Well Jolene unlocked the thick, breezeway door,
Like she'd done one hundred times before.
Jolene smoothed her dark hair in the mirror.
She folded the towel carefully and put it back in place.
Yeah I want to pull you down into bed.
I want to cast your face in lead.
Well every time I pull you close,
Push my face into your hair,
Cream rinse and tobacco smoke,
That sickly scent is always, always there.
Jolene heard her father's uneven snores.
Right then she knew there must be something more.
Jolene heard the singing in the forest.
She opened the door quietly and stepped into the night.
Yeah I want to throw you out into space.
I want to do whatever it takes, takes, takes.
Well every time I pull you close,
Push my face into your hair,
Cream rinse and tobacco smoke,
That sickly scent is always, always there..
this song reminds me of my life and my life has pissed me off
I think you guys are on the right track, but a little off..
" Well Jolene unlocked the thick, breezeway door, Like she'd done one hundred times before. Jolene smoothed her dark hair in the mirror. She folded the towel carefully and put it back in place. "
From this, I imagine a scene of her getting ready to go to bed. As mentioned, tedius tasks, repeated often.
"Yeah I want to pull you down into bed. I want to cast your face in lead. Well every time I pull you close, Push my face into your hair, Cream rinse and tobacco smoke, That sickly scent is always, always there. "
I see this as the writer having an attraction to the girl. She's beautiful, he wants her beauty and what makes her HER to stay. But there is also the "cream rinse and tobacco smoke" smell that is always there - the mundane, repetitive parts of her life. Tobacco smoke, to me, seems like it's possibly from her father who she lives with, or from a job (server at a divey bar?) that she holds.
"Jolene heard her father's uneven snores. Right then she knew there must be something more. Jolene heard the singing in the forest. She opened the door quietly and stepped into the night. "
Here, she's realizing that the life she's living is repetitive, not spontaneous enough, and ventures out - but meekly (stepped quietly into the night)
"Yeah I want to throw you out into space. I want to do whatever it takes, takes, takes. Well every time I pull you close, Push my face into your hair, Cream rinse and tobacco smoke, That sickly scent is always, always there.."
He wants to rip her out of her world, he wants to show her what is out there. She's living in this plain and limited existence, and he wants to 'throw her into space' to show her that there is a huge world of possibilities. He'll do anything to get her to experience the world, because he absolutely adores her. The last mention of the sickly scent is kind of a last lament about the situation.
I think the semen reference, while colorful.. a little far fetched? Heh.
I am gonna just throw a thought into this conversation...
Jolene was also a song by Dolly Parton about a woman named Jolene who stole her lover away from her...could this possibly be a "musical rebuttal" to Parton's song?
whose to say it isn't? tell me what you think...any ideas.
That's what I was thinking...but then after listening, I think she may be another "Jolene" entirely...or maybe an innocent Jolene, who hasn't got into adultress mischief yet...
That's what I was thinking...but then after listening, I think she may be another "Jolene" entirely...or maybe an innocent Jolene, who hasn't got into adultress mischief yet...
Sometimes you have to LISTEN to the song to figure out what it is about. What I mean is, in this song, the emotion and emphasis comes in the chorus, especially the last half, where he smells her hair.
I'm not saying that I figured this out yet, but I have some ideas.
The chorus says: I want to screw you, you are as beautiful as a statue, as wondrous as the stars, but, but, BUT!!! There's a sickly scent in your hair.
Either it's the nauseating mixture of "cream rinse and tobacco smoke" or something else. My bet is on something else.
I thought of this because I used to know this girl, you know, friend of a friend of a friend... she was, like 16, and she used to... well, there's no other way to put it. She gave out free blowjobs to about anyone who asked. In addition, she was kind of trashy (bad hygeine)... to the point, she always had semen in her hair. I know a lot of guys don't have a really good sense of smell, but dried semen has a salty-sour, kind of rotten sweat smell. It could very well be called sickly.
Then again, so could second-hand tobacco smoke.
The semen theory makes the song incredibly disturbing when you notice that Jolene apparently lives with her father. EW!
I don't know... But I will agree, it seems that Jolene needs to be saved... from something.
WOW! Boone, I bow to you, the semen thing was just an idea, but your analysis is much more lucid. I obviously think that the smell represents something major about the meaning of this song.
