Stephen Foster was the first American songwriter to actually make a living off of his songs... so it seems fitting first of all for modern songwriters to mention him in their music; they owe him a lot really.
But the appearance of "Camptown Races" in a minor key and the lyrics surrounding it imply a chastising tone... what I instantly think of regarding this is that Foster wrote minstrel tunes, and while he worked hard to depict a different (better, more humane) image of blacks than the songs of the day did, he was rather naive about slavery (he only visited the Deep South once, after all). He never really was able to show the suffering the slaves endured in his music, for which he has been criticised. The lyrics in this song indicate that the speaker is telling the ghost of Stephen Foster essentially "how it is" and that's why it reminds me of that criticism.
The reference to whiskey ("whiskey made for drinking") refers to Stephen Foster's problem with alcoholism after he and his wife separated. Since he was trying to drown out his worries with alcohol, the song says "if we were made of cellophane we'd all get stinking drunk much faster" - like "too bad you couldn't just absorb the alcohol straight into your body, it'd be easier..."
I like the dark harmonies and minor chords; after all, Foster's life was not happy like many of his songs depicted happy, carefree lives. His death was incredibly tragic - he died at the age of 38 after gashing his face on a broken wash basin.
My question is, why is the hotel called the "Hotel Paradise"? Foster was living at the American Hotel when he had his accident... maybe it's some kind of subtle irony... America/paradise... who knows.
'Hotel Paradise' seems to imply a double meaning on the fact that he died in a hotel and the afterlife. So perhaps his afterlife takes place in a hotel in some sort of cosmic irony, or just a hotel called Paradise would serve as a nexus between the two.
I'm curious as to why the pairs in the first verse are reversed. I would more think carpets are made for rooms, spires are made for towers, and cannons are made for ships.. There's something hidden in that, but I can't quite bring it to the surface.
One thing I...
'Hotel Paradise' seems to imply a double meaning on the fact that he died in a hotel and the afterlife. So perhaps his afterlife takes place in a hotel in some sort of cosmic irony, or just a hotel called Paradise would serve as a nexus between the two.
I'm curious as to why the pairs in the first verse are reversed. I would more think carpets are made for rooms, spires are made for towers, and cannons are made for ships.. There's something hidden in that, but I can't quite bring it to the surface.
One thing I did note was the pairing up of 'whiskey made for drinking' as was pointed out earlier, and 'ships are made for sinking', implying the two are acts of disaster. To build a boat just to sink it being a road to self-destruction just as overdrinking. So perhaps the reversal in the first and the juxtaposition in the second are related somehow?
First off, looks like I owe an apology to GradiustheFox: He/She also posted something substantial!
First off, looks like I owe an apology to GradiustheFox: He/She also posted something substantial!
That's really great, noticing the reversal of causalty in that first list. I have a thought about that.
That's really great, noticing the reversal of causalty in that first list. I have a thought about that.
At one level, it's just crazy, which adds to the sense of the song's general dalliance with unhingedness.
At one level, it's just crazy, which adds to the sense of the song's general dalliance with unhingedness.
At another level, it reminds me of the Hindu "maya"; the veil of illusion. The idea that carpets are made for rooms is part of that illusion: The illusion that "rooms" are real things that might need other real things, like "carpets". Reversing this serves to rip the...
At another level, it reminds me of the Hindu "maya"; the veil of illusion. The idea that carpets are made for rooms is part of that illusion: The illusion that "rooms" are real things that might need other real things, like "carpets". Reversing this serves to rip the veil off, revealing the truth that "carpets" and "rooms" are something we fabricate in order to continue the drama. The reality is that nothing is real. Putting this in a more down-to-earth way, it's sort of the curmudgeons' revelation that, in a way, it's all a scam put on by The Man to lend comforting order to the hoi polloi. In a funny sort of way, rooms are created so that the carpet salesman can put food on the table for his family.
The singer is mocking Foster with every breath. Every line is either making fun of him or ridiculing his work. "Camptown ladies never sang all the doo dah day" because they were slaves.
The singer is mocking Foster with every breath. Every line is either making fun of him or ridiculing his work. "Camptown ladies never sang all the doo dah day" because they were slaves.
I interpreted the verse with rooms being made for carpets as cutting through the BS that Foster was famous for in his career. Foster would touch on difficult subjects but constantly created a rosy view of the world instead of being real. The line about the room is also said because Stephen Foster met his death in his hotel room, having tripped on a...
I interpreted the verse with rooms being made for carpets as cutting through the BS that Foster was famous for in his career. Foster would touch on difficult subjects but constantly created a rosy view of the world instead of being real. The line about the room is also said because Stephen Foster met his death in his hotel room, having tripped on a carpet into a wash basin.
The singer is telling Stephen Foster how the real world works. Rooms were made for carpets, because carpets are comforting and that is the purpose of a room. Towers are made for spires because the purpose of the tower is to defend a castle. Ships are made for cannonade to fire off from inside 'er because the ship is made for war. Camptown ladies didn't sing all day because they were slaves. In the second verse Whiskey is made for drinking in the same way ships are made for sinking. Ships are made to fire cannons, not to sink. So whiskey isn't made for drinking, because you'll end up slashing your throat open in a hotel room. Cellophane allows alcohol to pass through by osmosis, so if we were made of cellophane we wouldn't even have to drink to get drunk.
The whole song is using Stephen Foster's style to mock him and his work because Stephen Foster was a bit of a jerk.
Stephen Foster was the first American songwriter to actually make a living off of his songs... so it seems fitting first of all for modern songwriters to mention him in their music; they owe him a lot really.
