Merchant obviously was influenced by the Beats, though equally clear is the mixed aspect in the lyrics. Her reference to Kerouac being the "brightest" and the "favorite" seems honest, not ironic or sarcastic. He also died young, never reaching fifty -- a heavy drinker, never recovered after he started throwing up blood. The others lived on and watched the Beat Generation fade away, that seems part of the song -- the "blood stoned days" while they sit rattling bones. The song has clear references like their writing, like "howl" and "junkie", and even mentions WIlliam Burroughs wife, in that casel living dangerously was mortal. A literate song, that's always welcome, and also not a simple encomium.
Merchant obviously was influenced by the Beats, though equally clear is the mixed aspect in the lyrics. Her reference to Kerouac being the "brightest" and the "favorite" seems honest, not ironic or sarcastic. He also died young, never reaching fifty -- a heavy drinker, never recovered after he started throwing up blood. The others lived on and watched the Beat Generation fade away, that seems part of the song -- the "blood stoned days" while they sit rattling bones. The song has clear references like their writing, like "howl" and "junkie", and even mentions WIlliam Burroughs wife, in that casel living dangerously was mortal. A literate song, that's always welcome, and also not a simple encomium.