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Bellerin' Plain Lyrics
Parapliers the willow dipped
Rolled roots gnarled like rakers
This hollow hole don't hold no jokers or fakers
Don't fall by no jokers or fakers
Puller down to the stirrin' hay acres
Parapliers pinched up uh levy 'n pulled way thru the toe
Foothills, locomotives walked 'n sugar beets rolled
Down the tracks
Sunbum bounces soot off the black smokestacks
Parapliers pinched up slow down the sky
Blue 'O' poured the engineer's voice
Whistlin' down low 'n piped like clacks
By the ol' scarecrow
'n pots 'n pans burn the fireman's hands till the
Kettle leaped fire 'round the belly 'O' The bayou boy bums with sunken gums
'n pits his strength to the 7th sons down
Parapliers rumbled rumbled like uh straight iron gun
Like uh red hot iron thru the egg white 'O'
Sunnyland drum, horn blow
Sun like uh bubble pop yellow, down she go
Muh cowcatcher whistled like uh steel flash scream
Hose sucked out for water 'n the wheeldriver
Sparkled like an Indian flint
'n the fireman 'n the brakeman bent 'n waved his long red underwear arm
All aboard
The lantern flared 'n the caboose waved uh green gone on
Rolled roots gnarled like rakers
This hollow hole don't hold no jokers or fakers
Don't fall by no jokers or fakers
Puller down to the stirrin' hay acres
Parapliers pinched up uh levy 'n pulled way thru the toe
Foothills, locomotives walked 'n sugar beets rolled
Down the tracks
Sunbum bounces soot off the black smokestacks
Parapliers pinched up slow down the sky
Blue 'O' poured the engineer's voice
Whistlin' down low 'n piped like clacks
By the ol' scarecrow
'n pots 'n pans burn the fireman's hands till the
Kettle leaped fire 'round the belly 'O' The bayou boy bums with sunken gums
'n pits his strength to the 7th sons down
Parapliers rumbled rumbled like uh straight iron gun
Like uh red hot iron thru the egg white 'O'
Sunnyland drum, horn blow
Sun like uh bubble pop yellow, down she go
Hose sucked out for water 'n the wheeldriver
Sparkled like an Indian flint
'n the fireman 'n the brakeman bent 'n waved his long red underwear arm
All aboard
The lantern flared 'n the caboose waved uh green gone on
Song Info
Submitted by
bluegrassish On Jun 03, 2008
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No single meaning, pretty abstract but rich in imagery like a lot of Beefheart Describes some kind of train journey. I noticed the phrase "Parapliers and willows dipped" is title of a painting, so this is a word painting.
"Parapliers" is wordplay on parapluies, which means umbrellas. Also on pair of pliers.
There's a famous Renoir painting called Les Parapluies.
And looking forward along railroad tracks resembles an open pair of long-nose pliers. I agree with HarryIrene that it has a lot of imagery relating to trains. A bit like the verbal equivalent of those Futurist paintings of trains in motion.