"Piazza, New York Catcher" as written by Sarah Martin, Stuart Murdoch, Richard Colburn, Michael Cooke, Christopher Geddes, Stephen Jackson and Bob Kildea....
Elope with me, Miss Private, and we'll sail around the world
I will be your Ferdinand and you my wayward girl
How many nights of talking in hotel rooms can you take?
How many nights of limping round on pagan holidays?
Oh elope with me in private and we'll set something ablaze
A trail for the devil to erase
San Francisco's calling us, the Giants and Mets will play
Piazza, New York catcher, are you straight or are you gay?
We hung about the stadium, we've got no place to stay
We hung about the Tenderloin and tenderly you tell
About the saddest book you ever read, it always makes you cry
The statue's crying too and well he may
I love you
I've a drowning grip on your adoring face
I love you, my responsibility has found a place
Beside you and strong warnings in the guise of gentle words
Come wave upon me from the family wider net absurd
"You'll take care of her, I know it, you will do a better job"
Maybe, but not what she deserves
Elope with me, Miss Private, and we'll drink ourselves awake
We'll taste the coffee houses and award certificates
A privy seal to keep the feel of 1960 style
We'll comment on the decor and we'll help the passer by
And at dusk when work is over we'll continue the debate
In a borrowed bedroom virginal and spare
The catcher hits for .318 and catches every day
The pitcher puts religion first and rests on holidays
He goes into cathedrals and lies prostrate on the floor
He knows the drink affects his speed, he's praying for a doorway
Back into the life he wants and the confession of the bench
Life outside the diamond is a wrench
I wish that you were here with me to pass the dull weekend
I know it wouldn't come to love, my heroine pretend
A lady stepping from the song we love until this day
You'd settle for an epitaph like "Walk Away, Renee"
The sun upon the roof in winter will draw you out like a flower
Meet you at the statue in an hour
Meet you at the statue in an hour
I will be your Ferdinand and you my wayward girl
How many nights of talking in hotel rooms can you take?
How many nights of limping round on pagan holidays?
Oh elope with me in private and we'll set something ablaze
A trail for the devil to erase
San Francisco's calling us, the Giants and Mets will play
Piazza, New York catcher, are you straight or are you gay?
We hung about the stadium, we've got no place to stay
We hung about the Tenderloin and tenderly you tell
About the saddest book you ever read, it always makes you cry
The statue's crying too and well he may
I love you
I've a drowning grip on your adoring face
I love you, my responsibility has found a place
Beside you and strong warnings in the guise of gentle words
Come wave upon me from the family wider net absurd
"You'll take care of her, I know it, you will do a better job"
Maybe, but not what she deserves
Elope with me, Miss Private, and we'll drink ourselves awake
We'll taste the coffee houses and award certificates
A privy seal to keep the feel of 1960 style
We'll comment on the decor and we'll help the passer by
And at dusk when work is over we'll continue the debate
In a borrowed bedroom virginal and spare
The catcher hits for .318 and catches every day
The pitcher puts religion first and rests on holidays
He goes into cathedrals and lies prostrate on the floor
He knows the drink affects his speed, he's praying for a doorway
Back into the life he wants and the confession of the bench
Life outside the diamond is a wrench
I wish that you were here with me to pass the dull weekend
I know it wouldn't come to love, my heroine pretend
A lady stepping from the song we love until this day
You'd settle for an epitaph like "Walk Away, Renee"
The sun upon the roof in winter will draw you out like a flower
Meet you at the statue in an hour
Meet you at the statue in an hour
Lyrics submitted by ReActor, edited by ConReid, alice144, seanjgaw, Mellow_Harsher, stormville
"Piazza, New York Catcher" as written by Christopher Geddes Bob Kildea
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
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The part "and strong warnings in the guise of gentle words
Come wave upon me from the wider family net absurd"
"You'll take care of her, I know it, you will do a better job
Maybe, but not what she deserves"
suggests to me that he is pressured from her family to stay away from her, and he is forced to leave her with someone who will take better care of her, but won't love her the way the narrator does.
It seems that in the last section of the song, she does not seem to be willing to abandon her realism and run away with him like the heroine in a romantic fantasy and is willing to settle for what they have now. However they continue to be drawn to each other and can't help but meet up again.
The male in this song is obviously gay. I think many people are overlooking the female's sexuality. For starters, he calls her his "wayward girl". While this can have several meanings, especially as they pertain to sailing across the world, I believe it is also a reference to her ambiguous, perhaps bisexuality. She's wayward in the sense that she can't make up her mind, or rather that she is attracted to both sexes.
