One more chain I break, to get me closer to you
One more chain does the maker make, to keep me from bustin' through
One more notch I scratch, to keep me thinkin' of you
One more notch does the maker make, upon my face so blue
Get along little doggies, get along little doggies
One more smile I fake, 'n try my best to be glad
One more smile does the maker make, because he knows I'm sad
Oh Lord, how I know,
Oh Lord, how I see, that only can the maker make a happy man of me
Get along little doggies, get along little doggies, get along
One more chain does the maker make, to keep me from bustin' through
One more notch I scratch, to keep me thinkin' of you
One more notch does the maker make, upon my face so blue
Get along little doggies, get along little doggies
One more smile I fake, 'n try my best to be glad
One more smile does the maker make, because he knows I'm sad
Oh Lord, how I know,
Oh Lord, how I see, that only can the maker make a happy man of me
Get along little doggies, get along little doggies, get along
Add your thoughts
Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.
Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!
"One more chain I break" - This verse tells how Jack tries to get closer to Ennis but Ennis keeps putting up the walls.
"One more notch I scratch" - This verse reminds me of someone in jail scratching marks on the walls to count the days. Jack had been waiting for Ennis to drop those chains for over 20 years.
"Get along little doggies (?)" - "Get along" I guess means just keep on living as someone else here has said. When I first heard the song, I had a bit of trouble understanding a couple of lines, but this wasn't one of them. I am still certain that Rufus sang "lil' darlings", not "doggies". Maybe "doggies" is the official lyric, but I don't know. "Lil' darlings" would tie to the story more because in the book, Ennis uses this term for both Jack and his daughters, the only people he really loves in the world.
"One more smile I fake" - This verse tells how both men are unhappy. Ennis also fakes being happy for Jack's sake. The last time they were together, they had a fight to expose their fake smiles.
"Oh Lord, how I know" - This verse says it all, that Ennis alone can make Jack happy, but Ennis woldn't allow himself to do that.
"One more smile I fake / 'n try my best to be glad / One more smile does the maker make / because he knows I'm sad". Yeah.
The last verse, to me, states the irony of the whole mentality:
Oh Lord, how I know,
Oh Lord, how I see,
that only can the maker make a happy man of me
He obviously is not happy and has not 'seen the light' about how to live. If you look at the song from Ennis' perspective, which probably makes the most sense to do, he winds up in a little trailer with only memories and the two shirts intertwined in his closet to comfort him. This is what his Maker has brought him in teaching him the "right ways" to be a good man.
It is a painful sad song, and I think it captures the overriding emotions of the movie very well.
I agree with the above posts, considering this was written for Brokeback Mountain, it is about the complex relationship between the main characters. Dealing with their inability to openly express their love due to society's and god's or the 'makers' constraints.
I haven't actually seen the movie, anybody know if it is any good?