Late Night Thoughts Sunday, August 10, 2003

The 21st century equivalent of twiddling my thumbs: scanning songs for my iPod. Listening meantime to Joe Henry, another guy who has slipped through the cracks: a vaguely folkish, vaguely country, vaguely rocking, vaguely jazzy guy who writes smart lyrics. In other words, he's got that WFUV style: In a better world, it would be the mainstream. (When Bobos rule!)

I saw him live, opening for Elvis Costello, and was let down. He played solo with an acoustic guitar, and it just didn't work; his sound is very studio-heavy, lots of instruments and layers of sound, echo on his voice, stuff like that. Plus he plays with wonderful musicians, who give him a sound halfway between the latter-day Miles Davis and the current-day Tom Waits. Solo, you lose all that.

Anyhow, one of his lyrics struck me as so damn good I wanted to pass it along:

I know she's right behind me now
Without looking back
I know she will untie me
How then will I pay for that?

Like she was the railroad
Like she was the lost world
Like she was the big hand turning back the sea
Like she was the raging flower in the brickyard
Like she was the only thing holding on to me

There is no revolution without boots and song
Her foot falls like a banner day and I will sing along

Like she was the anvil
Like she was the fire bell
Like she was the fever I wear like a crown
Like she was the bomb scare threatening with the heaven
Like she was the only thing holds me to the ground

She's pretending to be wide awake, to be listening to me
Promises of love to last at least for now without a moment's peace

Like she was the tightrope
Like she was the last hope
Like she was Roosevelt's funeral in the street
Like she was the wildest voice out of the jungle
Like she was the only thing calling out to me

etc.

There are a lot of "list" songs, "she's so great she's..." songs. This strikes me as one of the best. What nails it for me are a couple of lines:

Like she was the big hand turning back the sea

and

Like she was Roosevelt's funeral in the street

The first one is a knowing literary joke, and could be pretentious, but his sly delivery drives it home perfectly. The second line just blows me away. Every time I hear it, I can't believe nobody else has ever grabbed that image for a song. It also crystallizes what I dig about Joe Henry: The line is holding up a lot of history and assumptions, but you never feel like the words are creaking under the effort.

(Other great lines, from another great song, that I don't have the energy to extemporize on:

I hear somebody laughing, I just figure I've been took

...

This lake's too big for me, Jesus
Don't hold me to anything I do
If I surrender now and let it swallow me
Don't think they won't blame you)


Anyhow, a deserving artist. Check out his records Fuse and Scar if you're inclined. The earlier stuff is pretty straightahead alt-country and not as interesting, to my ears.

Fading fast. Still looking for signposts. Just one sign, Dr. Percy! Anything!

@ 12:25:00 AM,

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