hmm..."William's Last Words" is the last track on the album, but I look at "Bag Lady" as being the true final thought on the album. The Manics know this, and by making it a secret song, it's the final statement on Journal for Plague Lovers and takes the album out on a high note. I see it as a testament to Richey in his own words.
He has "let (him)self out" in so many ways on paper and in words that it has "ruined" him. There really is not anything else he can say or do to make a difference because people will continue to be vain and self-absorbed--our culture is built on materialism, a motif in much of Richey's writing. "To be morally good, are we ready to love?" is Richey saying that in order to be truly "good" we must "love" but the kind of love people are taught to value, through holy books, romance novels, love songs, etc. are all "a devil pretending to be a god."
"Walking I feel I follow mirrors that make sense to me"--Us as humans (Richey included, he has always admitted he is just as guilty of being vain) constantly validate our views opinions and look into "mirrors" that comfort us instead of questioning ourselves and digging deeper. In order to be "morally good" we must let go of this sense of "love" that we have grown attached to, which is all a product of dogma and materialism.
"Love's written on paper, and paper burns," "You cover illness with flowers, and flowers die," "eternity is not sunrise"---these lines all mean a similar thing metaphorically. They all represent some type of beauty ("love," "flowers," "sunrise") that is not eternal and will eventually "die" or "burn." All of these infatuations and sense of love eventually crumble and die.
All in all, I see it as Richey coming to a conclusion within himself. He has let himself out in his words for all to see, and it has not brought him the sense of love he has sought. Perhaps he is in fact "not dead," became fed up with his celebrity, and just moved on.
@fartystinksobad the "Never let your self out/ I did, it ruined me" line reminds me a lot of "If it's your decision to be open about yourself/ Be careful or else" from Elliott Smith's "Memory Lane". two wonderful writers who struggled to exist in this world.
@fartystinksobad the "Never let your self out/ I did, it ruined me" line reminds me a lot of "If it's your decision to be open about yourself/ Be careful or else" from Elliott Smith's "Memory Lane". two wonderful writers who struggled to exist in this world.
hmm..."William's Last Words" is the last track on the album, but I look at "Bag Lady" as being the true final thought on the album. The Manics know this, and by making it a secret song, it's the final statement on Journal for Plague Lovers and takes the album out on a high note. I see it as a testament to Richey in his own words.
He has "let (him)self out" in so many ways on paper and in words that it has "ruined" him. There really is not anything else he can say or do to make a difference because people will continue to be vain and self-absorbed--our culture is built on materialism, a motif in much of Richey's writing. "To be morally good, are we ready to love?" is Richey saying that in order to be truly "good" we must "love" but the kind of love people are taught to value, through holy books, romance novels, love songs, etc. are all "a devil pretending to be a god."
"Walking I feel I follow mirrors that make sense to me"--Us as humans (Richey included, he has always admitted he is just as guilty of being vain) constantly validate our views opinions and look into "mirrors" that comfort us instead of questioning ourselves and digging deeper. In order to be "morally good" we must let go of this sense of "love" that we have grown attached to, which is all a product of dogma and materialism.
"Love's written on paper, and paper burns," "You cover illness with flowers, and flowers die," "eternity is not sunrise"---these lines all mean a similar thing metaphorically. They all represent some type of beauty ("love," "flowers," "sunrise") that is not eternal and will eventually "die" or "burn." All of these infatuations and sense of love eventually crumble and die.
All in all, I see it as Richey coming to a conclusion within himself. He has let himself out in his words for all to see, and it has not brought him the sense of love he has sought. Perhaps he is in fact "not dead," became fed up with his celebrity, and just moved on.
@fartystinksobad the "Never let your self out/ I did, it ruined me" line reminds me a lot of "If it's your decision to be open about yourself/ Be careful or else" from Elliott Smith's "Memory Lane". two wonderful writers who struggled to exist in this world.
@fartystinksobad the "Never let your self out/ I did, it ruined me" line reminds me a lot of "If it's your decision to be open about yourself/ Be careful or else" from Elliott Smith's "Memory Lane". two wonderful writers who struggled to exist in this world.