Ambulance Blues

I think this is about the turning point in his life and his impression of society changing as well at that time. The passing of an era, end of the good old days, end of a certain relationship, further disillusionment with the establishment. The verses are all about different and diverse topics related to this theme.

I think this is about the turning point in his life and his impression of society changing as well at that time. The passing of an era, end of the good old days, end of a certain relationship, further disillusionment with the establishment. The verses are all about different and diverse topics related to this theme.

Back in the old folky days The air was magic when we played. The riverboat was rockin' in the rain Midnight was the time for the raid. => This is about a folk club in Toronto that he played in, it was on a river boat, I guess it was...

Back in the old folky days The air was magic when we played. The riverboat was rockin' in the rain Midnight was the time for the raid. => This is about a folk club in Toronto that he played in, it was on a river boat, I guess it was semi-legal etc

Oh, Isabela, proud Isabela, They tore you down and plowed you under. You're only real with your make-up on How could I see you and stay too long? => Again reminiscing about Toronto in the old days, Isabella was referring to a place now gone

All along the Navajo Trail, Burn-outs stub their toes on garbage pails. Waitresses are cryin' in the rain Will their boyfriends pass this way again? => Description of road-trip type scenes witnessed on travels across US

Oh, Mother Goose, she's on the skids Shoe ain't happy, neither are the kids. She needs someone that she can scream at And I'm such a heel for makin' her feel so bad. => As above but more specifically about a woman he has spent time with…

I guess I'll call it sickness gone It's hard to say the meaning of this song. An ambulance can only go so fast It's easy to get buried in the past When you try to make a good thing last. => This is about an old girlfriend, now lost to him, he refers to it as sickness gone to try to convince himself that he’s ok now, but he isn’t. He says it’s hard to say the meaning of this song because he is unsure what message he really wants to give to the girl — whether he really wants her to come back or to beg, etc. The ambulance signifies the recovery process but it seems slow to him, “it can only go so fast”. The last lines about making a good thing last are about him stretching out the doomed relationship. The woman may have been Carrie Snodgress (she played the mother in Pale Rider) who he had been living with for several years.

I saw today in the entertainment section There's room at the top for private detection. To Mom and Dad this just doesn't matter, But it's either that or pay off the kidnapper. => This is a comment about Canadian attitudes to children, he felt that many parents didn’t overly care about their kids — witnessed by typical reaction to a kidnapping, inspired by Patty Hearst. The point he is making is that many parents would stop and make a conscious decision of whether it was worth paying a kidnapper…..harsh but probably reflects state of mind at the time.

So all you critics sit alone You're no better than me for what you've shown. With your stomach pump and your hook and ladder dreams We could get together for some scenes. => This is about the music press. Whilst they may criticize him, he makes the observation that they create nothing. They are/were more interested in drugs (stomach pumps, hook and ladder dreams). He sarcastically adds “we could get together…” although this is the last thing he would want.

Well, I'm up in T.O. keepin' jive alive, And out on the corner it's half past five. But the subways are empty And so are the cafes. => Reference to being back in Toronto, still trying to recreate the old days…but now no-one is listening

Except for the Farmer's Market And I still can hear him say: You're all just pissin' in the wind You don't know it but you are.

And there ain't nothin' like a friend Who can tell you you're just pissin' in the wind. => Reference to feeling of being brought back down to earth by normal working people whose attitude may be that he is wasting his time singing about high ideals. He then reflects that maybe they’re right.

I never knew a man could tell so many lies He had a different story for every set of eyes How can he remember who he's talking to? Cause I know it ain't me, and hope it isn't you. => This is about Nixon, obviously his disillusionment but also confirmation that he is dropping out and hopes we are too.