I think much like another song “Anti-Matter” (that's also on the same album as this song), this one is also is inspired by a horrifying van crash the band experienced on Nov 3, 2022. This, much like the other track, sounds like it's an extension what they shared while huddled in the wreckage, as they helped frontman Garrett Russell stem the bleeding from his head wound while he was under the temporary effects of a concussion. The track speaks of where the mind goes at the most desperate & desolate of times, when it just about slips away to all but disconnect itself, and the aftermath.
Last night I dreamt that I was you
I was dressed all in black with dark glasses and attitude
Such a pose I could simply not hold
Through days in a northern town that I had once called a home
And your studies of fringe New York Streets
I was reading the pavement in every word you would speak
To a brownstone up three flights of stairs and it's on
Buying drinks for the poets upstate
The southern corruption tows you down the interstate
And they all said that you were the king
Of a gloomy disruption that surfaced when you would sing
And this town simply cannot begin to compete
So I'm packing my Bullets and Silvertones and heading east
To a brownstone up three flights of stairs and it's on, on, on, on, it's
I could have had my way, this year would bridge '66 again
Trust fund hipsters were casing the room
Chock-full of amphetamines
The overturned kick drum boom
Set the pace with incomparable cool
And if the tempo was lousy it was lost on all but you
And your studies of fringe New York Streets
I was reading the pavement in every word you would speak
To a brownstone up three flights of stairs and it's on, on, on, on, it's
If I could have had my way, this year would bridge '66 again
If I could have had my way, this year would bridge '66 again
I was dressed all in black with dark glasses and attitude
Such a pose I could simply not hold
Through days in a northern town that I had once called a home
And your studies of fringe New York Streets
I was reading the pavement in every word you would speak
To a brownstone up three flights of stairs and it's on
Buying drinks for the poets upstate
The southern corruption tows you down the interstate
And they all said that you were the king
Of a gloomy disruption that surfaced when you would sing
And this town simply cannot begin to compete
So I'm packing my Bullets and Silvertones and heading east
To a brownstone up three flights of stairs and it's on, on, on, on, it's
I could have had my way, this year would bridge '66 again
Trust fund hipsters were casing the room
Chock-full of amphetamines
The overturned kick drum boom
Set the pace with incomparable cool
And if the tempo was lousy it was lost on all but you
And your studies of fringe New York Streets
I was reading the pavement in every word you would speak
To a brownstone up three flights of stairs and it's on, on, on, on, it's
If I could have had my way, this year would bridge '66 again
If I could have had my way, this year would bridge '66 again
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Dreamwalker
Silent Planet
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Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction vocalist Perry Farrell gives Adam Reader some heartfelt insight into Jane’s Addiction's hard rock manifesto "Mountain Song", which was the second single from their revolutionary album Nothing's Shocking. Mountain song was first recorded in 1986 and appeared on the soundtrack to the film Dudes starring Jon Cryer. The version on Nothing's Shocking was re-recorded in 1988.
"'Mountain Song' was actually about... I hate to say it but... drugs. Climbing this mountain and getting as high as you can, and then coming down that mountain," reveals Farrell. "What it feels to descend from the mountain top... not easy at all. The ascension is tough but exhilarating. Getting down is... it's a real bummer. Drugs is not for everybody obviously. For me, I wanted to experience the heights, and the lows come along with it."
"There's a part - 'Cash in now honey, cash in Miss Smith.' Miss Smith is my Mother; our last name was Smith. Cashing in when she cashed in her life. So... she decided that, to her... at that time, she was desperate. Life wasn't worth it for her, that was her opinion. Some people think, never take your life, and some people find that their life isn't worth living. She was in love with my Dad, and my Dad was not faithful to her, and it broke her heart. She was very desperate and she did something that I know she regrets."
Just A Little Lovin'
Dusty Springfield
Dusty Springfield
I don't think it's necessarily about sex. It's about wanting to start the day with some love and affection. Maybe a warm cuddle. I'm not alone in interpreting it that way! For example:
"'Just a Little Lovin’ is a timeless country song originally recorded by Eddy Arnold in 1954. The song, written by Eddie Miller and Jimmy Campbell, explores the delicate nuances of love and showcases Arnold’s emotive vocals. It delves into the universal theme of love and how even the smallest gesture of affection can have a profound impact on our lives." https://oldtimemusic.com/the-meaning-behind-the-song-just-a-little-lovin-by-eddy-arnold/
Head > Heels
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Head > Heels” is a track that aims to capture what it feels like to experience romance that exceeds expectations. Ed Sheeran dedicates his album outro to a lover who has blessed him with a unique experience that he seeks to describe through the song’s nuanced lyrics.
Amazing
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran tells a story of unsuccessfully trying to feel “Amazing.” This track is about the being weighed down by emotional stress despite valiant attempts to find some positivity in the situation. This track was written by Ed Sheeran from the perspective of his friend. From the track, we see this person fall deeper into the negative thoughts and slide further down the path of mental torment with every lyric.
I never understand why people make prefatory statements like “clearly this means,” when they refer to a song’s meaning. Forums like this contribute to the ongoing discussion of what a song means to the individual listener, and what it may have meant to the author.
The song has ties to Lou Reed’s musical career, and most certainly deals with Ben’s contemplating that career (not to mention Lou’s life) if we base our analysis on explicit allusion. But the track also falls on an album that deals with love and loss in some form, as cliché as it may sound. No Joy in Mudville seems to be a final ode, at least to the person with whom Ben is struggling to reconcile, that things are not (and will not be) the same without her/him. With or without the influence of The Velvet Underground, this song is a perfect homage to the emptiness that follows a friend’s, or a lover’s, moving away.
Personally, this song speaks to me as the voice of my best friend, whom I’ll call “T”. When I moved to New York, I left behind the small town where I spent my late teens and early twenties–and developed some of the best friends I’ll ever have. T told me once that my anthem was Mudville because, coming from a military family, I must have left a lot of people feeling the sting of loss (like him). And one night when I was visiting home he explained over a few drinks. He said it was like a piece of him is missing, and it went with me to New York. He said he could see himself singing in that song. Then, living in a hipster neighborhood in Brooklyn, I started identifying with parts of that song as well–and was comforted by the notion that someday T would find his way up at least two flights of stairs, in my brownstone apartment.
This is not a “clearly” point of view, clearly. I just want to suggest that song meanings are mutable things, and that although original intent is interesting contemplate–the critic who uses original intent doesn’t have a monopoly on interpretation.