I don't think this is about Heroin! Let's stick to the story of the Black Rider as written in the liner notes: The father of our hero's love interest declares he cannot have her hand in marriage unless he proves himself as a hunter. our hero goes into the forest to hunt but turns out to be a rubbish hunter and doesn't bring anything back for the pot.
The Devil then appears before him and offers him these magic bullets (silver fishes) and persuades him to part with his soul for them, bribing him by letting him have the first one for free which he manages to successfully use for his first kill. He then parts with his soul for the rest of the bullets so that he can prove his prowess and to win the object of his desire's affection and the Father's approval.
It's very Faustian as a morality tail illustrating how any deal made with Satan ultimately comes at a high price/or ransom that is only payable through Death/Madness.
The instrumental interludes in this song are incredibly evocative, conjuring up vivid imagery of Bones, Guns and Spaghetti Westerns.
@BarnabyHughes Tom and William S. Burroughs, who conceived the Black Rider together, were both masters of multı-layer storytelling. Tom obviously wrote the songs, so it makes sense that Burroughs conceived a good part of the story. Burroughs was a gun nut, and just about everything he wrote related in some way to his opiate habit. It makes sense that they would write something that functions on both levels. The 'spoon' references definitely support this. So do the other songs on the album. The magic bullets could easily be doses of a drug that fixes you.
@BarnabyHughes Tom and William S. Burroughs, who conceived the Black Rider together, were both masters of multı-layer storytelling. Tom obviously wrote the songs, so it makes sense that Burroughs conceived a good part of the story. Burroughs was a gun nut, and just about everything he wrote related in some way to his opiate habit. It makes sense that they would write something that functions on both levels. The 'spoon' references definitely support this. So do the other songs on the album. The magic bullets could easily be doses of a drug that fixes you.
I don't think this is about Heroin! Let's stick to the story of the Black Rider as written in the liner notes: The father of our hero's love interest declares he cannot have her hand in marriage unless he proves himself as a hunter. our hero goes into the forest to hunt but turns out to be a rubbish hunter and doesn't bring anything back for the pot.
The Devil then appears before him and offers him these magic bullets (silver fishes) and persuades him to part with his soul for them, bribing him by letting him have the first one for free which he manages to successfully use for his first kill. He then parts with his soul for the rest of the bullets so that he can prove his prowess and to win the object of his desire's affection and the Father's approval.
It's very Faustian as a morality tail illustrating how any deal made with Satan ultimately comes at a high price/or ransom that is only payable through Death/Madness.
The instrumental interludes in this song are incredibly evocative, conjuring up vivid imagery of Bones, Guns and Spaghetti Westerns.
@BarnabyHughes Tom and William S. Burroughs, who conceived the Black Rider together, were both masters of multı-layer storytelling. Tom obviously wrote the songs, so it makes sense that Burroughs conceived a good part of the story. Burroughs was a gun nut, and just about everything he wrote related in some way to his opiate habit. It makes sense that they would write something that functions on both levels. The 'spoon' references definitely support this. So do the other songs on the album. The magic bullets could easily be doses of a drug that fixes you.
@BarnabyHughes Tom and William S. Burroughs, who conceived the Black Rider together, were both masters of multı-layer storytelling. Tom obviously wrote the songs, so it makes sense that Burroughs conceived a good part of the story. Burroughs was a gun nut, and just about everything he wrote related in some way to his opiate habit. It makes sense that they would write something that functions on both levels. The 'spoon' references definitely support this. So do the other songs on the album. The magic bullets could easily be doses of a drug that fixes you.