Pretty sure the "de Gaulle" reference is to his handshake with Henri Giraud in Casablanca in January of 1943. It's a pretty famous handshake.
France caved to the Nazis and the subsequent Vichy Regime was basically just a puppet of the occupiers. Charles de Gaulle left France and waited out the war in the UK. He coordinated the French resistance in exile. The Vichy Regime both sentenced him to death, and later to prison, in absentia.
General Giraud was a leader propped up by the West (mainly the U.S.) as the tides were turning in WWII. He was France's de facto leader at the end of the war.
General de Gaul attended the conference in Casablanca under protest, and the word is Churchill practically had to force him to shake hands with Giraud. The whole thing was filmed by Frank Capra. It was basically just theater. Post War de Gaulle ousted Giraud in very little time.
My read is that Scott takes a dim view of 'saran wrapping while you can'. IMO, the de Gaulle line sort of cements that.
But I say 'my opinion', because I'm a firm believer that interpretation is everything. Most songwriters couldn't tell you what they meant for sure anyway. Songwriting isn't essay writing.
And if they could, would it matter? It shouldn't. A song is how you respond to it. It isn't some sort of truth that is waiting to be discovered. Everyone has there own truths, and they are not wrong.
@jhorsager That's a VERY comment sentiment. I think that it actually matters what the writer meant... I also believe that the idea of this hypothetical, completely cryptic lyrical content that is absolutely subjective and ambiguous doesn't really make sense.
So, in your mind, someone sits down to write something that means nothing? I can see it POSSIBLY (unlikely) happening in the current era. Many people are less evolved today, philosophically. So I could see literally anything going. But, back in the 60s, nope. Lyrics usually have a concrete, singularly objective meaning.
Does it matter? ...
@jhorsager That's a VERY comment sentiment. I think that it actually matters what the writer meant... I also believe that the idea of this hypothetical, completely cryptic lyrical content that is absolutely subjective and ambiguous doesn't really make sense.
So, in your mind, someone sits down to write something that means nothing? I can see it POSSIBLY (unlikely) happening in the current era. Many people are less evolved today, philosophically. So I could see literally anything going. But, back in the 60s, nope. Lyrics usually have a concrete, singularly objective meaning.
Does it matter? My gosh... Uhh... Does a perspective relayed in art mater to you...? Idk... To me: Absolutely, it matters; like, solely. lol
Man... I disagree with the popular public about everything... It's literally like reading 2+2=600... Yeah, I guess that can be your, "opinion..." technically. So many people think there is no objective meaning that is being relayed, whatsoever?! REALLY?
Pretty sure the "de Gaulle" reference is to his handshake with Henri Giraud in Casablanca in January of 1943. It's a pretty famous handshake.
France caved to the Nazis and the subsequent Vichy Regime was basically just a puppet of the occupiers. Charles de Gaulle left France and waited out the war in the UK. He coordinated the French resistance in exile. The Vichy Regime both sentenced him to death, and later to prison, in absentia.
General Giraud was a leader propped up by the West (mainly the U.S.) as the tides were turning in WWII. He was France's de facto leader at the end of the war.
General de Gaul attended the conference in Casablanca under protest, and the word is Churchill practically had to force him to shake hands with Giraud. The whole thing was filmed by Frank Capra. It was basically just theater. Post War de Gaulle ousted Giraud in very little time.
My read is that Scott takes a dim view of 'saran wrapping while you can'. IMO, the de Gaulle line sort of cements that.
But I say 'my opinion', because I'm a firm believer that interpretation is everything. Most songwriters couldn't tell you what they meant for sure anyway. Songwriting isn't essay writing.
And if they could, would it matter? It shouldn't. A song is how you respond to it. It isn't some sort of truth that is waiting to be discovered. Everyone has there own truths, and they are not wrong.
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Degaulle-freefrench.png
@jhorsager That's a VERY comment sentiment. I think that it actually matters what the writer meant... I also believe that the idea of this hypothetical, completely cryptic lyrical content that is absolutely subjective and ambiguous doesn't really make sense. So, in your mind, someone sits down to write something that means nothing? I can see it POSSIBLY (unlikely) happening in the current era. Many people are less evolved today, philosophically. So I could see literally anything going. But, back in the 60s, nope. Lyrics usually have a concrete, singularly objective meaning. Does it matter? ...
@jhorsager That's a VERY comment sentiment. I think that it actually matters what the writer meant... I also believe that the idea of this hypothetical, completely cryptic lyrical content that is absolutely subjective and ambiguous doesn't really make sense. So, in your mind, someone sits down to write something that means nothing? I can see it POSSIBLY (unlikely) happening in the current era. Many people are less evolved today, philosophically. So I could see literally anything going. But, back in the 60s, nope. Lyrics usually have a concrete, singularly objective meaning. Does it matter? My gosh... Uhh... Does a perspective relayed in art mater to you...? Idk... To me: Absolutely, it matters; like, solely. lol
Man... I disagree with the popular public about everything... It's literally like reading 2+2=600... Yeah, I guess that can be your, "opinion..." technically. So many people think there is no objective meaning that is being relayed, whatsoever?! REALLY?