7 Meanings
Add Yours
Follow
Share
Q&A
Clay Pigeons Lyrics
I’m going down to the greyhound station
Gonna get a ticket to ride
Gonna find that lady with 2 or 3 kids
And sit down by her side
And ride until the sun comes up and down around me about 2 or 3 times
smoking cigarettes in the last seat trying
to hide my sorrow from the people I meet
And get along with it all
Go down where people say ya'll
Sing a song with a friend
Change the shape that I’m in
And get back in the game
And start playing again
I’d like to stay but I might have to go to start over again
I might go back down to Texas I might go somewhere that I’ve never been
And get up in the morning and go out at night
And I won’t have to go home
Get used to being alone
Change the words to this song
And start singing again
I’m tired of running round looking for answers to questions that I
already know
I could build me a castle of memories just to have somewhere to go
Count the days and the nights that it takes to get back in the saddle
again
Feed the pigeons some clay
Turn the night into day
Start talking again if I know what to say
I’m going down to the greyhound station
Gonna get a ticket to ride
Gonna find that lady with 2 or 3 kids
And sit down by her side
And Ride until the sun comes up and down around about 2 or 3 times
smoking cigarettes in the last seat
trying to hide my sorrow from the people I meet
And get along with it all
Go down where people say ya'll
Feed the pigeons some clay
Turn the night into day
Start talking again when I know what to say
Gonna get a ticket to ride
Gonna find that lady with 2 or 3 kids
And sit down by her side
And ride until the sun comes up and down around me about 2 or 3 times
smoking cigarettes in the last seat trying
to hide my sorrow from the people I meet
And get along with it all
Go down where people say ya'll
Sing a song with a friend
Change the shape that I’m in
And get back in the game
And start playing again
I might go back down to Texas I might go somewhere that I’ve never been
And get up in the morning and go out at night
And I won’t have to go home
Get used to being alone
Change the words to this song
And start singing again
already know
I could build me a castle of memories just to have somewhere to go
Count the days and the nights that it takes to get back in the saddle
again
Feed the pigeons some clay
Turn the night into day
Start talking again if I know what to say
Gonna get a ticket to ride
Gonna find that lady with 2 or 3 kids
And sit down by her side
And Ride until the sun comes up and down around about 2 or 3 times
smoking cigarettes in the last seat
trying to hide my sorrow from the people I meet
Go down where people say ya'll
Feed the pigeons some clay
Turn the night into day
Start talking again when I know what to say
Add your song meanings, interpretations, facts, memories & more to the community.
This is a song about personal redemption, emotional housekeeping, picking yourself up from a fall and starting over again. The singer's life has hit a rough patch- just what is not explained- maybe a good relationship gone bad and ending in heartbreak. Maybe some alcohol abuse as self medication. Maybe losing a job or getting beaten up and knowing he deserved it for something he did. Probably the first, with some other collateral damage attached.
Sitting next to a mom with kids is going to be an act of service and surrender. Most people wouldn't want to sit next to them, but the single mom could definitely use the kindness of a friendly well intentioned stranger to make it through a long bus ride with her kids. And he's feeding his humanity by choosing to do that. He's not planning to hit on her- he's planning to sing songs and help them pass the time on a long ride.
He describes a whole series of basic, functional, attainable short term goals that will help him process his hurt, pull himself together, fake it 'til he makes it, and begin another chapter of his life. It's a wistful but fundamentally healthy and positive song. And it's a humanist approach- he's not praying, or asking for help from angels, or invoking fate or destiny, or channeling new agey energy, or talking about any supernatural influence- he's cultivating the good in people, beginning with himself, looking to familiar comfortable things like southern hospitality, and building himself a new foundation one brick at a time.
The reference to feeding pigeons some clay seems deliberately obscure. I thought immediately of target practice with clay pigeons- discs meant to be shot at once, broken into bits, and discarded. Maybe how he feels right now. Maybe more hopeful than that because he's really talking about living birds that can fly away from trouble. Changing night into day sounds more hopeful- like emotional healing from a dark night of the soul. Also connects to the idea of staying up through nights and days on a long bus ride. All in all a beautiful song.
Your thoughts on the song are almost as beautiful as the song itself.
Your thoughts on the song are almost as beautiful as the song itself.
I just came across this song and it touched me deeply. Your description is amazing...but I thing the pigeons are his brain cells and the buck shot is the booze. Regardless I love it so much I'm thinking of taking guitar lessons just to learn this song. All the best.
I just came across this song and it touched me deeply. Your description is amazing...but I thing the pigeons are his brain cells and the buck shot is the booze. Regardless I love it so much I'm thinking of taking guitar lessons just to learn this song. All the best.
