The Stable Song

Here are the lyrics as printed in the jacket of his CD "That Sea, the Gambler"

The Stable Song

Remember when our songs were just like prayer Like gospel hymns that you called in the air Come down, come down sweet reverence Unto my simple house and ring... and ring

Ring like silver, ring like gold Ring out those ghosts on the Ohio Ring like clear day wedding bells Were we the belly of the beast, or the sword that fell? We'll never tell

Come to me, clear and cold On some sea Watch the world spinning waves Like that machine

Now I've been crazy, couldn't you tell? I threw stones at the stars, but the whole sky fell Now I'm covered up in straw, belly up on the table Well I drank and sang, and I passed in the stable

That tall grass grows high and brown Well I dragged you straight in the muddy ground And you sent me back to where I roam Well I cursed and I cried, but now I know Now I know

And I ran back to that hollow again The moon was just a sliver back then And I ached for my heart like some tin man When it came, oh it beat and it boiled and it rang Oh, it's ringing

Ring like crazy, ring like hell Turn me back into that wild haired gale Ring like silver, ring like gold Turn these diamonds straight back into coal Turn these diamonds straight back into coal

Not to disagree, I think the muse explanation is a beautiful one. But...

I believe this song is about the experience of going from youthful joy, idealism, faith, and "reverence" -- and then losing it, hitting bottom, possibly self-destruction -- and, then... regaining it again, feeling alive and youthful again.

Initially, the character remembers what it was like when he was younger, everything on his mind was faithful, optimistic, reverential. He was connected to the universe. He jumped out into the unknown and shot for the stars, possibly even found success.

But, then the "sky falls," he hits bottom, perhaps he wanted too much, was over-indulgent, addiction, whatever. You can read between the lines here, but we know he wastes/abuses his "reverence" and his beautiful connection. We know he brought it upon himself. He becomes washed up, or whatever. This time frame is meant to be ugly/disparaging. But, mainly, we know he no longer jumps out into the unknown, no longer seizes life.

But, then...

He goes back into the "hollow" (or the unknown) to find the "reverence" again, the "ringing." Note: He was younger then... "the moon was just a sliver back then." He wants his heart back, he wants to FEEL again, like he did before.

Then, we know that it comes back to him, with intensity. He FEELS again, like it's "boiling" inside him. He's full of the reverence again, connected again, and adventurous... transformed back into a "wild-haired gail."

Lastly, it is like time has turned back or his perspective has become youthful, young again: "Turn these diamonds straight back into coal." The "diamonds" of wisdom/experience changed back into the raw source: coal before it has experienced so much pressure that it changed.

Or something like that...

I hope that my offering of another view doesn't upset the others here, but I'm like 90% sure…

1) He’s talking about marriage (or something like that); His love for his new wife(lover), her love for him and the wonder that is this time. 2) Then something happened. And he’s not quite sure what it is. But he would truly like some clarity., but recognizes that he'll never get it because, at this point, they don't agree on anything. 3) He begs her to come back. He'll take her in any way he can have her, forget the circumstance that holds them apart. He's forgiven her for everything she's ever done. 4) He even tries to apologize for what he can see he’s done wrong. 5) The thing that had grown so beautifully to start has now become nothing more than an absurd dying weed. He’s ruined her. He recognizes she will have nothing to do with him. 6) He goes back to where everything began (hometown probably) and tried to get over her. But he’s so torn apart by what he’s done that his heart hurts, mind and very soul are raging inside him. 7) He’s still fighting with his love for her- He even goes so far as to ask God to change him back in to the man she fell in love with. He’s willing to go through anything to get her back. ~I've heard this argument before, because I've gone through something like this, but not in his place. In my scenario- I’m her.

I'd say fnordatpanix pretty much nailed it - and i'd say the line "Well I cursed and I cried, but now I know" can pertain to so many different trials/tribulations in life - they're usually painful at the time but they lead to wisdom and expeience...the key is to learn from it.

I got an echo of T.S.Eliot's Journey of the Magi....the Jesus was born in a stable, see how that fits and let me know what you think......

Thank you

not sure about some of these lyrics (especially the first line) but most of this is pretty good. couldn't find the lyrics anywhere online, so here they are.

I'm not 100%, but I think he's writing this song about the song he's writing. More specifically, he's writing the song to the muse or spirit that brings him the creativity to write songs...this song. When he refers to "you" he's referring to this song or that muse:

"Well I dragged you straight in the muddy ground And you sent me back to where I roam Well I cursed and I cried, but now I know"

He's saying in the above verse to take what the spirit gives you or you'll dry up. He's learned that now.

Such a beautiful idea. He's also saying that the spirit/muse that brings him the creativity or inspiration to write such a song can come and go whenever it pleases ("turn those diamonds straight back into coal").

Creativity is fleeting. I'd welcome any feedback comments.

I interpreted the line "I threw stones at the stars and the whole sky fell" as he did or said something mindlessly (maybe because he was bored or to garner a reaction) and it had major, but unintended, consequences for him.

I admit that this may be on the more biased side of meanings, just due to the circumstances. In 2018 I received a double lung transplant, and had complications that left me in the hospital for over 6 months, the majority of it being unable to see well, walk, eat, drink, speak or even lift my arms. As one can imagine, I needed a lot of rehab to walk normally again, and every day I listened to a playlist where this song was probably the most prominent. I wasn't able to listen to this song for like 2 years after because it was tied to a time of like struggle, turmoil, etc. So here goes....

The first two stanza I view of like implied melancholy towards a time in his youth where he has an idyllic nostalgia. The very words and amateurish poetry/singing of children is reaffirmed in his memory as a spiritual experience. From death, to the joy of marriage, this youthful nostalgia encompassed it all, but was it just that?

Did the choices he made, that he looked back on with such idealism and love, actually precipitate this very real environment that he lives in as an adult, that we all know is filled not with just those joyful youthful aspirations (referenced later) but also suffering, hard choices, and things that cannot be anticipated, like a machine operating not only outside their control but they are not even a true operator in how it pans out.

He can feel this, and blames his own actions. Whether the "starfall" he experienced was a single event, the continuous act of fighting destiny and the machinations of fate (the stars), or just hedonistic self-indulgence is what caused this hardship in his life, it is not specified.

Regardless, the colors of life have become dull and grey, he is a passive actor, yet is dragging his friends and loved ones into the dirt with him. But this is not the end, and transfers the song into one of rebirth and learning. The dull landscape and fading light of his current life are counterbalanced by his drive to return to "the hollow". In the sense that he is going there "again" it is a return to a youthful/hopeful mindset to counteract the (perhaps self-inflicted) trauma of his past.

So it ends on a somewhat high note, of him accepting how things are, but they are not that way forever. He wishes to go back to his somewhat naive, idyllic, and hopeful past where he wasn't hardened by the decisions of adult life and the trials that they bring.

I think the evaluation of what "heart" means in this context is probably a personal one. Was it him regaining his "heart" in a somewhat literal poetic sense (i.e. romantically). The references to a woman could bear that out on a literal level, however it could be simply a poetic device. The woman could be his muse, his love for music, his love for a literal woman, his passions in general, his world view, etc.

Coal is softer than diamond, which has been hardened by pressure and time- much like he laments in this song. However, as with the "woman" poetic device, his "heart" could also be passion for life, zeal for his craft, etc. which makes this a much broader and more applicable song than someone learning to love again, rather he is learning to love himself and restore validity and passion to what he once valued in life.

[Edit: clarity]

I would have to say that the first line is actually "I know when a song's written just like prayer," and that it's "And I drank and sang and passed in the stable" (it's The Stable Song after all)