Ramshackle

Yeah there is a really weird 2nd part to this song. It scared me the first time I heard it - all of a sudden these beeps and whatever after about a minute of silence. If you go to beck.com they might know if the 2nd part has a title.

After the last track ("Static") on Mutations there is a really cool song called "Diamond Bollocks." I don't know why he puts songs at the end of songs but Beck is awesome so I forgive him.

Very melancholy and sleep-inducing. That's rare for an artist who dresses like a nerdy pimp and speaks in riddles that would make Bob Dylan jump off a cliff. This is why I like Beck, he's a master of strangeness.

Such a great song. Its so different from Beck's usuals. if you could say he has any usuals, but a folk song is definitely different. I find it hard to believe noone's commented on it, even if theres not much behind it to describe, which I guess is what the general idea of SongMeanings is supposed to be, but I see it as a 24 hour music chat room where people share opinions. I will be really surprised if anyone EVER reads this. -Nobz4life

I just read it. This is one of my favorite Beck songs. He's brilliant, and they lyrics and music just flow together absolutely perfectly. I have a feeling this song is about his deceased Grandfather. They were apparantly very close, and his Grandfather taught Beck all about art and music. I've heard he was a wreck after his death.

hmm am I the only one or is there some "noise" at the end of this song ?

this song is gorgeous. Just the chorus is really true because we don't know where we're gona go in life,but at the end of the day this life is to find our one and all...totally different to Beck's other songs, but thats the intricate beauty of it.

A lot of artists use that method ( the extra song after minutes of silence on the last track of an album ) they're called bonus tracks. It's pretty cool though. Beck always has the weirdest one.

I think that this song is about homelessness, as well as hopelessness and the other feelings you all have associated with it. I read somewhere that it is about homeless people though. It makes a lot of sense to me . . .

Hidden tracks are not all that weird... read this http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hidden_tracks The hidden track on this album is called "Computer Rock". It consists of a synth (Do-De-Do) followed by a guitar rift (Vreeeo). Beck is naturaly an experimental artist, that is why almost all his albums have an experimental track after a few minutes of silence. I know for a fact that Mellow Gold, Steryopather SoulManure ( I think thats what its called), Odelay, Mutations, and Midnite Vultures have one. I guess after Sea Change, he got sick of them.
As for the song itself, I heard a rumor that before Beck asked the Dust Brothers to produce Odelay, the album was going to sound like Ramshackle for the most part...

This is a song I never really listen to the lyrics to, but to me it's really weird and calming. I love it. It's just got that... feel to it. I mean, if you really do look into the words it's almost depressing, but if you just listen to his voice and to the music it's kind of soothing.

That is, until you get to the bonus track.

i really like the lines "cause there's no kind of wealth, you're suiting yourself. you leave yourself behind."

i think it means that to everyone, wealth is different. you might think you have nothing, but somebody else might look at you and wish they were in your spot having the "nothing" that you take for granted. it is in the eye of the beholder. then, "you lEAVe yourself behind" means that you keep wanting more and more, and you get left behind when it comes to wanting to have things that when you get, don't mean that much to you.

Anyways, i think beck is a genius and he is one of the best songwriters i have ever heard. ramshackle is genius, too