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Willamine Lyrics
Only interested in the sad music of the voice of Willamine
She makes men sigh and women wonder
Where does all the beauty come from, and why
Nobody ever dares to write the true story of love
Hiding under buried junkyards throughout the world
With her sad abstract letters she talks with a broken heart
We're gonna get married
And fly away
Roam the Genghis Khan clouds
Anybody who's never done this is crazy
Nobody ever dares to write the true story of love
The secret underground truth of desire
Never mentioned in the newspapers
The men of night admits the groaning godlike love
We're gonna get married
And fly away
Roam the Genghis Khan clouds
And someday
We're gonna get married
And fly away
Roam the Genghis Khan clouds
Anybody who's never done this is crazy
She makes men sigh and women wonder
Where does all the beauty come from, and why
Hiding under buried junkyards throughout the world
With her sad abstract letters she talks with a broken heart
And fly away
Roam the Genghis Khan clouds
Anybody who's never done this is crazy
The secret underground truth of desire
Never mentioned in the newspapers
The men of night admits the groaning godlike love
And fly away
Roam the Genghis Khan clouds
And someday
We're gonna get married
And fly away
Roam the Genghis Khan clouds
Anybody who's never done this is crazy
Song Info
Submitted by
rl- On Oct 22, 2009
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I can't believe nobody has commented on this yet. I love this song; I love this album. Ben Gibbard is amazing, I think it's a safe bet to say I'm his biggest fan..
My favorite line from this one is "Nobody ever dares to write the true story of love, the secret underground truth of desire." On the surface it sounds pretty self explanatory, depending on your relationship status I guess. I'm just going through a really sad breakup, so to me I understand how unexpressable this pain is. Even if I wanted to explain it, I couldn't. I think there's more to the line than that though. I wish I could say it but it's one of those things that words don't quite do justice too. In the song it makes so much more sense than it does reading it here and talking about it. Something about art gives all mediums the ability to express ideas in a way words simply can't, no matter how extensive one's vocabulary might be.. ;)
I agree. This song is so cool. Happily married, I find it very inspiring.
@mnmike Inspiring is a very interesting perspective! 10 years later I am still single and the song still puts off a very melancholy and hopeless vibe to me. It's like chasing a dream or a fantasy that is not real and is always just out of your reach (someday).
@mnmike Inspiring is a very interesting perspective! 10 years later I am still single and the song still puts off a very melancholy and hopeless vibe to me. It's like chasing a dream or a fantasy that is not real and is always just out of your reach (someday).
I'd be interested to see what someone who well versed in the story of Jack Kerouac would think of this song and the album (and the movie).
@mnmike Yes that would be very interesting, I have not even read the book. I should!
@mnmike Yes that would be very interesting, I have not even read the book. I should!
I think it is "the mat of night admits the groaning godlike love", not "men of night" I get this from another website, Here and Now interview of Farrar. http://www.hereandnow.org/2009/10/kerouac/ It seems that Willamine is Willamine "Billy" Dabney a fictional character representing the real life Jackie Gibson Mercer. Mercer was one of Kerouac's lovers while in California. I also wonder if the Genghis Khan cloud is a reference to the White Cloud buddhist temple in China restored by Genghis Khan in the 13th century. http://www.chinese-architecture.info/PEKING/PE-042.htm
@mnmike You know, I also think it is not "Men of night," but why would it be "The mat of night" ?? That makes no sense. I thought it was "No man of night admits to...". But now I don't know what to think.
@mnmike You know, I also think it is not "Men of night," but why would it be "The mat of night" ?? That makes no sense. I thought it was "No man of night admits to...". But now I don't know what to think.
Another interesting tidbit, the publisher of Jack Kerouac's Big Sur is the famous publishing company Farrar, Straus, Cudahy. I wonder if John Chipman Farrar is related to Jay Farrar (grandfather)?
@mnmike Fascinating!
@mnmike Fascinating!