David Andrews Posted June 8, 2012 Share Posted June 8, 2012 I always thought that in the "American Pie" lyrics above, the "King" was Elvis and the "Jester" was Bob Dylan. Note that elsewhere in the song, we see "the Jester on the sidelines, in a cast" - a reference to Dylan's late-1960s hiatus after his motorcycle accident. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Len Colby Posted June 9, 2012 Share Posted June 9, 2012 I always thought that in the "American Pie" lyrics above, the "King" was Elvis and the "Jester" was Bob Dylan. Note that elsewhere in the song, we see "the Jester on the sidelines, in a cast" - a reference to Dylan's late-1960s hiatus after his motorcycle accident. "What is Don McLean's song "American Pie" all about?" http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/908/what-is-don-mcleans-song-american-pie-all-about Includes a reply from McLean Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Newell Posted June 9, 2012 Share Posted June 9, 2012 The Doors..."Not to touch the earth" 'Dead President's corpse in the drivers car The engine runs on glue and tar Come on along, not going very far To the east, to meet the Tsar..Let's run...' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frankie Vegas Posted August 1, 2012 Share Posted August 1, 2012 (edited) Frank Sinatra's 'High Hopes' for JFK's election. Edited August 1, 2012 by Frankie Vegas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick Block Posted August 1, 2012 Share Posted August 1, 2012 August 4, 1965 They're selling postcards of the hanging They're painting the passports brown The beauty parlor is filled with sailors The circus is in town Here comes the blind commissioner They've got him in a trance One hand is tied to the tight-rope walker The other is in his pants And the riot squad they're restless They need somewhere to go As Lady and I look out tonight From Desolation Row. Cinderella, she seems so easy "It takes one to know one," she smiles And puts her hands in her back pockets Bette Davis style And in comes Romeo, he's moaning "You belong to Me I Believe" And someone says, "You're in the wrong place, my friend You better leave" And the only sound that's left After the ambulances go Is Cinderella sweeping up On Desolation Row. Now the moon is almost hidden The stars are beginning to hide The fortunetelling lady Has even taken all her things inside All except for Cain and Abel And the hunchback of Notre Dame Everybody is making love Or else expecting rain And the Good Samaritan, he's dressing He's getting ready for the show He's going to the carnival tonight On Desolation Row. Now Ophelia, she's 'neath the window For her I feel so afraid On her twenty-second birthday She already is an old maid To her, death is quite romantic She wears an iron vest Her profession's her religion Her sin is her lifelessness And though her eyes are fixed upon Noah's great rainbow She spends her time peeking Into Desolation Row. Einstein, disguised as Robin Hood With his memories in a trunk Passed this way an hour ago With his friend, a jealous monk He looked so immaculately frightful As he bummed a cigarette Then he went off sniffing drainpipes And reciting the alphabet You would not think to look at him But he was famous long ago For playing the electric violin On Desolation Row. Dr. Filth, he keeps his world Inside of a leather cup But all his sexless patients They're trying to blow it up Now his nurse, some local loser She's in charge of the cyanide hole And she also keeps the cards that read "Have Mercy on His Soul" They all play on penny whistles You can hear them blow If you lean your head out far enough From Desolation Row. Across the street they've nailed the curtains They're getting ready for the feast The Phantom of the Opera In a perfect image of a priest They're spoonfeeding Casanova To get him to feel more assured Then they'll kill him with self-confidence After poisoning him with words And the Phantom's shouting to skinny girls "Get outa here if you don't know" Casanova is just being punished for going To Desolation Row. At midnight all the agents And the superhuman crew Come out and round up everyone That knows more than they do Then they bring them to the factory Where the heart-attack machine Is strapped across their shoulders And then the kerosene Is brought down from the castles By insurance men who go Check to see that nobody is escaping To Desolation Row. They be to Nero's Neptune The Titanic sails at dawn Everybody's shouting "Which side are you on ?" And Ezra Pound and T. S. Eliot Fighting in the captain's tower While calypso singers laugh at them And fishermen hold flowers Between the windows of the sea Where lovely mermaids flow And nobody has to think too much About Desolation Row. Yes, I received your letter yesterday About the time the door knob broke When you asked me how I was doing Was that