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Cigarettes and Wine Lyrics
I saw her in Roosevelt Springs, where time doesn't touch anything
She never did say she could sing, but I figured it so
I needed some company then, not sisters or children or men
That's a hell of a spot to be in, but she put me in tow
Money and liquor and lust had taken my heart and my trust
I could see ashes and dust were headed my way
She tended bar in the town, her alto settled me down
I started hanging around, didn't need much to say
She smelled like cigarettes and wine
And she kept me happy all the time
I know that ain't much of a line
But it's the Gods' own truth
She lives down inside of me still
Rolled up like a twenty dollar bill
She left me alone with these pills
In the last of my youth
Wings on her shoulders and feet, a bar on Gethsemane Street
I took time to plan my retreat, and backed out the door
I must be attracted to those who've witnessed a man in the throes
of life that ain't grindstone to nose, but pedal to floor
She smelled like cigarettes and wine
And she kept me happy all the time
I know that ain't much of a line
But it's the Gods' own truth
She lives down inside of me still
Rolled up like a twenty dollar bill
She left me alone with these pills
In the last of my youth
Lost on the dry side of town, my memories slowing me down
She shook me and I came around, I came back to life
With nary a mother or dad she showed me what I never had
The princess of leaves, she gets sad, 'cause I won't take a wife
She smelled like cigarettes and wine
And she kept me happy all the time
I know that ain't much of a line
But it's the Gods' own truth
She lives down inside of me still
Rolled up like a twenty dollar bill
She left me alone with these pills
In my smoldering youth
She left me alone with these pills
In the last of my youth
She never did say she could sing, but I figured it so
I needed some company then, not sisters or children or men
That's a hell of a spot to be in, but she put me in tow
I could see ashes and dust were headed my way
She tended bar in the town, her alto settled me down
I started hanging around, didn't need much to say
And she kept me happy all the time
I know that ain't much of a line
But it's the Gods' own truth
She lives down inside of me still
Rolled up like a twenty dollar bill
She left me alone with these pills
In the last of my youth
I took time to plan my retreat, and backed out the door
I must be attracted to those who've witnessed a man in the throes
of life that ain't grindstone to nose, but pedal to floor
And she kept me happy all the time
I know that ain't much of a line
But it's the Gods' own truth
She lives down inside of me still
Rolled up like a twenty dollar bill
She left me alone with these pills
In the last of my youth
She shook me and I came around, I came back to life
With nary a mother or dad she showed me what I never had
The princess of leaves, she gets sad, 'cause I won't take a wife
And she kept me happy all the time
I know that ain't much of a line
But it's the Gods' own truth
She lives down inside of me still
Rolled up like a twenty dollar bill
She left me alone with these pills
In my smoldering youth
She left me alone with these pills
In the last of my youth
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I guess a song mostly means however it speaks to you.
I hear a song about a man in a free fall of addiction. The Girl in the song serves as metaphor for the drugs,booze,pills and the hellish infatuation,out of control spiral and lust for them as well as an attempt to get sober by the singer at the songs end.
"She put me in tow" (the drugs owned him).
"Her alto settled me down so I started hanging around" (how the drug usage felt so he kept using).
"She kept me happy all the time. I know that ain't much of a line" (Sounds like cocaine).
"Inside me still. Rolled up like a twenty dollar bill" ( coke reference again with the rolled bill and being addicted).
" Planned my Retreat" "Backed out the Door" "Lost on the Dry side of Town" (Sounds like trying to get clean and sober and leaving the drugs (girl) behind)
"Shook me till I came around" "She gets sad cause I wont take a wife" (the drugs/booze are calling him back and he wont be their partner.
Hey maybe its really about a Girl; but what the heck that's how I hear it. Then again I am in recovery so I hear a lot of songs this way.
I tell you what its a hell of a regardless.
The man can sure write a powerful ballad.
What an amazing song, I loved it as soon as I heard it. It looks very personal and comes out that way in jason's voice too. It takes a lot of guts to write a song like this and put yourself out there, but thats why he's an artist.
Looks like its pretty much about a guy down and out from a broken past. But finds life again in the bartender(HAHA gettin put in "TOW" helps a broken heart too) I hope everybody knows what that means. Ultimately he still cant commit and is alone for reasons he cant explain. This is how I took it anyways, any other thoughts or takes on this one??
What do you think is the meaning/significance of 'princess of leaves'??
@justinklenk "Princess of Leaves" to me feels as is hes referring to his current relationship. Shes his current princess but hes a shell of his former self. No longer a strong oak but just the pile of leaves left. Shes saddened due to his lack of commitment (wont take a wife), due to whats happened to him in the past. (perhaps still longing for what was)
@justinklenk "Princess of Leaves" to me feels as is hes referring to his current relationship. Shes his current princess but hes a shell of his former self. No longer a strong oak but just the pile of leaves left. Shes saddened due to his lack of commitment (wont take a wife), due to whats happened to him in the past. (perhaps still longing for what was)
To me this is about a relationship doomed from the start - the girl is attracted to "uncommitted" guys who leave, which may be alluded to the phrase "queen of leaves," probably due to relationship problems with her father. The guy really likes the girl, she makes him very happy, but from early on he never planned on staying / marrying her. So she left him. She "showed him what he never had" as someone who deeply cared about him, as he never really had a girl like that in his life before. It seems she probably left because he wouldn't commit. Despite this, he never forgot about her. She smelled like cigarettes and wine, and the smell of these probably bring back memories of her. One night he returns to his hometown to see the girl he once loved singing on stage, and he never heard her sing before but figured she could. It seems like she hasn't aged at all, but he's already passed his "youth" stage and is using pills to drown out the sorrow/pain of loneliness, the one that she had temporary subsided.
Nice song but so is the one it is 'derived' from: Jersey girl by Tom Waits. The Isbell version is more similar to the Bruce Springsteen performance.