ReJoyce

I was under the impression that these lyrics are a reinterpretation of the final “Penelope” chapter of Ulysses – the only chapter from the perspective of Molly, wherein her middle of the night musings are captured through punctuation-less stream of consciousness. That said, several of the lyrics come from other sections of the book , but Molly did say that when Leopold returned he recounted the events of his day to her. I reread the book last year and it wasn’t until near the end that I thought to consider how these lyrics fit in. I downloaded the book (for free) on a Kindle to search for phrases. Many of the lyrics seem to have no relation to the book – of course with the disclaimer that the book is so dense that I will admit that many allusion could have slipped by me. I couldn’t find any connections in the first 2 verses, - No white shirt and tie, no wedding ring, no chemical change. And later in the song… I can’t make any sense of the arm . The lyrics seem to capture more the spirit of the nocturnal stream of consciousness ramblings.
The connections I have come up with are : • The third verse seems to refer to the Cyclops chapter – wherein Leopold attempts to meet up with an acquaintance in a pub midafternoon and gets into a political discussion with a local denizen, who ends up airing anti-Semitic grievances (Bloom being a Jew) and attempts to assault him at the end. I don’t think Bloom ordered Mulligan Stew though. No throw-up that I recall. • As previously mentioned, Blazes Boylan is a guy who Molly having an affair with (no mere crush) which is central in the book. She has a rendezvous with him that afternoon, and Leopold is preoccupied with this throughout the day. Boylan is well endowed, according to Molly. • Leopold does sleep opposite Molly in their bed – with his head at the foot of the bed. • The gold star mothers farm I am guessing refers to Molly’s childhood in Gibraltar, but that is a guess. • I’d rather have my country die for me, was directly taken something Stephen said early in the book. • The references to mother in the final verse undoubtedly refers to Stephen’s mother who had died one month previous. Throughout the book, he reflects a lot on his mother, often with guilt. Hershey bar? Look like a car? No idea. • The ending of the song – “Somehow it all falls apart” is odd. The ending of the book is very positive and optimistic. Molly keeps repeating the word yes – presumably meaning a recommitment of her love to Leopold (although there are other interpretations).
I am sure I missed much, and would love to hear others’ views. For another interpretation of the book, see Kate Bush’s The Sensual World