Well, I don't know about 'get in walls', but 'with the know-it-alls' might definitely have something to do with all the intellectuals that populate Bellow's novels. "The worst of on Lake Michigan" might have something to do with Bellow's treatment of the "Chicago condition"; poverty, gangsters, thugs, alienation, etc. "The work of my hands" does definitely seem biblical, and it is just the kind of biblical theme that Bellow's work was all about.
The verse 'and my good friends... but the bravest make mistakes' would be kind of like some Bellow themes, but mainly in the way that a lot of good literature is about friendship and mistakes.
As for why he might be in trouble with Saul Bellow, well, it's an imperative, he's saying 'get in trouble with Saul Bellow', not 'I got in trouble with Saul Bellow', so maybe he's saying to the listener "Hey, go read some Saul Bellow, get in the troubles and tribulations of the human (Illinos) condition that he's talking about! And while you're at it, you'll be getting in solid walls with the know it alls too, because reading Saul Bellow is like reading a goddamn egghead encyclopedia!"
Well, I don't know about 'get in walls', but 'with the know-it-alls' might definitely have something to do with all the intellectuals that populate Bellow's novels. "The worst of on Lake Michigan" might have something to do with Bellow's treatment of the "Chicago condition"; poverty, gangsters, thugs, alienation, etc. "The work of my hands" does definitely seem biblical, and it is just the kind of biblical theme that Bellow's work was all about. The verse 'and my good friends... but the bravest make mistakes' would be kind of like some Bellow themes, but mainly in the way that a lot of good literature is about friendship and mistakes. As for why he might be in trouble with Saul Bellow, well, it's an imperative, he's saying 'get in trouble with Saul Bellow', not 'I got in trouble with Saul Bellow', so maybe he's saying to the listener "Hey, go read some Saul Bellow, get in the troubles and tribulations of the human (Illinos) condition that he's talking about! And while you're at it, you'll be getting in solid walls with the know it alls too, because reading Saul Bellow is like reading a goddamn egghead encyclopedia!"
egghead encyclopedia, thats right