Further, he calls her Miss Private. From this we know she isn't married, but also that some part of her life is kept secret to some extent- her sexuality. Now look at the third stanza. Her family, in a friendly yet assertive manner, is telling the male that he will be good for her. Perhaps they know about her sexuality- he will be better for her than another female. What's really important in this stanza, however, is the last line: "Maybe, but not what she deserves." He realizes that he may care for her well, but in reality she deserves someone that can truly love her, and someone that she can truly love as well. He can't give her this.
On a different note, look at the very first stanza. "How many nights of talking in hotel rooms can you take?" They've eloped; they're supposed to be madly in love, yet they are simply talking in the hotel room. I think this is a reference to the "pretend" nature of their relationship, in that, while they may care for each other, neither is in it for love.
This is further explained in the last line in the fourth stanza, where the bedroom they share is "virginal". Lastly, look at the spelling of "heroine". He is not referring to the drug, which is spelled "heroin", but rather an important, courageous woman: "heroine". More importantly, she is his "heroine pretend", meaning that she is not the love of his life, the woman who has captured his attention, but rather simply a cover-up of sorts.
At first I thought this song was about love. Now I believe this song is about a relationship between two individuals, neither heterosexual, who are about to enter into a phony romantic relationship. They still may care for each other and be friends, but they are not truly in love.
Although I doubt this is the case, I do wonder if the Pitcher/Catcher segment is meant to drawn upon the use of those terms in reference to gay relationships. The Pitcher could be someone who is reluctant to accept his sexuality. The song itself isn't quite specifically about a heterosexual relationship and the setting in San Francisco could be a hint, too. I think I'm stretching this, but you never know.
'We hung about the tenderloin and tenderly you tell, About the saddest ending of a book you ever read, It always makes you cry, The statue's crying too and well he may.'
The way that Stuart sings that very last line he pulls those last three words, 'well he may' in together very tightly, making the phrase sound very much like the name Willy Mays. It's fairly subtle wordplay but exactly the sort of thing that makes Belle and Sebastian lyrics so much fun to listen to.
Also, I agree that the pitcher, while maybe inspired by Sandy Koufax, is just a random character. I also think in the song's PRIMARY meaning (not discounting that it might have a layered meaning or have other little thoughts invoked), baseball just provides the setting. Whether or not Mike Piazza is gay is just something two carefree lovers discuss to pass the time on a cool summer evening. Later on, in their hotel room, they "continue the debate" over Piazza's sexuality...just for something to do during their honeymoon.
My interpretation is that baseball is something of a red herring - a distraction. I find the most meaning in the line "you'll take care of her, I know it...not what she deserves." Stuart knows he can't provide for this girl, as the family he wishes to take her away from; but she deserves someone who can make her happy as well. The baseball game is an enjoyable distraction. Discussing Piazza's sexuality is a distraction. It's an avoidance of the reality of life. The pitcher in the song has made baseball his life. When he leaves baseball he doesn't know how to live and can't manage, so he longs to return to baseball. Sure, elope to San Francisco, but what about after the honeymoon?
How brilliant! Just as Stuart's lovers are distracted from the realities of life by baseball, the listener is distracted from the realities of the lyric's meaning by a barage of references to baseball. But that's just my take.
plus, no manager about it. it's just the wear-and-tear of the pitcher and catcher - especially the catcher - having to deal with endless turmoil, and it only gets worse outside of his baseball safe haven.
baseball is the least of the pitcher's priorities (think of a starting pitcher; they only pitch once every five days, and they're practically worshipped) but the catcher faces toiling adversity, daily, and without any comforting sense of temporary retirement.
****Spoiler Alert for the one person who hasn't seen The Graduate*****
The movie ends with with the two young lovers sitting side by side on the back of a bus in silence - rather than 'Fade to Black and Happy Ending' as most films would, the camera lingers for a long time on them as they sit there pondering "Damn, now what?":
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Also reminded me of that Oscar Wilde quote: “It's an odd thing, but anyone who disappears is said to be seen in San Francisco. It must be a delightful city and possess all the attractions of the next world.”
On one hand, the pitcher's worrisome detail is just resetting the song for the next act, but it's also a metaphor for how their relationship goes, the differences between them. One the workday catcher, the pitcher consumed with worry. Aside from the gay code of pitcher-catcher, which is an American cultural thing too subtle for Scottish writers, there is a special baseball relationship between the pitcher and catcher. And the verse sort of reminds us that there is a passage of time going on. It's not until winter, a non-baseball season, that the resolution is at hand... back at the statue.
