John Allyn Smith Sails

very touching retelling of John Berryman's (aka John Allyn Smith) death by suicide. the opening verse immediately got me interested. the next few verses reference the key moments leading up to his death - him imagining his own suicide when he was younger, perhaps traumatised after seeing his father's own suicide ("so when my mum and John came in, I would be cold") and his alcoholism ("breaking in a case of suds").

you can read more about him here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Berryman

also, i like the throwback to Sloop John B. to me it's fitting both lyrically and melodically, especially since the ship (the John B.) and the subject of this song share the same initials. nice touch!

This song is especially meaningful in light of John Berryman's poetry itself. The 6th stanza (I was breaking in a case of suds, etc.) is a direct allusion to several poems of Berryman's, and the line "stripped down to move on" is directly lifted from one of the last poems in 77 Dream Songs.

The cover of Sloop John B. contains a few more references to those final poems in 77 Dream Songs (which wasn't Berryman's final work though they do heavily deal with suicide, he released over 300 poems after them). The line "I'm full in my heart and my head" is lifted almost verbatim, as well as the concept of carrying books in each hand.

Finally, the way the song addresses the listener as "my friends" is a technique that is often used by Berryman in his poetry. The song itself if straightforward, the story of Berryman's death, but it also acts as an homage to his work by incorporating pieces of his poetry itself.

Oh, and also: this is some of the best songwriting and storytelling I've ever heard. Song after song, I can't even believe how amazing these lyrics are. This song doesn't have any hidden meaning. The character has lived past his prime and turned into something that he dislikes, so he jumps to his death. Love the reference to a childhood not-really-suicide attempt. And the very meta first verse. So good!

Will Sheff astounds me.

[song]writers who read are a lovely thing indeed. amazing songmeanings input to jadedgypsy.

Just a minor correction. I believe it's "in 31" not "and thirty-one." That'd make our character, John, 17 years old at that point instead of 31. :)

the brass rail is a bar here in champaign.

this song hit me like a ton of brick the other day. it's such a heart-breaking story, and when it breaks into sloop john b it sounds so joyous but sad at the same time, like he was only waiting all that time just to escape from this world. beautiful beautiful song. okkervil river's probably one of my 5 favorite bands now because of this.

this is a great song by a great band, if you like this song you should also check out stuck between stations by the hold steady, also about john berryman's suicide

This song means a lot to me. John Berryman taught at the University of Minnesota (which is where I graduated from). I'm too young to have ever had him as a teacher, but my poetry professor was good friends with John and he was mentioned in our class frequently. The Washington Avenue Bridge runs from the West Bank of campus to the East Bank. He's one of many people who have jumped off of it. And The Brass Rail is a bar in downtown Minneapolis.

I find it very interesting that this song makes allusion to the Dylan Thomas poem "Don't go gently into that good night." ..."wise men know when its time to go" almost suggests that Thomas had a strong influence on Berryman's suicide.