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Jim Cain Lyrics
I started out in search of ordinary things
How much of a tree bends in the wind
I started telling the story without knowing the end
I used to be darker, then I got lighter, then I got dark again
Something too big to be seen was passing over and over me
Well it seemed like a routine case at first
With the death of the shadow came a lightness of verse
But the darkest of nights, in truth, still dazzles
And I work myself until I'm frazzled
I ended up in search of ordinary things
Like how can a wave possibly be?
I started running, and the concrete turned to sand
I started running, and things didn't pan out as planned
In case things go poorly and I not return
Remember the good things I've done
In case things go poorly and I not return
Remember the good things I've done
Done me in
How much of a tree bends in the wind
I started telling the story without knowing the end
I used to be darker, then I got lighter, then I got dark again
Something too big to be seen was passing over and over me
Well it seemed like a routine case at first
With the death of the shadow came a lightness of verse
But the darkest of nights, in truth, still dazzles
And I work myself until I'm frazzled
Like how can a wave possibly be?
I started running, and the concrete turned to sand
I started running, and things didn't pan out as planned
In case things go poorly and I not return
Remember the good things I've done
In case things go poorly and I not return
Remember the good things I've done
Done me in
Song Info
Submitted by
askforgiveness On Jan 29, 2009
More Bill Callahan
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beautiful.
James M Cain wrote " The postman always rings twice" It is about him
James M Cain, author of The Postman Always Rings Twice, Mildred Pierce and other books. “James M Cain” seemed like kind of a clunky song title so I shortened it. When I’m rehearsing my band I don’t want to have to say, “Let’s run through ‘James M Cain’ again.” Although it does sound kind of classy now that I think about it. James Cain was saddled with being called the father of hardboiled fiction. Apparently he didn’t like this saddle. I tried to write the lyrics in a bunch of different voices at once – a voice that could be his, mine, or one of his characters. He was born in Maryland, like me. And wanted to be a singer. Like me. But was told he wasn’t good enough. Like me. He died in alcoholic obscurity. Hmm… No comments from the Peanut Gallery! I also like that his middle name was Mallahan.
agreed, robsoncamara. unbelievably so.
i wonder what anyone makes of this, though:
"in case things go poorly and i not return remember the good things i've done in case things go poorly and i not return remember the good things i've done done me in"
is it a separate part? or did the good things he's done do him in, or did he do himself in with the good things he's done?
I absolutely love this song. Its so gorgeous and I find the meaning behind the lyrics to be so bittersweet.
I absolutely love this song. Its so gorgeous and I find the meaning behind the lyrics to be so bittersweet.
TheWrongGirl, my take on the last verse is this: that sometimes in life we as individuals, have good intentions in the way we approach things, but sometimes those good intentions can fail us, hence "remember the good things Ive done...done me in."
TheWrongGirl, my take on the last verse is this: that sometimes in life we as individuals, have good intentions in the way we approach things, but sometimes those good intentions can fail us, hence "remember the good things Ive done...done me in."
It hurts to arrive to place feeling as you failed, when you felt you tried so hard. Or at least thats what I take from it...a bittersweet human story of life lived and learned. Hats...
It hurts to arrive to place feeling as you failed, when you felt you tried so hard. Or at least thats what I take from it...a bittersweet human story of life lived and learned. Hats off to Bill Callahan for never failing to be such a gifted story teller.
I thought it was sort of.... the first time you hear it it's "remember the good things I've done' which is just like an often heard sentiment, then the second time you hear it's meant like 'remember that the good things I've done have done me in.' Just one of those bleak little twists.
I thought it was sort of.... the first time you hear it it's "remember the good things I've done' which is just like an often heard sentiment, then the second time you hear it's meant like 'remember that the good things I've done have done me in.' Just one of those bleak little twists.
So who is jim cain?
So who is jim cain?
Jim Cain is a house Woody Guthrie lived in, he mentions it hallway through his book bound for glory. I believe the whole song is about that book and Guthrie's life.
Jim Cain is a house Woody Guthrie lived in, he mentions it hallway through his book bound for glory. I believe the whole song is about that book and Guthrie's life.
you bring up a good point.....and after re-reading , I think maybe you are right.....The good things he'd done did him in.....probably the saddest /most beautiful song i've heard in a long time.......
you bring up a good point.....and after re-reading , I think maybe you are right.....The good things he'd done did him in.....probably the saddest /most beautiful song i've heard in a long time.......
I think this song refers to his shift from Smog to Bill Callahan. In case things go poorly, i.e. his new solo work is a failure or he destroys his legacy, don't forget the good music from his past. The music of Smog also "does him in" because he may find it difficult to move out of the shadow of his earlier work.
This interview from Pitchfork in 2007 should give you an idea of what this song is about, in my opinion.
Callahan: I cannot tell you exactly what is going on now. I look at my hands and I don't know what they wrought in the past. Are they the hands of a bad man? I used to be an artist. I don't think I am right now. I don't know if I ever will be again. I am something else. I was a student of personal strife. I ran with the wrong crowd early on. I tortured myself for a song. I thought it was the way.
i thought it was about depression
i always heard
'in case things go poorly the night I return remember the good things I don't'
I now think this is wrong but it stil think of this song as about someone who has been away and depressed for a long time coming home.
By living more in the moment, his thoughts became lighter and issues more graspable. But the most heavy of his thoughts or isues weren’t settled or dealt with. The ordinary things might point to reality the way it shows itself (a natural wave in contrast to abstract thoughts), and/or the graspable, concrete issues of his live. He tried to view his life directly and without hesitation, self-sabotage The lightness of verse in the whole of the lyrics seems to indicate a sort of self-acceptance, and between the lines, an acceptance even of dead or suicide in the case of defeat.
In the light of his style of songwriting, in the last years as Smog and then under his own name, also his lyrics and musical style became more concrete, harmonic and less obscure, though still with his typical sharp edges, both in words and music…