This is certainly the cleverest song on DCW.
"Oh elope with me in private and we'll set something ablaze / A trail for the devil to erase"
The words "in private" are highly reminiscent of the argument that a government has no right to legislate what people do in private in regard to sodomy laws.
"Ablaze" for some reason reminds me of "flamer" referring to blatantly gay men.
"A trail for the devil to erase" also seems to bring up the accusations of some christians that homosexuality is sin.
"San Fransisco's calling us the Giants and Mets will play / Piazza new york Catcher are you straight or are you gay?"
These references are pretty obvious: San Fransisco and questioning one's sexuality.
"We'll comment on the decor and we'll help the passer by / And at dusk when work is over we'll continue the debate / In a borrowed bedroom virginal and spare"
"We'll comment on the decor and we'll help the passer by" seems to refer to stereotypes of gay men, especially television shows in which gay men do help somewhat random people with decor and fasion.
"we'll continue the debate" seems to refer to the debate over gay rights, or possibly the debate over whether one in a homosexual couple should come out, perhaps as BStu has said about the pitcher/catcher metaphor.
Now bear with me, but in addition to its literal meaning, "a borrowed bedroom virginal and spare" may refer to sexuality, though this is very shaky, I know.
"The catcher hits for .318 and catches every day / The pitcher puts religion first and rests on holidays"
Oh, this passage! The pitcher and catcher metaphor as it relates to sexuality comes to mind, but also, "The pitcher puts religion first and rests on holidays" seems not only to refer to a baseball player (whomever you say that player is) but also seems to refer to the apprehension of some homosexuals for whom religion is a large part of their lives.
"I wish that you were here with me to pass the dull weekend / I know it wouldn't come to love my heroine pretend"
This is also shaky, but "my heroine pretend" may refer to a gay lover, as some would say that he takes the place of a woman in a sexual relationship, though I personally disagree with this idea.
Anyway, there is textual evidence for this, but I may be over-analyzing this. However, most of Belle and Sebastian's songs have many many layers of meaning, so it is not unlikely that this is a song about a young couple, baseball, and homosexuality, and numerous other subjects. I think perhaps I'm inclined to like this interpretation because I'm gay myself, but it has some merit nonetheless.
Upon first hearing this song, I thought it was fun and sweet, but further listening I think it's about complicated feelings of identity and self worth, and the inability to love until identity is accepted and established. Bear with me here.
The line which sums this up for me is "Life outside the diamond is a wrench." The diamond has two meanings, the baseball diamond, and an engagement ring, which symbolizes clear, proud, and mutual love. The "wrench" is acute emotional distress.
The baseball player mentioned experience a lot of pain off the field due to their homosexuality (Piazza) and race (Mays).
Regarding the engagement ring, homosexual athletes probably feels they can't openly proclaim their love and wear rings. The narrator can't (for whatever reason) give one to Miss Private, though he desperately longs to.
I think Miss Private is a woman. The narrator feels that she doesn't return his love and so doesn't discuss it with her, and thus can relate to ball players who suppress their feelings.
I think she does return his feelings. She, after all, has an "adoring face." But, because he thinks she's out of his league, the narrator can't see this. Hence the "maybe, but not what she deserves" line. He's baffled as to why her family thinks he can take care of her, but they realize he is actually good for her.
I think Willie Mays sees it too. He's constantly overlooking all this people in their wrenches, and it breaks his heart.
i'm reading all of this first, but by time that i am done commenting, i'll have nothing left to say xD
The pitcher puts religion first and rests on holidays
He goes into cathedrals and lies prostrate on the floor"
along with what you were saying, Speed_Is_Dreaming: this stanza is fairly obviously about homosexuality, unfortunatly you have to know the slang to understand it. there is the classic pitcher/catcher (dominant/submissive) slang of gay males. "the pitcher puts religion first" is about being ashamed/hiding being gay, and "he goes to cathedrals and lies prostrate on the floor" is also about being ashamed of being gay, but also very cleverly about submission, or hiding being gay... well, if you want to analyze it that far.
This song means many, many things to me.
I can't even fathom how difficult it must be for a gay person to stay "in the closet".
I could analyze this song all day, but unfortunately do not have the time.
I just love to listen to it.