This is a wonderful song and it is definitely based on Kerouac's writings. Let's look closely at this song:
"Snow on the railroad tracks/Dogs in the moonlight" He is a hobo, a drifter riding the rails or walking them on a winter's night.
"Stoned out on Kerouac/ Tryin' to get it just right"
He is literate and he has read Kerouac. Maybe he is trying to follow in Kerouac's footsteps.
"A phone in a dim lit room /Rings out forever"
He has left home?
"He had a rambling soul /He drank a bottle of cheap wine" No doubt he is a wanderer. And an alcoholic or perhaps cheap wine is all he can afford.
"Turned up his collar to the cold/And waited, he waited for a sign"
It is winter, and he's searching.
"Fueled by amphetamines /And visions of beauty
As far as the eye could see /Was all that he strived for"
Hmmm, a problem with drugs too? And is he aiming for the world?
"A waitress in Tennessee /Said he looked like Jesus"
He is unkempt, or perhaps she thinks he's her saviour?
"He silenced her raging sea /Then walked out the door /He had a rambling soul"
He loved her and left her because he's a drifter. But I've never seen that expressed so deeply. I have no doubt that it was passionate!
"Under an open sky /He stands with his eyes closed
If anyone asked him why /He would not know
He's lost in America /Hell bent for no place
A rusty harmonica /That won't even play
He's lost in America..."
I see him on a hilltop or maybe in an open field under a vast sky. As I've said before, he is searching for something. Perhaps he doesn't even know what.
This is a wonderful song and it is definitely based on Kerouac's writings. Let's look closely at this song:
"Snow on the railroad tracks/Dogs in the moonlight" He is a hobo, a drifter riding the rails or walking them on a winter's night.
"Stoned out on Kerouac/ Tryin' to get it just right"
He is literate and he has read Kerouac. Maybe he is trying to follow in Kerouac's footsteps.
"A phone in a dim lit room /Rings out forever"
He has left home?
"He had a rambling soul /He drank a bottle of cheap wine" No doubt he is a wanderer. And an alcoholic or perhaps cheap wine is all he can afford.
"Turned up his collar to the cold/And waited, he waited for a sign"
It is winter, and he's searching.
"Fueled by amphetamines /And visions of beauty As far as the eye could see /Was all that he strived for"
Hmmm, a problem with drugs too? And is he aiming for the world?
"A waitress in Tennessee /Said he looked like Jesus"
He is unkempt, or perhaps she thinks he's her saviour?
"He silenced her raging sea /Then walked out the door /He had a rambling soul"
He loved her and left her because he's a drifter. But I've never seen that expressed so deeply. I have no doubt that it was passionate!
"Under an open sky /He stands with his eyes closed If anyone asked him why /He would not know He's lost in America /Hell bent for no place A rusty harmonica /That won't even play He's lost in America..."
I see him on a hilltop or maybe in an open field under a vast sky. As I've said before, he is searching for something. Perhaps he doesn't even know what.