The song lyrics were written by the band Van Halen, as they were asked to write a song for the 1979 movie "Over the Edge" starring Matt Dillon. The movie (and the lyrics, although more obliquely) are about bored, rebellious youth with nothing better to do than get into trouble. If you see the movie, these lyrics will make more sense. It's a great movie if you grew up in the 70s/80s you'll definitely remember some of these characters from your own life. Fun fact, after writing the song, Van Halen decided not to let the movie use it.
I went in to twelve bookstores looking for Ulysses
Mother well led me to believe all my questions would be answered
Now I have it here, sitting on the table
Another word for the universe
Loose green tea and a bonsai tree, underground apartment
Check my email and wash my clothes while my rice is cooking
Oh Jesus Christ how I hate making phone calls
So I lead a lonely life
A waterfall from a higher place told me all about you
The funeral of the man I was told not to doubt you
Oh what we could do with your dress up round your shoulders
We could leave all our fears behind
I went in to the liquor store looking for a bottle
Of my favorite Bombay gin, the answer to my problems
But to my delight, the bottles were all taken
Ah yeah, another hero's night
Mother well led me to believe all my questions would be answered
Now I have it here, sitting on the table
Another word for the universe
Loose green tea and a bonsai tree, underground apartment
Check my email and wash my clothes while my rice is cooking
Oh Jesus Christ how I hate making phone calls
So I lead a lonely life
A waterfall from a higher place told me all about you
The funeral of the man I was told not to doubt you
Oh what we could do with your dress up round your shoulders
We could leave all our fears behind
I went in to the liquor store looking for a bottle
Of my favorite Bombay gin, the answer to my problems
But to my delight, the bottles were all taken
Ah yeah, another hero's night
Lyrics submitted by clasicrock
Ulysses Lyrics as written by Mason Stewart Jennings
Lyrics © Downtown Music Publishing
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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is the second line "mother well led me to believe" as in his mom.... or is it Motherwell led me to believe all my questions would be answered... as in Robert Motherwell the abstract artist. I thought the actual person made a bit more sense than his mom telling him Ulyses would answer all his questions...though i could be wrong.
No, I think it has a better chance of being Motherwell the painter. One of Motherwell's most famous paintings is titled "Ulysses." Although, the double meaning is quite poetic.
Robert Motherwell was "obsessed" with James Joyce. It's definitely not "Mother well"< but rather "Motherwell led me to believe..."
I think this song is about buddhism, or him giving up his previous religion... green tea, underground apartment, and rice are references to asians... it makes sense since the last lines consist of repeating Buddha
If you aren't listening to this right now you should probably punch yourself in the face. I don't think Mason is a Buddhist or anything, he's just chill and respects things as they come. Also note that the title is "Ulysses", which is quite possibly the hardest to read, stream-of-consciousness book in the entire world, so it should come as no surprise that the song comes across as wonderfuly jumbled.
This is a song about feeling lost and alone in life, and losing to one's fears. He looks for answers in an old book of wisdom, in his desire for a girl, and ultimately in gin. The book doesn't teach him anything, the girl is only a fantasy, and he's not even able to buy his drink of choice. Sarcastically he compares himself to Ulysses at the end because he "heroically" avoided getting drunk.
I remember him talking at various concerts in the early days about a time in his life when he got mono for like 6 months. He talked about how he tried to read Ulysses during this time, never finished it, and said "I like magazines." A lot of these lyrics conjure up images from his life at this point. This was when his first album was out and was a hit, they tried to record a follow up with his original band, and he got mono and the band sort of fell apart for awhile. When he came out of his sickness, the Mason Jennings Band had become Mason Jennings, the original drummer was gone and the band suddenly had a saxophone. Anyway, the time between the first and second album, when he had mono is the time of his life alot of these lyrics seem to refer to.
I think his chours says it all eh?
"buddha...buddha...buddha...buddha...buddha"
;)
Just my opinion, but I see each verse as being a Zen Koan, a story to help Zen students reach enlightenment. In each verse he acknowledges some attachment: meaning of life, loneliness and anxiety, desire, and finally an attempt to surrender to drunkenness. In each verse he also hints at how he deals with each of those attachments: the journey to find Ulysses and now it's sitting on the table, his daily routine despite loneliness, "we could leave all our fear behind", and finally his "delight" that the "bottles were all taken". Each of these mundane details, paradoxical reactions, and truly equanimous reactions are exactly what you would find in a Zen story.