The Ragpicker's Dream

I agree with butcherdawood and haxorchick, this song is beautiful--this might be my favorite song of all time. And it does always remind me of the holidays as I almost always begin to listen to Mark when the weather begins to change in the fall.

Where I have to disagree with you guys is in the song's tone. It's actually a pretty straight forward story, and since no one's taken a crack at breaking it down, I'll give my interpretation of it.

When Jack Frost came for christmas With a brass monkey date The rail-king and the scarecrow Hopped a Florida freight And they blew on their paper cups And stared through the steam Then they drank half a bottle Of ragpicker's dream where

The song starts off with an introduction of our two protagonists, The Rail-King and the Scarecrow, two alcoholic (see meaning of brass monkey) hobos (bums, homeless folk) are fleeing the bitter cold of the northern United States for the warmer climes of Florida. They try to warm themselves against the cold with paper cups of coffee, but eventually turn to the warmth and mental respite found in a fictional bottle of what is probably some kind of gin or whiskey, called The Ragpicker's Dream. This name has a double meaning at the end of the first verse, and throughout the song. The bottle of liquor also functions as an escape to a dream world--a warm place where loved ones reside and food is plentiful. Ragpicker's were very low, working class people who rummaged and salvaged materials of any value that could be sold. So, a Ragpicker's dream would probably consist of material things that he could never hope to have; wealth, warmth, and a constant supply of food and drink. In any case, it simply translates to getting lost in a bottle.

The whiskey keeps following Cold pitchers of beer Me and my associate Like the clientele here get The onions and the 'taters Rib-eyes on the grill Toothpicks and luckies And a coffee refill as

This verse is probably a memory within a dream, where the reality of the memory is skewed to have a happier outcome for the two men. The two men are obviously enjoying a meal and some warmth in a restaurant. They are living it up, and probably living beyond their means, which foreshadows what is to come.

The rail-king lay rocking He was leaving the ground Then he was flying like Santa Claus Over the town where He came to the window Of a house by a stream It was a family christmas In the ragpicker's dream there

Were kids at the table All aglow in the light Music in the wintertime Sure carries at night there Was turkey and gravy Pie and ice-cream And gifts for each and everyone In the ragpicker's dream where

These two verses, I think, are yet more foreshadowing for the end of the song. I'll come back to this point, but suffice it to say that the Rail-King is dreaming again. He might be remembering a time when he was a child, and life was better. But the dream could also be an amalgamation of scenes pieced together as an outsider looking in the windows of wealthier homes.

The red-eye keeps tumbling In our glasses of beer Me and my associate Like the service in here there's A ten for your trouble You have beautiful hair Make the last one two doubles It's a cold one out there where

This is where the dream begins to fade back into reality. The two men have had their fill of food and are now getting drunk in the restaurant (red eye is a type of whiskey), and when they leave they are pretty much wasted.

The scarecrow and the rail-king Have started to dance But a nightstick and a billyclub Won't give peace a chance here I think they went thataways Your song and dance team Heading home for the holidays With the ragpicker's dream on

At this point, the Scarecrow and Rail-King have left the restaurant and are making a lot of noise out on the street, dancing and singing in a drunken manner. It might be inferred that they made an untoward gesture toward the waitress. In the narrator's, memory of the night he recalls only telling her that she has nice hair, and he tips her a ten, which would have been a LOT of money (remember this). But the compliment might have been a little more on the blue side, and more than likely, considering the kind of food they were eating, the drink they imbibed, and the good cigarettes they were smoking, coupled with the fact that they are basically two train riding, homeless guys, leads to the probability that they skipped out on the bill. Someone, possibly the waitress, is telling the beat cops in which direction the two con-men have fled--probably for the train yard.

His knees like a fighter The rail-riding king Like a sack of potatoes Like a bull in the ring where The scarecrow falls over With a tear in the seam Home for the rover In the ragpicker's dream where

The red-eye keeps tumbling Like tears in our beer Me and my associate Like the ambience here where They cornered two castaways In a white flashlight beam Merry christmas and happy days In the ragpicker's dream

The cops have now caught up to the two men, and are beating them senseless (Rodney King style) with billy clubs. This scene is foreshadowing the verse where "the Rail-King lay rocking, he was leaving the ground". The foreshadowing in that verse suggests that he has been knocked unconscious, or perhaps he has been mortally wounded and his soul is leaving his body, rising up above it all. In any case, his mind is working to dull the reality of the situation.

The imagery of the two men's beating is so subtle and gracefully written that it's poetic. The Rail-King is trying to fight back, but he is too drunk. He's knocked to his knees and hits the ground "like a sack of potatoes". Meanwhile the Scarecrow, who by his very name is probably a very tall, skinny man incapable of putting up a fight, take one hit and rolls over "with a tear in the seam" (probably a very nasty cut to the head).

Both of the bums have been heavily handled by the cops, and the two men are unconscious and dreaming once again. But as they recall things at the very end, they remember that their good times ended in the glare of a flashlight beam, and in violence.

I find the last few lines particularly poignant, and it's here that the listener has to make a decision on how he/she interprets the song. Were they simply "two castaways" looking for warmth and a place to belong who were picked on by the locals because of their shabby appearance? Or were they two drunkards who behaved badly in public, insulted the honor of a lady, and neglected to pay their bill?

I like to believe the former. I think the tone of the song is sad and intentionally evokes a feeling of pity for these two men. Yes, they are drunks, but I like to think that did nothing really wrong, except to be different. They rode a train into town, leaving troubles and the cold behind, only to find that they were just as unwelcome in the new place as they were in the old place. In essence, their fate had followed them.

And though my interpretation may be a bit more bleak than the way the above posters like to see it, I still think the song is one of the most beautifully written pieces of poetry and music I've ever heard.

Cheers.