Apparently there was an epidemic of this 'sleeping sickness' (a form of encephalitis that put victims in a coma: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Encephalitis_lethargica ) in the early twentieth century, the girl Albini wrote about was a victim of the epidemic. In the 1960s it was discovered that the drug L-dopa could awaken patients from a coma, and some doctors decided it would be a good idea to wake up these victims who had slept through the prime of their life-- with predictable results.
Apparently there was an epidemic of this 'sleeping sickness' (a form of encephalitis that put victims in a coma: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Encephalitis_lethargica ) in the early twentieth century, the girl Albini wrote about was a victim of the epidemic. In the 1960s it was discovered that the drug L-dopa could awaken patients from a coma, and some doctors decided it would be a good idea to wake up these victims who had slept through the prime of their life-- with predictable results.
Then Albini wrote a song about it.
Wow, to understand the meanings of Big Black's songs you need to look deep, real deep. Thanks for the explanation!
Wow, to understand the meanings of Big Black's songs you need to look deep, real deep. Thanks for the explanation!