Wolves (Song of the Shepherd's Dog) Lyrics
And a bike wheel spinning on a pawn shop wall
She'll wring out her colored hair
Like a butterfly beaten in a summer rainfall
And then roll on the kitchen floor
With some fucker with a pocketful of foreign change
Song of the shepherd’s dog
A pitch in the dark in the ear of the lamb
Who's going to try to run away
Whoever got that brave?
And the chapel bell ringing through the wind-blown trees
She'll wave to the butcher’s boy
With the parking lot music everybody believes
And then dive like a dying bird
To any dude with a dollar in the penny arcade
Song of the shepherd’s dog
Waiter and the check or the rooster on the rooftop waiting for day
And you know what he's gonna say
And a postcard hidden in her winter clothes
She weep in the back of a truck
To the traitors only trying to find her bullet hole
And then run down the canopy road
To some mother with a baby and a cross to bear
Song of the shepherd’s dog
Little brown flea in the bottle of oil
For your wool and wild hair
You'll never get him out of there
Well, I would correct the mistakes in the lyrics above, but there are so many (sory) that I'll just give the right ones:
Wolves by the road And a bike wheel spinning on a pawn shop wall She'll wring out her colored hair Like a butterfly beaten in a summer rainfall And then roll on the kitchen floor With some fucker with a pocketful of foreign change Song of the shepherd’s dog A pitch in the dark in the ear of the lamb Who's going to try to run away Whoever got that brave?
Wolves in the middle of town And the chapel bell ringing through the wind-blown trees She'll wave to the butcher’s boy With the parking lot music everybody believes And then dive like a dying bird To any dude with a dollar in the penny arcade Song of the shepherd’s dog Waiter and the check or a rooster on the rooftop waiting for day And you know what he's gonna say
Wolves at the end of the bed And a postcard hidden in her winter clothes She weep in the back of a truck To the traitors only trying to find her bullet hole And then run down the canopy road To some mother with a baby and a cross to bear Song of the shepherd’s dog Little brown flea in the bottle of oil For your wool and wild hair* You'll never get him out of there
*seriously, this really does sound like "woolly, wild hair." If I didn't have the lyric sheet I'd have no idea
Okay, so I think megabyte is on the right track in saying that this is a song about escaping, for various definitions of the word "escape." The first stanza, I think, is just brilliant. It starts off with wolves (danger) on the road (the way out), and then we get the bike wheel. I feel like I could go on for days about that bike wheel. It's a FANTASTIC image. For one thing, a bike is the poor man's (or, in this case, woman's) car, so that - along with the fact that it's spinning - represent motion, escape. But it's stuck on the wall - there isn't even a rest of the bike to go with it - and, moreover, it's in a pawn shop, which means you have to have money to get out, so in more ways than one this means of escape, too, is being blocked off. The two men the heroine goes after in this song both bear signs of espcape: money, in both cases; foreign-ness in the first; and the experiential escape of playing a video game in the second. So we know that she's willing to give up her body for that feeling of getting away. We also know, because this is specifically the song of the shepherd's dog, that running away would not be a good idea (hence the incredulous, "Whoever got that brave?"), which is reinforced hardcore in the last stanza: even though she's really opening up to these guys with a truck, they're "traitors" who are only after "her bullet hole" (three guesses as to what that symbolizes). Then she's visited by a vision of her future: a single mother "with a cross to bear" (which, actually, I don't think is being a single mother - I think it's being stuck in the same place she'd always been trying to escape). The waiter, the rooster, and the flea I think are all supposed to be instances of things that will generate that frustrated sense of predictability or inevitability that happens when you've been somewhere you don't want to be for a long time.
I'm not really sure what to make of that "parking lot music" thing, though - is that just a shot at pop music and how idealized it can be sometimes? I dunno.
Great interp, larryniven. And thanks for the lyrics update. This finally makes some sense to me.
I think there is another element about the nature of religious faith in this song. I don't know how it all fits, but I'll throw out my random thoughts - maybe somebody can elaborate and/or shoot them down.
