This is probably my favourite track on the 'Highway Companion' album.
Though I'm quite sure it's open to numerous interpretations, here's my take:
This is a narrative about a single father's love for his child and his struggle to make the right decisions on balancing discipline with being a loving father.
The first verse sets the scene of where the action takes place: in the rural mid-west where a 'God-fearing' faith and strict discipline are prevalent and highly valued aspects of the society.
In the second verse we learn of the circumstances which lead up to an accident where the father's daughter suffers a heavy fall from a horse she'd evidently stolen to take on a little 'joy ride'. She has taken a bad knock to the head and is concussed and unable to speak for several days.
In the final verse we see the father's struggle to balance the punishment with the 'ankle deep' love he has for his child. Ultimately, he feels, probably due to the constraints of his culture, that he must give the girl a spanking.
In the final line we hear the girl express to her father, 'Daddy, you've been a mother to me.' This suggests that the single parent has had to perform both parental roles himself.
I would be very interested in reading other interpretations.
@ScrumThis Really like your interpretation. the lyrics in the song had me a bit baffled, but your analysis/interpretation makes good sense. Thanks for shedding some light on this for me.
Chris
@ScrumThis Really like your interpretation. the lyrics in the song had me a bit baffled, but your analysis/interpretation makes good sense. Thanks for shedding some light on this for me.
Chris
Forgot to say one thing. The "ankle deep" is referencing the father's cultural/psychological (Oedipal) limitations to love his daughter fully without the constraints of culture.
Forgot to say one thing. The "ankle deep" is referencing the father's cultural/psychological (Oedipal) limitations to love his daughter fully without the constraints of culture.
I found your interpretation very interesting, thank-you. I like the way you separated the different verses. :)
I found your interpretation very interesting, thank-you. I like the way you separated the different verses. :)
I think Tom includes snippets of himself in many of his songs, (as do many artists!), and I wonder whether this song has more hidden depths than is perhaps at first obvious? If you know some of Tom's background, you can see other things here. Well, I can, but perhaps that's just me! Yes, I know I'm strange! :)
I think Tom includes snippets of himself in many of his songs, (as do many artists!), and I wonder whether this song has more hidden depths than is perhaps at first obvious? If you know some of Tom's background, you can see other things here. Well, I can, but perhaps that's just me! Yes, I know I'm strange! :)
Is Tom the horse? The 'big engine' success and fame? Did Jane Benyo react to that by being perhaps a second 'stolen horse'...
Is Tom the horse? The 'big engine' success and fame? Did Jane Benyo react to that by being perhaps a second 'stolen horse' that 'spooked and tumbled', who was so out of things, she literally 'Just kinda mumbled?'
I sometimes wonder whether Tom may have thought of himself as a 'single father' when he was married to Jane Benyo. I've read some pretty awful things about how she neglected Adria and Kim due to her mental health issues and drink and drug abuse.
Tom has said how he would get home and find Jane passed out in the hallway. :( He must have felt very alone at that time, with the responsibility of his children solely on his shoulders. As you say, ScrumThis, "In the final line we hear the girl express to her father, 'Daddy, you've been a mother to me.' This suggests that the single parent has had to perform both parental roles himself."
I don't think Tom has ever 'washed his hands' of his children, although I know he was very frustrated at one point, feeling as though he had no say in their lives. It would be interesting to know whether Tom ever spanked his children.
He has a good relationship with the two girls now, and I think that is a positive thing :)
Perhaps the washing of hands, actually refers to Jane Benyo? The divorce. Tom put her 'cross his knee', punished her, by finally leaving her and getting the divorce?
I'm probably reading far too much into the song, it's perhaps as simple and straightforward as it first appears, but it's interesting to think about! :) x
This is probably my favourite track on the 'Highway Companion' album.
Though I'm quite sure it's open to numerous interpretations, here's my take:
This is a narrative about a single father's love for his child and his struggle to make the right decisions on balancing discipline with being a loving father.
The first verse sets the scene of where the action takes place: in the rural mid-west where a 'God-fearing' faith and strict discipline are prevalent and highly valued aspects of the society.
In the second verse we learn of the circumstances which lead up to an accident where the father's daughter suffers a heavy fall from a horse she'd evidently stolen to take on a little 'joy ride'. She has taken a bad knock to the head and is concussed and unable to speak for several days.
In the final verse we see the father's struggle to balance the punishment with the 'ankle deep' love he has for his child. Ultimately, he feels, probably due to the constraints of his culture, that he must give the girl a spanking.
In the final line we hear the girl express to her father, 'Daddy, you've been a mother to me.' This suggests that the single parent has had to perform both parental roles himself.
I would be very interested in reading other interpretations.
@ScrumThis Really like your interpretation. the lyrics in the song had me a bit baffled, but your analysis/interpretation makes good sense. Thanks for shedding some light on this for me. Chris
@ScrumThis Really like your interpretation. the lyrics in the song had me a bit baffled, but your analysis/interpretation makes good sense. Thanks for shedding some light on this for me. Chris
Forgot to say one thing. The "ankle deep" is referencing the father's cultural/psychological (Oedipal) limitations to love his daughter fully without the constraints of culture.
Forgot to say one thing. The "ankle deep" is referencing the father's cultural/psychological (Oedipal) limitations to love his daughter fully without the constraints of culture.
@ScrumThis
@ScrumThis
I found your interpretation very interesting, thank-you. I like the way you separated the different verses. :)
I found your interpretation very interesting, thank-you. I like the way you separated the different verses. :)
I think Tom includes snippets of himself in many of his songs, (as do many artists!), and I wonder whether this song has more hidden depths than is perhaps at first obvious? If you know some of Tom's background, you can see other things here. Well, I can, but perhaps that's just me! Yes, I know I'm strange! :)
I think Tom includes snippets of himself in many of his songs, (as do many artists!), and I wonder whether this song has more hidden depths than is perhaps at first obvious? If you know some of Tom's background, you can see other things here. Well, I can, but perhaps that's just me! Yes, I know I'm strange! :)
Is Tom the horse? The 'big engine' success and fame? Did Jane Benyo react to that by being perhaps a second 'stolen horse'...
Is Tom the horse? The 'big engine' success and fame? Did Jane Benyo react to that by being perhaps a second 'stolen horse' that 'spooked and tumbled', who was so out of things, she literally 'Just kinda mumbled?'
I sometimes wonder whether Tom may have thought of himself as a 'single father' when he was married to Jane Benyo. I've read some pretty awful things about how she neglected Adria and Kim due to her mental health issues and drink and drug abuse.
Tom has said how he would get home and find Jane passed out in the hallway. :( He must have felt very alone at that time, with the responsibility of his children solely on his shoulders. As you say, ScrumThis, "In the final line we hear the girl express to her father, 'Daddy, you've been a mother to me.' This suggests that the single parent has had to perform both parental roles himself."
I don't think Tom has ever 'washed his hands' of his children, although I know he was very frustrated at one point, feeling as though he had no say in their lives. It would be interesting to know whether Tom ever spanked his children.
He has a good relationship with the two girls now, and I think that is a positive thing :)
Perhaps the washing of hands, actually refers to Jane Benyo? The divorce. Tom put her 'cross his knee', punished her, by finally leaving her and getting the divorce?
I'm probably reading far too much into the song, it's perhaps as simple and straightforward as it first appears, but it's interesting to think about! :) x