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A Minor Place Lyrics
I've been to a minor place
and I can say I like its face
if I am gone and with no trace
I will be in a minor place
well I put the shoes in line
separate the women mine
as we do what we do fine
so victorious, so benign
<i>chorus</i>
only take the weather warm
and the job that does me harm
the scars of last year's storm
rest like maggots on my arm
<i>chorus</i>
thank you man if for the thought
that all my loving can be bought
was wisely in your gullet caught
before my loyalty you sought
<i>chorus</i>
o it's not a desert nor a web
nor a tomb where I lay dead
minor in a sound alone
yes a clear commanding tone
singing from my little point
and aching in my every joint
I thank the world it will anoint me
if I show it how I hold it
and I can say I like its face
if I am gone and with no trace
I will be in a minor place
separate the women mine
as we do what we do fine
so victorious, so benign
and the job that does me harm
the scars of last year's storm
rest like maggots on my arm
that all my loving can be bought
was wisely in your gullet caught
before my loyalty you sought
nor a tomb where I lay dead
minor in a sound alone
yes a clear commanding tone
and aching in my every joint
I thank the world it will anoint me
if I show it how I hold it
Song Info
Submitted by
cardamom On Jul 06, 2002
More Bonnie 'Prince' Billy
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a minor place is the state of depression. not necessarily bad however as how can one know happiness if he doesn't know sadness. this is what makes life so great. i think this is a theme of the whole album. life is sometimes crap so enjoy the good stuff.
@fanoftheelipsis That's how I interpreted it.
@fanoftheelipsis That's how I interpreted it.
Note that the song is actually in a major key, because when he's in his minor place we don't see him.
Note that the song is actually in a major key, because when he's in his minor place we don't see him.
I hate to be crass, but I think this song is about sex with the "minor place" being a poetic euphemism for the female genitals (not unlike "nothing" being an Elizabethan slang term for the vagina. ie "Much Ado About Nothing").
I think it is about being a man driven intensely by the desire for sex, being intellectually aware of this drive, being somewhat ashamed of its power over him, but ultimately giving into and celebrating it.
"singing from my little point and aching in my every joint I thank the world it will anoint me if I show it how I hold it"
Just a thought, but I think it is true. A very intelligent friend suggested this to me years ago and I haven't been able to shake it when listening to this beautiful song.
It's not about nothing happening. A minor place is a good place. It's not Springsteen, it's much more existential. It's a mental place. And death.
this song is just about life being transitory, it's all just a "minor place" we're in
I think he's referring to a place where there's less importance, less "gravity". Kind of like being on avacation,
I think he's referring to a place where there's less importance, less "gravity". Kind of like being on avacation,
Almost two years without a comment on this song? It's still fantastic. The echo-y piano parts are pretty great.
Also, minor chords (guitar an other) sound distinctively more melancholy than major chords.
@fanoftheelipsis But, ironically, the song is in a major key. Because when he's in his minor place, he's nowhere to be seen or heard.
@fanoftheelipsis But, ironically, the song is in a major key. Because when he's in his minor place, he's nowhere to be seen or heard.
This song reminds me of a quote by Søren Kierkegaard: "In addition to my numerous other acquaintances I have still one more intimate friend – my melancholy. In the midst of pleasure, in the midst of work, she beckons to me, calls me aside, even though I remain present bodily. My melancholy is the most faithful sweetheart I have had – no wonder that I return the love!"
The first few lines seem to say that the narrator has been to a low place in life, but he understands what the feeling is for and its importance to his life- perhaps even to the point where he loves his intimate friend.
I've been to a minor place and I can say I like its face if I am gone and with no trace I will be in a minor place
In the final stanzas of the song he seems to say that a minor, or low place, in life is not the end, nor is it a barren place like a desert- it's really what you make of it. It's minor in sound/feeling alone, and it has a commanding tone to it that drives him to make art despite the pain.
o it's not a desert nor a web nor a tomb where I lay dead minor in a sound alone yes a clear commanding tone
singing from my little point and aching in my every joint I thank the world it will anoint me if I show it how I hold it
i'm working a summer job at a concrete plant in midloathian (aka middle of nowhere), texas. it seems like the type of place you go to get forgotten. this song seems pretty appropriate.