Often I don't think you need to look for a overall meaning in Beefheart's lyrics, but fragments of ideas and images. I think sometimes it helps to imagine them in a non-linear fashion, ignoring the order they're written in - so as to read them and produce an overall picture, rather than listen to each line sequentially and try and decode them in terms of a structured piece of prose.
I've had two realisations with Beefheart's output. First when I realised that the music was carefully planned and executed, and second when I realised that this also applied to the lyrics.
Often I don't think you need to look for a overall meaning in Beefheart's lyrics, but fragments of ideas and images. I think sometimes it helps to imagine them in a non-linear fashion, ignoring the order they're written in - so as to read them and produce an overall picture, rather than listen to each line sequentially and try and decode them in terms of a structured piece of prose.
I've had two realisations with Beefheart's output. First when I realised that the music was carefully planned and executed, and second when I realised that this also applied to the lyrics.