However, I am willing to admit that it could either be representative of 1) Jolene's father, or 2) a waitressing job or something... which opens me up to additional interpretations. Stale tobacco is a sickly kind of smell... BUT that scent is always ALWAYS THERE!!! YEAH YEAAAAAAAH!
Consider this... "I want to cast your face in lead" - you are so beautiful that I would make a statue out of you... BUT! "I want to throw you down into bed" - this should be obvious to adults! BUT! BUT! What would keep a man from loving a lovely, sexy woman? Her situation? This makes me favor the 'father' interpretation rather than the 'bar waitress' one. (Or my own, of course)
Whatever it is, I am not willing to budge from my point that the smell is the key to the meaning, no matter what it is. Once again, BIG props to boone for an EXCELLENT interpretation. I don't care how much John claims his lyrics are simple, to many (including me) they are modern poetry and thus subject to traditional analysis. Perhaps his forebrain was just thinking about a girl, but the result was art, rife with meaning. In the same way that "Never There" is appliccable both to women and to God/prayer, (for me) this song may have valid, multiple interpretations.
Trying not to be too verbose!!! But I have to add, that, like Skaman, this song has one of the COOLEST guitar riffs EVER!!! The only other band I like that is so country is Lynyrd Skynyrd... and perhaps Meat Puppets (who managed to combine country with punk) (guess that comes from living in Nashville!)
Props to all, and keep thinking!
I love this song. It is one of my favorite CAKE songs of all time. "awww guitar" terrific
Tis a wicked song isn't it? First heard it as a live version, the B-Side to The Distance and I've loved it since. Fantastic! What's it about though? Sorry if I'm being a bit ignorant there. I suppose I should work it out myself but I know I'll be wrong if I try. Any ideas anyone?
It seems that song move forward in time. Obviously, the singer/orator cares for the female. Outside of that, let's first look at the name of the song, JOLENE. This name was originally given to a song sung by Dolly Parton about a very gorgeous woman whom can take the heart of almost any man. It may just be coincidence.
It seems that song move forward in time. Obviously, the singer/orator cares for the female. Outside of that, let's first look at the name of the song, JOLENE. This name was originally given to a song sung by Dolly Parton about a very gorgeous woman whom can take the heart of almost any man. It may just be coincidence.
The first line gives two descriptions for the door. It provides me with a door that would make loud creaking sound when moved. The second line insinuates that he has heard it many times. The 3rd and...
The first line gives two descriptions for the door. It provides me with a door that would make loud creaking sound when moved. The second line insinuates that he has heard it many times. The 3rd and 4th line, mixed with the final two chorus lines (cream rinse is hair conditioner that is applied after shampooing), says that she washes her hair or takes a shower when she comes over. This makes the listener try to figure out why she has to wash herself when she comes over.
Second verse: The real question is why she can hear her father’s snores. Also, in cartoons, the characters always stop when a sleeping person’s suddenly has uneven snores because they think they are going to wake up. After this she suddenly wants to get away. The door was open quietly in contrast to the loudness of the breezeway door. If she had a “good” father and she had to sneak out in the night, then she wouldn’t probably be stripping or whatever causes this “sickly scent” that she is always trying to wash off. Therefore, the most likely explanation is that she somehow has “problems,” to say politely (note again that she could hear his snores), with her father. She has finally been convinced to get away from her tobacco smoking father.
Space probably represents freedom. The unusual thing is that takes is said three times. And even though the father is out of the picture and, therefore, the tobacco smell is gone, the guy can still smell on her. This last verse is a very realistic problem in such a situation. It takes a lot to help somebody get away from the memories of such a situation and it bothers the guy, mentally, about her past. The sickly scent can be real anymore, but in the back of his mind it will always be there.
Umm i'll have to just take a wild stab in the dark here, but i have always thought of jolene as someone that the speaker has wanted to save from the tiediousnous (spelling?) of her life. "like she has done 100 times before"
He wants to save her image as she is now, throw you out into space, cast your face in lead, those lines show that he wants to save her, as innocent, as taken care of.
But this is an off the cuff interpretation. So i am welcome to any other thoughts or views.
MorningStar, i'm gonna have to agree with you... Jolene seems to live a dull life and "she knew there must be something more"... He wants to rescue her from the boring life...
but thats all just a guess... i'm welcome to any more ideas or comments...
I think he wants to get some of that. Esentially.