"Feed the pigeons some clay" could be a metaphor for feeling useful and needed. He feeds the birds, but he doesn't have seed, just clay that he's rolled into a pellet. He wins the affection of the birds, despite offering them nothing, because he has nothing. He's 'faking it till he makes it'.
"Feed the pigeons some clay" could be a metaphor for feeling useful and needed. He feeds the birds, but he doesn't have seed, just clay that he's rolled into a pellet. He wins the affection of the birds, despite offering them nothing, because he has nothing. He's 'faking it till he makes it'.
@surferbeto I think Blaze himself is the clay pigeon. He's been shot down and broken so he needs to feed himself some clay to rebuild. Then he 'gets back in the game and start(s) singing again' only to be shot down again the process repeats.
@surferbeto I think Blaze himself is the clay pigeon. He's been shot down and broken so he needs to feed himself some clay to rebuild. Then he 'gets back in the game and start(s) singing again' only to be shot down again the process repeats.
@oliver_cfc that is a really clever idea. Blaze is the clay pigeon, and he feeds himself some clay (what else would a clay pigeon eat after all?). Thanks for bringing that to my attention. I think that must be it.
@oliver_cfc that is a really clever idea. Blaze is the clay pigeon, and he feeds himself some clay (what else would a clay pigeon eat after all?). Thanks for bringing that to my attention. I think that must be it.
@surferbeto I believe the pigeon reference is a bit self deprecating. It's saying he has healed himself, and become a free flying bird, but now he's going to ruin that by feeding it clay. Now he's going to repeat the process again.
@surferbeto I believe the pigeon reference is a bit self deprecating. It's saying he has healed himself, and become a free flying bird, but now he's going to ruin that by feeding it clay. Now he's going to repeat the process again.
@surferbeto I have learned some new things that cause me to reevaluate and revise the last paragraph of my original interpretation. If you Google search on "birds eating clay" you will find a small number of scientific research papers and other popular press accounts of birds eating clay. A certain place in Peru is locally famous as a place where parrots come to eat clay. We think the clay helps birds detoxify secondary plant compounds in certain foods they eat. And we think birds may use clay as a nutritional supplement to get certain essential minerals...
@surferbeto I have learned some new things that cause me to reevaluate and revise the last paragraph of my original interpretation. If you Google search on "birds eating clay" you will find a small number of scientific research papers and other popular press accounts of birds eating clay. A certain place in Peru is locally famous as a place where parrots come to eat clay. We think the clay helps birds detoxify secondary plant compounds in certain foods they eat. And we think birds may use clay as a nutritional supplement to get certain essential minerals that are otherwise scarce in their diets.
If pigeons do this too, and if Blaze knew of this, then maybe that last verse has a whole new meaning. Feeding pigeons some clay would be an act of kindness that helps the pigeons live better. It's not a direct subsidy, like feeding them birdseed might be. But it's giving them something they can use, something they need to be their best. Viewed in this light, the last verse makes a lot of sense. Blaze is continuing to do gentle good deeds of public service that feed his soul while helping others. Not only does he help people, he even helps pigeons he meets. The protagonist of this song is a gentle soul who is kind to animals. And he recognizes the healing power of kindness for both the giver and the receiver.
@surferbeto Thank you for the wonderful interpretation and the meaningful comments in reply! An alternative to the clay theory might also be this - that the author / protagonist seeks the same detoxifying healing of the clay in absorbing and reflecting the pain he sees and absorbs. That in sitting with the mother and the rest of these acts of service, the em-path seeks a remedy or balance to take the pain and allow the good in people to flow through much like the pigeon uses the clay to absorb the toxins while it gets the nutrition out of the food.
@surferbeto Thank you for the wonderful interpretation and the meaningful comments in reply! An alternative to the clay theory might also be this - that the author / protagonist seeks the same detoxifying healing of the clay in absorbing and reflecting the pain he sees and absorbs. That in sitting with the mother and the rest of these acts of service, the em-path seeks a remedy or balance to take the pain and allow the good in people to flow through much like the pigeon uses the clay to absorb the toxins while it gets the nutrition out of the food.
@surferbeto I take the “feed the pigeons some clay” to be about Blaze saying he’ll pretend everything is okay to the people around him and most won’t notice or think twice about him, even if he’s faking it. The same way pigeons will go after clay thinking it’s real seed. He can fool the people around him just as easily, you know?
@surferbeto I take the “feed the pigeons some clay” to be about Blaze saying he’ll pretend everything is okay to the people around him and most won’t notice or think twice about him, even if he’s faking it. The same way pigeons will go after clay thinking it’s real seed. He can fool the people around him just as easily, you know?
