| The Velvet Underground – Sweet Jane Lyrics | 2 years ago |
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This is one of my favorite songs... both versions. I think, over the course of my life, I've gone back and forth on which version I preferred at least three times. Currently, I'm leaning strongly toward the Lou Reed version. That's the version I got to know first, just off a the Lou Reed greatest hits album, I think. At the time I really got hooked on Satellite of Love, but also got into Sweet Jane, Walk on the Wild Side, White LightWhite Heat... Then the Cowboy Junkies version came out. An earlier comment referenced Reed's approval of it. I remember one of my high school friends telling me that and quoting some interview in which Reed said, "It might be the truest, purest, most powerful of version of Sweet Jane possible." And then I went through years of college, etc., when the Cowboy Junkies version, and in fact that whole album... "Caution Horses(?)" became the like wildly agreed upon "best album ever" to fool around to. The thing that really stands out for me is the difference in tone and rhythm between the two versions. CJ's version is like almost hypnotic, lulling, mesmerizing, like slipping into a warm bath, surrounded only by candlelight, with the one you love... or at least, indulging in the memory of, even though it's now irretrievable. And I'm not even sure the Lou Reed version's "meaning" is quite different, but I think the hard driving, hard-edged Reed version amps up the sort of turbulent environment, lifestyle, and culture that the main character is usually lost in, except for those fleeting, past moments with Sweet Jane that are like an oasis of awesomeness in his soul. And I love the verse... "You know that women never really faint And that villains always blink their eyes. And that children are the only ones who blush, and that life is just to die. But everyone who ever had a heart..." And the hard-core grungy way that chorus gets introduced and kicks in again is like redeeming of all the pain in life, like a battle cry against it. I still love the CJ's version, and always will... the feeling that it invokes is just intoxicating, but I'm lately thinking that the LR version is the more complex, layered, and ultimately satisfying. I love them both... there's not many covered songs to say that about. Maybe All Along the Watchtower, The Man Who Sold the World... Oh, and I read most of the other comments. Totally agree that the relationship with Sweet Jane may well be, likely is, a relationship with Heroin instead of a human love interest. I think in both versions both sources might be in play. And really it doesn't matter. It's about love and finding an oasis of refuge and joy in spite of all the hardship and harshness. An earlier comment asked are love and addiction the same thing. I think... intended or not by either the CJs or LR... that person was spot on about what this song explores. |
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| The Cowboy Junkies – Sweet Jane Lyrics | 2 years ago |
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This is one of my favorite songs... both versions. I think, over the course of my life, I've gone back and forth on which version I preferred at least three times. Currently, I'm leaning strongly toward the Lou Reed version. That's the version I got to know first, just off a the Lou Reed greatest hits album, I think. At the time I really got hooked on Satellite of Love, but also got into Sweet Jane, Walk on the Wild Side, White LightWhite Heat... Then the Cowboy Junkies version came out. An earlier comment referenced Reed's approval of it. I remember one of my high school friends telling me that and quoting some interview in which Reed said, "It might be the truest, purest, most powerful of version of Sweet Jane possible." And then I went through years of college, etc., when the Cowboy Junkies version, and in fact that whole album... "Caution Horses(?)" became the like wildly agreed upon "best album ever" to fool around to. The thing that really stands out for me is the difference in tone and rhythm between the two versions. CJ's version is like almost hypnotic, lulling, mesmerizing, like slipping into a warm bath, surrounded only by candlelight, with the one you love... or at least, indulging in the memory of, even though it's now irretrievable. And I'm not even sure the Lou Reed version's "meaning" is quite different, but I think the hard driving, hard-edged Reed version amps up the sort of turbulent environment, lifestyle, and culture that the main character is usually lost in, except for those fleeting, past moments with Sweet Jane that are like an oasis of awesomeness in his soul. And I love the verse... "You know that women never really faint And that villains always blink their eyes. And that children are the only ones who blush, and that life is just to die. But everyone who ever had a heart..." And the hard-core grungy way that chorus gets introduced and kicks in again is like redeeming of all the pain in life, like a battle cry against it. I still love the CJ's version, and always will... the feeling that it invokes is just intoxicating, but I'm lately thinking that the LR version is the more complex, layered, and ultimately satisfying. I love them both... there's not many covered songs to say that about. Maybe All Along the Watchtower, The Man Who Sold the World... Oh, and I read most of the other comments. Totally agree that the relationship with Sweet Jane may well be, likely is, a relationship with Heroin instead of a human love interest. I think in both versions both sources might be in play. And really it doesn't matter. It's about love and finding an oasis of refuge and joy in spite of all the hardship and harshness. An earlier comment asked are love and addiction the same thing. I think... intended or not... that person was spot on about what this song explores. |
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| Bob Dylan – 4th Time Around Lyrics | 4 years ago |
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@[JessK:37860] Except... I always thought "filled up my shoe, and brought it to you," was just a clever/abstract way of saying he put his feet into his shoes, and brought the contents, himself, to the next love. |
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| Bob Dylan – 4th Time Around Lyrics | 4 years ago |
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@[JessK:37858] Hey JessK, I can't believe you got no replies in nine years. I think you nailed it. Well done. |
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| Bob Dylan – 4th Time Around Lyrics | 4 years ago |
| @[JessK:37857] | |
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