To me this song is all about Washington Square Park in NYC. I know Rachel and Snake are from an hour outside of the City and I assume they spent a lot of time there or maybe even lived there at some point. So they know all about this legendary spot, which has always been a center of drug culture. It's a great spot, teeming with humanity and creativity, but you have to be aware of your surroundings. If somebody asks to bum a cigarette, you don't dare make the rookie mistake of pulling yours out, or ten other people will emerge from the shadows and you'll lose your whole pack.
Anyway, the song to me is about all the characters around there: "The Village kids" refers to park being at the heart of Greenwich Village, aka the Village. "In a circle" (which I always heard as "In the circle") to me is the fountain in the middle of the park which is the unmissable centerpiece of it. Part-time pooch doesn't necessarily mean a dog but if you go to the park, you will see a drunk dude in the fountain with his dog.
"The freaks come out at nine, and it's twenty to ten" just means the freaks are already out. Nine is about when it gets fully dark in NYC in the summer so there's that. "A cool place to stand" would be where to sell your drugs within the park.
And then there's the fact that they actually mention "playin' dollies in the New York rain, thinkin' Bowie's just a knife." Unmistakably NYC, but also backdoor referencing New York Dolls and David Bowie, noted makeup-wearing freaks.
I mean the whole thing is full of drug/prostitution/freak references obviously, but for me I pinpoint the scene in Washington Square. Go for a visit on a summer night and you'll see this song come to life.
To me this song is all about Washington Square Park in NYC. I know Rachel and Snake are from an hour outside of the City and I assume they spent a lot of time there or maybe even lived there at some point. So they know all about this legendary spot, which has always been a center of drug culture. It's a great spot, teeming with humanity and creativity, but you have to be aware of your surroundings. If somebody asks to bum a cigarette, you don't dare make the rookie mistake of pulling yours out, or ten other people will emerge from the shadows and you'll lose your whole pack.
Anyway, the song to me is about all the characters around there: "The Village kids" refers to park being at the heart of Greenwich Village, aka the Village. "In a circle" (which I always heard as "In the circle") to me is the fountain in the middle of the park which is the unmissable centerpiece of it. Part-time pooch doesn't necessarily mean a dog but if you go to the park, you will see a drunk dude in the fountain with his dog.
"The freaks come out at nine, and it's twenty to ten" just means the freaks are already out. Nine is about when it gets fully dark in NYC in the summer so there's that. "A cool place to stand" would be where to sell your drugs within the park.
And then there's the fact that they actually mention "playin' dollies in the New York rain, thinkin' Bowie's just a knife." Unmistakably NYC, but also backdoor referencing New York Dolls and David Bowie, noted makeup-wearing freaks.
I mean the whole thing is full of drug/prostitution/freak references obviously, but for me I pinpoint the scene in Washington Square. Go for a visit on a summer night and you'll see this song come to life.