No Queen Blues

what does this song mean?!

Sounds to me like it’s about someone comforting a misunderstood outcast, someone who’s a big fish in a small pond. Can’t really read more into the lyrics. I love the “bullshit artists sit and stare” part. Seen too many of those myself.

Updated lyrics from the mustang site:

Hey hey where you going in such a hurry? Take it easy girl and tell me a story Move on over here, slow it down Tell me why you're being run out of town

I don't give a fuck Why everybody thinks you should shut up Everybody's freaked cuz everybody knows That you're the queen of NO

Hey hey where you going in such a rush? Hey girl I think they think you know too much They can't catch you with me Cuz I move too slow Slow enough to know That you're gonna have to go

I don't really care Why the bullshit artists sit and stare They can never find out About me and the queen of NO

I don't really care Why the bullshit artists sit and stare They can't ever find out About me and the queen of NO

Great guitar on this one, very snaky and creepy, vaguely funky.

Ah, Thurston is a God! The guitar on this song is so awesome! I think the lyrics might be about how he wants to protect this chick who everyone hates.

i think thurston is expressing empathy for a girl who is a misunderstood misfit, as he was with his solo song Psychic Hearts.

forgot to mention i love the repetition of NO at the end of the chorus!

Love this song, one my 5 or 10 fave SY songs. And another thing I love about SY is if you read through lists of people's favorite SY songs - from real fans, who've listened deeply - almost no two are alike! And if I find a list that has zero overlap with my favorites I still respect it, because with SY I suspect that someday a random song I've always overlooked will just hit the right way and become a favorite.

My alternate (and possibly completely incorrect!) theory about No Queen Blues is that it's about a toddler. Who says "No no no no no no no no no" better than a small child? And I have shared the sentiment of "I don't give a fuck why everybody thinks you should shut up..." with my small children. On a plane. Or in a restaurant. Kim and Thurston had Coco right around Washing Machine, though I don't think the timing works exactly... Maybe they were out with a friend who had their own small kid, which is something expecting parents tend to do to see what they're in for. Anyhow, when I hear this song I think of a dad with a screaming toddler, and a bunch of people who want the kid to shut the fuck up, and the dad also wants the kid to shut the fuck up but has given up trying. That's pretty fucking punk rock if you think about it. And parenting should be fucking punk rock at least a quarter of the time if you're doing it right.

And also I just have to say, I know that relationships, especially marriages, can be complicated, and there's two sides to every story, and I will always love the music and respect the guitar genius, but still, fuck you Thurston. Kim is a goddess. Georgia and Ira, Gillian and David, still together, and Lisa and Chuck at least still making music together. You blew it for all of us.