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Calistan Lyrics
I took three days to drive down one street
The radio on, tuned to the big fleet
Invisible planes are cracking the concrete
That's just what some people say
I put down my blanket on cigarette-butt beach
I saw the old man, he was doing okay
He's making his last stand
On old bottles and cans
'Round there, Calistan way
Used to be sixteen lanes
Used to be Nuevo Spain
Used to be Juan Wayne
Used to be Mexico
Used to be Navajo
Used to be yippy-ay-I-don't-know
Went in from the weather when I got wheezy
I play some Pachinko I play Pachisi
And St. Anne is still making it breezy
In the valley of tar that once was L.A.
And my best friend he's the king of Karaoke
He struck up a chord and he took it away
Out of the pan
And into Japan
'Round there, Calistan way
Used to be sixteen lanes
Used to be Juan Wayne
Used to Mexicain
Used to be Espano Nuevo
Used to Navajo
Used to be yippie-ay-I-don't-know.
The radio on, tuned to the big fleet
Invisible planes are cracking the concrete
That's just what some people say
I saw the old man, he was doing okay
He's making his last stand
On old bottles and cans
'Round there, Calistan way
Used to be Nuevo Spain
Used to be Juan Wayne
Used to be Mexico
Used to be Navajo
Used to be yippy-ay-I-don't-know
I play some Pachinko I play Pachisi
And St. Anne is still making it breezy
In the valley of tar that once was L.A.
He struck up a chord and he took it away
Out of the pan
And into Japan
'Round there, Calistan way
Used to be Juan Wayne
Used to Mexicain
Used to be Espano Nuevo
Used to Navajo
Used to be yippie-ay-I-don't-know.
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"And through the layers of California, from pre-Navajo (as the Spaniards said) all the way to a time found somewhere between now and Blade Runner." - Frank in the press kit for the album.
Frank Black or Black Francis has always been a devoted environmentalist - this song envisions a future where Californian has become like one of the stans (Afghanistan, Pakistan etc) - Like HG Wells the message is if you think we are guaranteed continuous improvement in standards of life and happiness this is an illusion. What I love about these lyrics is that while Black paints a very dystopic picture of the future the protagonist is trying to recall some of the great things of the past. But the whatever has happened is so momentous that the past as a recorded...
Frank Black or Black Francis has always been a devoted environmentalist - this song envisions a future where Californian has become like one of the stans (Afghanistan, Pakistan etc) - Like HG Wells the message is if you think we are guaranteed continuous improvement in standards of life and happiness this is an illusion. What I love about these lyrics is that while Black paints a very dystopic picture of the future the protagonist is trying to recall some of the great things of the past. But the whatever has happened is so momentous that the past as a recorded history is lost and our protagonist gives us a very jumbled version of how the past was - for Navajo (pronounced Nava Ho) Indians become Nava Joes, John Wyane become Juan Wayne and eventually admits that he just doesn't know. As ever Black is both funny and wild.
There's a YouTube video where he explains
I wish he'd said more about the more speculative elements (like LA being a valley of tar) but that's what's there.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qik7gjekizk
I really have no idea what this one is about, but it's clearly nostalgic. Maybe it's about the way California or the West in general used to be. Yeah, it seems like the land used to belong to the Navajo, then to Mexico, then to the Americans aka John Wayne...