| Father John Misty – Only Son of the Ladiesman Lyrics | 9 years ago |
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First, sorry for the typo above: "just to make it clear"---NOT "just to make it's clear". Also, the prescribed “correct” dictionary spelling is “ladies’ man,” but I’m not going to worry about that here. I submitted a correction for this line: “I'm a leading brand, I'm a one night stand” It had been “I’m a leading brand of a one night stand,” which apparently is an incorrect lyrics meme because I’ve seen it in numerous places. It’s quite clear in the studio version and his live performances (for example on Letterman) that he says “I’m a” not “of a.” I underscore the point here because the list of things the ladies man can be—“a steady hand,” “a Dodger’s fan,” “a leading brand,” “a one night stand”—suggests he’ll be whatever you want/need him to be; in other words, it’s all artifice. A specific note on the “Dodger’s fan” line: At a live unplugged performance in Philadelphia, when Tillman sings the line, he gets some “whoos” from the audience (weird bc they’re in Philly, but that’s not my point here). Slightly perturbed, Tillman then sings the line again, adding, “I’ve got very literal friends. I don’t give a f--- about baseball.” Also a minor point on the “Sunset Strip” line. Tillman makes a hitchhiking gesture when he sings the song on Letterman (sans guitar). If the ladies man is hitchhiking, things probably aren’t going very well in his life, right? |
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| Father John Misty – Only Son of the Ladiesman Lyrics | 9 years ago |
| Lots of layers. No one "meaning" here. That said, let's explore a few things. Sometimes in his live shows, after he sings "ladies man," Tillman in his wry manner will then sing, "in quotations" just to make it's clear not to take this too literally. Also, Tillman writes out of the So. Cal/LA/Hollywood milieu---where film rules. Look up something about the silent film star Rudolph Valentino's funeral, and you'll see the parallels in Tillman's lyrics. To take that point further, in the final verse we have "The cowboy and the cop shot down the ladies man," which I think alludes to how film evolved; the Valentino type gave way to cowboy and gangster movies. Bottom line: it's a great song. Make sure to pass FJM on to all of your friends. Tillman is a rare kind of artist---intelligent, beautiful, talented. He'll make it out alive and die on his own terms. I think we can count on that. | |
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