In the first verse, she makes a pitch in the ear of the lamb. A prayer , or a song, or trying to sell an idea to Jesus? And in the last verse, I think she running toward a vision of Mary and Jesus. (a woman and a baby with a cross to bear). But there is a flea in the oil (like a fly in the ointment?) and you can never change that.
Is Beam saying that her wild nature is in conflict with her faith? That she won't find her means of escape via faith? Or that neither sensual pleasure or religious experience is going to really provide any escape? Dunno... Whew.. Beam is hard sometimes. :)
The Shepherd's Dog is the central and conflicted metaphor for the entire song. The Shepherd's dog is only one step away from being a wolf, but it is meant to keep the lambs "safe" or at least inline with the Shepherd's guidance. It is the Shepherd's enforcer, even as it is the sheep's main line of defense against the wolves.
Is this the Good Shepherd who loves cares and saves the sheep, or is this just a hired hand protecting his investment until the final slaughter.
This song is probably about prostitution, but it is also about addiction, dependent relationships, religion gone bad, and any other system that locks people into a world without grace.
Out there song, really defies the lyrical conventions I am used to. The way Sam Beam strings such ideas together is unreal, like Michael Stipe and Neil Fallon can do within their respective ways. I can't decipher this beautiful piece of sonic lyricism, but I love how it flows together and maybe that's Beam's intentions overall. Don't decipher, don't infer, just listen, just internalize, and just be floored at this man's artistry. Need more be said.
Why aren't there more comments on this song? This is possibly my favorite song on the newest album. He doesn't as much about sing about something in this as much as he does paint a dusty town image for us. his songs are so very easy to visualize. and for that, these songs are precious to me.
This song is obviously very thamtically important, thus the album being named after it... and what of the dogs?!?!? so many dogs.
I agree with minion that this song paints a vivid picture of some small town, but I also think it has something to do with trying to escape. From a town, from a past, from yourself. The wolves feel to me like fear of the unknown.
Read it like a church Hymn. (Line 1 Verse 1, Line 1 Verse 2, etc.) It translates to:
Wolves by the road Wolves in the middle of town Wolves at the end of the bed And a bike wheel spinning on a pawn shop wall And the chapel bell ringing through the wind-blown trees And a postcard hidden in her winter clothes She leaned on her colored hair To wave to the butcher’s boy She beat in the back of a truck Like a butterfly wing in a summer rainfall With the parking lot music everybody believes To the trailers when we trying to find the bullet hole And the roll on the kitchen floor And then out like a dying bird And then run down the canopy rows Some fucker with a pocketful of foreign change In the corner of the penny arcade Some mother and a baby with a cross to nail Song of the shepherd’s dog (x 3) A pitch in the dark in the ear of the lamb Waiting around the jack call of the rooster Little brown flea in the bottle of oil Who was going to try to run away On the rooftop waiting for day For your woolly wild hair Whoever got that brave? And ain’t nobody’s going to say You'll never get him out of there
Some of it goes together.. Strange.
Sam Beam's linguistic talent is ridiculous, its probably just me, but sometimes I just have no idea what he's talking about. Maybe it's my lack of experience with religion and perhaps the South. Call this an ant-comment, but I think the his music is very enjoyable on a lower level, without delving into any deeper meaning(not that there isn't a ton of that)
Like previous comments, I find that each verse conjures a vivid image, storyboard, or event going off in my mind. This whole album completely removes me from reality, just ridiculous
To InnocentBones, I think this is just commonplace for Sam Beam's lyrical style -- so many of his songs use three verses that are similar in structure but tell different stories -- White Tooth Man, Dead Man's Will, Boy With A Coin, etc. I love it.
I see this song as in image of the inability to escape (whether it be a small town, "Southern" ideals, religion, etc.).
Everyone's just stuck, because they fear the wolves on the road (getting out of town), in the middle of town (at church), and at the end of the bed (sexuality).
And the song of the shepherd's dog seems to always say "you'll never leave". -- "whoever got that brave?" / a bill, an impending day with its responsibilities / getting that flea out of you hair (symbolic or...sorry if I'm wrong...could have to do with an STD, considering the third verse seems to deal with sexuality)... who knows...