Luca

am i the only one who was TERRIFIED near the end of the song, when it picked back up?

I think this is another religious song, in keeping with the entire album, where Jesse is considering how his actions will be viewed in the eyes of God. First of all, the lyrics posted here are all wrong.

[When I disappear, do you fear for the sister I took? When I disappear, it is clear I am up to no good I am drearily blunt, letting this bed wetting cosmonaut "Son, the last thing you'll realize you need is what you've already got"]

I this verse, Jesse is speaking to God. He is thinking of all the frivolous, meaningless sex he has had with women and how it must disappoint God. Then God responds that all this pointless sex will never fill the desire that is in his heart... probably suggesting only the love of God or a woman can fill that. (Of course, "sister" is not used in the familial sense, but the religious... as we are all brothers and sisters in God's eyes)

["So touch me or don't Just let me know Where you've been"]

Here God is asking Jesse where he has been after having sex. This mirrors the questions he asks Adam and Eve after their original Sin of eating the fruit of knowledge before they were banished from Eden. Jesse refuses to "touch" Him because he feels ashamed in His presence (the same way Adam feels ashamed of his nakedness in God's eyes).

["So drop me a line with a hook and some raw bleeding bait (one, two, three, four) For I am uncaught and still swimming alone in the lake (five, six, seven, eight) Shimmering under a moon made in anger and angst Shimmering like a penny out of reach in the subway grate (Shimmering like a coin kept safe away, you'll never listen to anything)"]

Jesse views himself as a hopeless case, living out of touch with God ("swimming alone in a lake"). He pleads with God to help him to return to the righteous path, though Jesse sees little hope in his redemption, because he "never listens to anything."

["We could leave it alone, I'm sure there's someone who knows Where you've been"]

Obviously, in God's omnipotence knows the truth of every sin we all commit. He is someone who always knows "where you've been."

["You never worked well with our group Not with the faults we found So we fixed you with cement galoshes No one can save you now Unless you have friends among fish There'll still be no air to breathe You could drink up the entire ocean I'll still find someone to be everything we know that you'll never be"]

In this line Jesse imagines his judgement at the gates of Heaven. His life of Sin is dissected and he is found unworthy. He is cast out of heaven down into the hopelessness of Hell. He uses the metaphor of Luca Brasi in the Godfather. In the book he is found to be a spy of sorts working for the Corleone family, and when Sollozzo finds out, Sollozzo murders Luca. Luca's body is dropped into the ocean with a pair of cement boots so he will sink. Then a dead fish is sent to the Corleone's as a message that he "sleeps with the fishes." This connection can also be drawn that perhaps Jesse views himself a monster of sorts. Luca is most certainly one: in the book, it is explained that Luca once impregnated an Irish whore and he killed the woman and had their newborn child thrown into a furnace. He is also the only man that Don Vito Corleone truly feared. He was believed by some to be a demon.

I hear "When I dissapear do you fear for the sister I took?"

He thinks she's been cheating on him and wants to know. Touch me or don't - he doesn't care if she shows him any passion or not anymore. Just let me know where you've been - He just wants to know if she's cheating on him or not. Or we could leave it alone, I'm sure there's someone who knows where you've been - if he doesn't find out from her, he'll find out from someone she knows/has slept with.

You know what's really annoying? No one is actually talking about the meaning of the lyrics. Isn't that what this site is about?

alright please ENOUGH argueing about the lyrics. what does the song mean. we are on songmeanings.net aren't we?

First off, they DO count to eight in verse 2. Second, the Luca Brasi thing is typical of Jesse's metaphorical style. There's a frequent use of folklore, pop culture, and characterization. In "I Will Play My Game Beneath the Spin Light" they sing "The harpoon's loaded/the cage is lowered/the water's red" like a Discovery Channel shark special (or Jaws). In the fifth Demo, the song's 1st person speaker is part of a gang of marauding criminals or thieves. In "Play Crack the Sky" he and his lover are ships on the ocean.

All this to say that he'll pick a story or vivid picture and then speak from one (or more) of the characters' perspectives. In Luca, somebody has done wrong, and is getting their 'just desserts' by getting fixed with cement galoshes and cast into the depths. It is definitely a Godfather reference, I don't think the song's actually about Luca Brasi.

What this means to him, it's hard to pinpoint. The "touch me or don't" interludes and the second verse tell me that the song's speaker has been betrayed by somebody. And past that, the speaker after having his emotions tread on by "Luca," gets revenge by fixing the offender with cement galoshes (aka concrete tennis shoes), and sending him to "sleep with the fishes." To me, it's a song of hurt and angry retribution, payback for heartache or worse. What do you guys think?

wow.. has no one seen the godfather? luca brasi!!! the bridge alone points to nothing but the mafia. they're putting the guy's feet in cement and dropping him into a lake! hello! and the last line of that bridge is saying that they'll get a replacement that's better. the second verse is from the perspective of the guy in the lake. that's more than enough to say it's related to the godfather or the mafia in some way. not every line has to fit - it makes sense to jesse but may not to the rest of us. and i'm fine with that. great song.

this one is definately my favorite. simply the fact that jesse can hit that first note is amazing.

I need some help figuring out the words to some of the parts so feel free to add suggestions...