Lots of layers. No one "meaning" here. That said, let's explore a few things. Sometimes in his live shows, after he sings "ladies man," Tillman in his wry manner will then sing, "in quotations" just to make it's clear not to take this too literally. Also, Tillman writes out of the So. Cal/LA/Hollywood milieu---where film rules. Look up something about the silent film star Rudolph Valentino's funeral, and you'll see the parallels in Tillman's lyrics. To take that point further, in the final verse we have "The cowboy and the cop shot down the ladies man," which I think alludes to how film evolved; the Valentino type gave way to cowboy and gangster movies. Bottom line: it's a great song. Make sure to pass FJM on to all of your friends. Tillman is a rare kind of artist---intelligent, beautiful, talented. He'll make it out alive and die on his own terms. I think we can count on that.
Lots of layers. No one "meaning" here. That said, let's explore a few things. Sometimes in his live shows, after he sings "ladies man," Tillman in his wry manner will then sing, "in quotations" just to make it's clear not to take this too literally. Also, Tillman writes out of the So. Cal/LA/Hollywood milieu---where film rules. Look up something about the silent film star Rudolph Valentino's funeral, and you'll see the parallels in Tillman's lyrics. To take that point further, in the final verse we have "The cowboy and the cop shot down the ladies man," which I think alludes to how film evolved; the Valentino type gave way to cowboy and gangster movies. Bottom line: it's a great song. Make sure to pass FJM on to all of your friends. Tillman is a rare kind of artist---intelligent, beautiful, talented. He'll make it out alive and die on his own terms. I think we can count on that.