This is a great song by Jack, and like a lot of his songs it seems to have a blues influence. The chord progression (A-minor to D-major) is the same as Led Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love", and Jack can be heard using the same Zeppelin lyrics in a live performance of this song. The rhythm guitar in the solo portion of "Whole Lotta Love" is also very similar to Jack's song, with the rhythm being two strong strums on the A-minor chord while a lead guitar solos over it.
The meaning of the song is ambiguous, but I always thought the main theme/influence of the song was procrastination. Being a college student from UCSB, he probably had his bouts with procrastination.
"It's really too bad he became a prisoner of his own past
He stabbed the moment in the back with a brown thumbtack
Then held up the list of things he gotta to do"
Procrastinating was the mistake he made in the past, and now he has a big list of things he has to do.
"It's really no good he's movin' on before he understood
He shot the future in the foot with every step he took
Caught from the places that he did cause he forgot to look"
When you procrastinate homework, you tend to move on before you understand the material so you can finish the assignment. He's making steps forward by getting the assignment done, but not understanding the material is shooting himself in the foot for future assignments/tests.
"Better staple it together and call a bad weather"
Staple the assignment up, turn it in, and accept the consequences of procrastinating.
This is a great song by Jack, and like a lot of his songs it seems to have a blues influence. The chord progression (A-minor to D-major) is the same as Led Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love", and Jack can be heard using the same Zeppelin lyrics in a live performance of this song. The rhythm guitar in the solo portion of "Whole Lotta Love" is also very similar to Jack's song, with the rhythm being two strong strums on the A-minor chord while a lead guitar solos over it.
The meaning of the song is ambiguous, but I always thought the main theme/influence of the song was procrastination. Being a college student from UCSB, he probably had his bouts with procrastination.
"It's really too bad he became a prisoner of his own past He stabbed the moment in the back with a brown thumbtack Then held up the list of things he gotta to do"
Procrastinating was the mistake he made in the past, and now he has a big list of things he has to do.
"It's really no good he's movin' on before he understood He shot the future in the foot with every step he took Caught from the places that he did cause he forgot to look"
When you procrastinate homework, you tend to move on before you understand the material so you can finish the assignment. He's making steps forward by getting the assignment done, but not understanding the material is shooting himself in the foot for future assignments/tests.
"Better staple it together and call a bad weather"
Staple the assignment up, turn it in, and accept the consequences of procrastinating.