@surferbeto I take the “feed the pigeons some clay” to be about Blaze saying he’ll pretend everything is okay to the people around him and most won’t notice or think twice about him, even if he’s faking it. The same way pigeons will go after clay thinking it’s real seed. He can fool the people around him just as easily, you know?
@surferbeto I take the “feed the pigeons some clay” to be about Blaze saying he’ll pretend everything is okay to the people around him and most won’t notice or think twice about him, even if he’s faking it. The same way pigeons will go after clay thinking it’s real seed. He can fool the people around him just as easily, you know?
@surferbeto you've written some wonderful things on your post. A great tribute to a beautiful, tender song.
@surferbeto you've written some wonderful things on your post. A great tribute to a beautiful, tender song.
I think you’d have to be a bird lover as well as someone who has a few skeletons of addiction and substance abuse in your closet to truly appreciate the depth of meaning found in Blaze Foley’s lyrics to “Clay Pigeons.” If you’re familiar enough with birds you may know that they ingest quite a bit of toxic substances while foraging for food and drinking. To combat the ill effects of these toxins pigeons and other birds have evolved a way to naturally diminish these effects by eating clay. \nClay pigeons is about healing and redemption, it’s about removing the literal and figurative “toxins” from one’s life….and getting back on the saddle….and self actualizing! For those of you who have dealt with addiction….you’ve felt the desperation of wanting to “get back” to being you again. You desperately want to be resilient…but can’t always find your way. This is a song about desperation and hope…and a wanting, though not yet realized or fulfilled.\n\nThank you Blaze! I will keep these poignant words with me forever….and your memory will live on in all of our healing hearts!
I was exposed to this song by John Prine when he was on Austin City Limits. He sings it beautifully and respectfully of Blaze because he loved the lyrics. Alas, John is gone now too up in heaven smoking his 9-mile cigarette. I was able to watch the movie "Blaze" recently and learn about Foley's short life and hear him sing this song of self-redemption and hope. Thanks to them both for leaving a legacy to listen to and teach our children and grandchildren.
Yes, a beautifully honest self revelatory song about a "new" beginning, living in the moment. a surrender to one's own nature. Myself. as a pretty much life time "new ager" {see comment] am especially grateful for the the line "I'm tired of running around looking for answers to questions that I already know." Hopefully all of us reach this place, where the answers are about love and connection beyond the mind's life time attempts with words. Thank you Blaze Foley and John Prine.
@jimmeejam Well said. I "felt seen" by that line as the kids would say.
@jimmeejam Well said. I "felt seen" by that line as the kids would say.
So just stopped myself from answering this with the attitude that I was a scholar on the subject just because someone (possibly knowledgeable, possibly just a jackass) claims that pigeons are in fact fed clay, by clay just simply referring to clay type soil, and rolling little balls of it to feed to pigeons, because pigeons are in fact (this is found from legit source, tho vague) known to travel to creek banks and dried washes and feed on soil (if rich in clay) because it’s linked to their assisting their digestive process. So though I’m no scholar after reading unscholarly google resources, given the simplicity of Blaze’s lyrics it’s the one I truly think is correct (whether ppl want to argue his lyrics being “simple” or not, fact is his simplicity, like many great songwriters, lyes in the fact everyday ppl from any walk of life are able to fit a personal meaning that relates to their individual life and circumstance)
I knew this as a John Prine song and just today found out it was written by Blaze Foley. To me, the song is a fairly straightforward but beautifully written song about settling down and starting over after what we can assume was a tumultuous past.\n\nI see the line "feed some pigeons some clay" as a play on words suggesting turning things around, slowing down, and rebuilding. He literally reverses the words "clay" and "pigeons" which matches "night into day" in the same line. And normally you think about shooting and breaking clay pigeons, which is maybe what he did in the past (break things), but he\'s going to rebuild, feeding pigeons some clay instead. It also works as a metaphor for slowing down -- feeding the pigeons -- and is parallel with turning presumably wild night into slow days.
@gregw some beautiful analogies in here. More people need to find out about Blaze Foley. I know that I'll be looking.
@gregw some beautiful analogies in here. More people need to find out about Blaze Foley. I know that I'll be looking.
Dictionary.com says a Clay Pigeon is American slang for "a person who is easily taken advantage of, especially due to being in a position of vulnerability." https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/clay+pigeon
So when taking into account the other lyrics, he is helping desperate and vulnerable people, but not really changing them or their circumstances. There is an understanding that he can't change the world, or be a saviour. But he can give the clay pigeons a bit more clay, bulk them up a bit, play them song, and maybe just help them get by a little longer.