arkansawyer]

I just wrote a huge ass post detailing the story in the song as it appeared to me, but then I googled b-model Mazda and that negated almost everything I wrote. I ignorantly assumed the Mazda was the girl's and she was stumbling towards it and the old man wasn't necessarily her father, just a guy witnessing the scene from the highway. Now that I've actually seen a b-model Mazda, I recognize it as the Official Vehicle for Working Class Dads Picking Up Their Daughters at Odd Hours in Unlikely Locations™. Seriously, Cooley could not have nailed that any more perfectly. Just the fact that the old man drives that truck makes me tons more sympathetic to him than before. It changes the entire meaning of the song to me.

I thought trophies=conquests, but I'm not sure anymore. I still don't think it's track marks unless it is a Cooleyism (which I doubt as the final lines seem to be the old man's thoughts and not the narrator's)

Turns out the Mazda was Cooley's.

And the walrus was Jay.

[RolanK]

^^^^Pretty sure we concluded a couple of days ago the walrus was Neff.

[whatwouldcooleydo?]

^^^^Pretty sure we concluded a couple of days ago the walrus was Neff.

Oh untimely Neff