But the appearance of "Camptown Races" in a minor key and the lyrics surrounding it imply a chastising tone... what I instantly think of regarding this is that Foster wrote minstrel tunes, and while he worked hard to depict a different (better, more humane) image of blacks than the songs of the day did, he was rather naive about slavery (he only visited the Deep South once, after all). He never really was able to show the suffering the slaves endured in his music, for which he has been criticised. The lyrics in this song indicate that the speaker is telling the ghost of Stephen Foster essentially "how it is" and that's why it reminds me of that criticism.
The reference to whiskey ("whiskey made for drinking") refers to Stephen Foster's problem with alcoholism after he and his wife separated. Since he was trying to drown out his worries with alcohol, the song says "if we were made of cellophane we'd all get stinking drunk much faster" - like "too bad you couldn't just absorb the alcohol straight into your body, it'd be easier..."
I like the dark harmonies and minor chords; after all, Foster's life was not happy like many of his songs depicted happy, carefree lives. His death was incredibly tragic - he died at the age of 38 after gashing his face on a broken wash basin.
My question is, why is the hotel called the "Hotel Paradise"? Foster was living at the American Hotel when he had his accident... maybe it's some kind of subtle irony... America/paradise... who knows.
'Hotel Paradise' seems to imply a double meaning on the fact that he died in a hotel and the afterlife. So perhaps his afterlife takes place in a hotel in some sort of cosmic irony, or just a hotel called Paradise would serve as a nexus between the two. I'm curious as to why the pairs in the first verse are reversed. I would more think carpets are made for rooms, spires are made for towers, and cannons are made for ships.. There's something hidden in that, but I can't quite bring it to the surface. One thing I...
'Hotel Paradise' seems to imply a double meaning on the fact that he died in a hotel and the afterlife. So perhaps his afterlife takes place in a hotel in some sort of cosmic irony, or just a hotel called Paradise would serve as a nexus between the two. I'm curious as to why the pairs in the first verse are reversed. I would more think carpets are made for rooms, spires are made for towers, and cannons are made for ships.. There's something hidden in that, but I can't quite bring it to the surface. One thing I did note was the pairing up of 'whiskey made for drinking' as was pointed out earlier, and 'ships are made for sinking', implying the two are acts of disaster. To build a boat just to sink it being a road to self-destruction just as overdrinking. So perhaps the reversal in the first and the juxtaposition in the second are related somehow?
eowynne: Thanks for the one substantial posting here that offers actual thoughts as to what the song means.
eowynne: Thanks for the one substantial posting here that offers actual thoughts as to what the song means.
It's strange how, at a site called "songmeanings.net", most postings fail to reflect actual ruminations on song meanings.
It's strange how, at a site called "songmeanings.net", most postings fail to reflect actual ruminations on song meanings.
Anyway, thanks again. You made lots of good, historically founded, connections here. I think I'll see what else you've written.
Anyway, thanks again. You made lots of good, historically founded, connections here. I think I'll see what else you've written.
First off, looks like I owe an apology to GradiustheFox: He/She also posted something substantial!
First off, looks like I owe an apology to GradiustheFox: He/She also posted something substantial!
That's really great, noticing the reversal of causalty in that first list. I have a thought about that.
That's really great, noticing the reversal of causalty in that first list. I have a thought about that.
At one level, it's just crazy, which adds to the sense of the song's general dalliance with unhingedness.
At one level, it's just crazy, which adds to the sense of the song's general dalliance with unhingedness.
At another level, it reminds me of the Hindu "maya"; the veil of illusion. The idea that carpets are made for rooms is part of that illusion: The illusion that "rooms" are real things that might need other real things, like "carpets". Reversing this serves to rip the...
At another level, it reminds me of the Hindu "maya"; the veil of illusion. The idea that carpets are made for rooms is part of that illusion: The illusion that "rooms" are real things that might need other real things, like "carpets". Reversing this serves to rip the veil off, revealing the truth that "carpets" and "rooms" are something we fabricate in order to continue the drama. The reality is that nothing is real. Putting this in a more down-to-earth way, it's sort of the curmudgeons' revelation that, in a way, it's all a scam put on by The Man to lend comforting order to the hoi polloi. In a funny sort of way, rooms are created so that the carpet salesman can put food on the table for his family.
Again, thanks so much for raising this point!
@GradiustheFox
@GradiustheFox
The singer is mocking Foster with every breath. Every line is either making fun of him or ridiculing his work. "Camptown ladies never sang all the doo dah day" because they were slaves.
The singer is mocking Foster with every breath. Every line is either making fun of him or ridiculing his work. "Camptown ladies never sang all the doo dah day" because they were slaves.
I interpreted the verse with rooms being made for carpets as cutting through the BS that Foster was famous for in his career. Foster would touch on difficult subjects but constantly created a rosy view of the world instead of being real. The line about the room is also said because Stephen Foster met his death in his hotel room, having tripped on a...
I interpreted the verse with rooms being made for carpets as cutting through the BS that Foster was famous for in his career. Foster would touch on difficult subjects but constantly created a rosy view of the world instead of being real. The line about the room is also said because Stephen Foster met his death in his hotel room, having tripped on a carpet into a wash basin.
The singer is telling Stephen Foster how the real world works. Rooms were made for carpets, because carpets are comforting and that is the purpose of a room. Towers are made for spires because the purpose of the tower is to defend a castle. Ships are made for cannonade to fire off from inside 'er because the ship is made for war. Camptown ladies didn't sing all day because they were slaves. In the second verse Whiskey is made for drinking in the same way ships are made for sinking. Ships are made to fire cannons, not to sink. So whiskey isn't made for drinking, because you'll end up slashing your throat open in a hotel room. Cellophane allows alcohol to pass through by osmosis, so if we were made of cellophane we wouldn't even have to drink to get drunk.
The whole song is using Stephen Foster's style to mock him and his work because Stephen Foster was a bit of a jerk.