some kind of joke ? All these people that you mention Yes, I know them, they're quite lame I had to rearrange their faces And give them all another name Right now I can't read too good Dont send me no more letters no Not unless you mail them From Desolation Row. Bob Dylan *** This has always been one of my very favorite songs. The finest art always leaves one pondering unanswered questions while addressing the human spirit, it doesn't serve it's message on a silver platter, but causes the viewer or listener to think about it's message long after the piece has been left- this tune, in my opinion, calls up specfic images of the assassination in the larger context of the destruction of the American Dream due to the lust for power, greed, and general secrecy brought about by the shredding of our Constitution by secretive men behind the scenes. To me it is America's best songwriter's greatest effort. Interestingly, the author admits during the telling of changing names. One does not have to ponder why very much. Some telling points about the song. 1. "Their selling postcards of the hanging" What event is better described by this simple description? How many postcards and momentos of this event were made? How like an execution was the assassination, really? 2. The "beauty parlor" which is full of "sailors" (naval personal in Bethesda) is where JFK's autopsy and head resconstruction afterwards, to make him look nice again, were done. 3. "The Circus is in town" Indeed. 4. "Here comes the blind commissioner- they've got him in a trance" Does this not perfectly describe the situation with Earl Warren? If ever there was an investigator who did not wish to see the truth, it was Earl. 5. "One hand is tied to the tightrope walker, the other is in his pants". Warren being lead down the tightrope while he is playing with his own huge ego fits perfectly. 6. "As Lady and I look out tonight from Desolation Row" Told from the perspective of the new President and Ladybird, of course. 7. "Cinderella", I think, is Jackie in ashes. 8. "In comes Romeo, he's moaning, 'You belong to me I believe" is Bobby, who thinks the Presidency ought to be his, is threatened that "He better leave". 9. Interestingly, Dylan predicts more deaths in the line- "And the only sound that's left After the ambulanceS go Is Cinderella sweeping up On Desolation Row." 10. In the television footage of the funeral, as JFK's coffin marches off under a flag, we pan up to see an American flag, fluttering in the breeze with it's stars only partly visible on the national wide news. The star studded coffin marches sadly out of sight. In my opinion, the following line is pure songwriting genius, doubling America's falling freedoms up with the funeral flag stars "begining to hide". "Now the moon is almost hidden The stars are beginning to hide" 11."And the Good Samaritan, he's dressing He's getting ready for the show He's going to the carnival tonight On Desolation Row." The Carnival is generally the investigation by the Warren Commission. Arlan Spector a lovely candidate for The Good Samaritan. 12. "Now Ophelia, she's 'neath the window For her I feel so afraid On her twenty-second birthday She already is an old maid To her, death is quite romantic She wears an iron vest Her profession's her religion Her sin is her lifelessness And though her eyes are fixed upon Noah's great rainbow She spends her time peeking Into Desolation Row." This whole verse is purely Oswald who is "Ophelia 'neath the window". "On her twenty-second birthday" he is really 'born' to the public eye on Nov. 22. Think about that! "she wears an iron vest" and "her profession's her religion" suggests a nod to Oswald's supposed communist ties, or perhaps a sly hint at Oswald's intelligence operative status. Very cool writing here, masterful, puzzling and understated. Very beautiful. "And though her eyes are fixed upon Noah's great rainbow She spends her time peeking Into Desolation Row" In my opinion, the above is suggestive of Oswald loving his country, and it's promise about having to do with goodness and God, but that Oswald spends his time being involved in the shady underpinnings of American Intelligence, which is the exact opposite of the promise of our Constitution. I consider this the finest moment from this memorable classic. It is so very sad, compelling, and tragic. I'm going to stop here with my intrepetation of the song. The rest of it obviously deals with a lot of the horrible crap that is done in the shadowy world that has been overtaking our country. I think it's no wonder Dylan had to be so vague about the intentions of this profound and moving song in order to see it published with doing mayhem to his own life. I am not saying my thoughts on this song are a widespread theory about what Dylan means to represent- in fact, I know of no one who has offered this sort of viewing of this classic tune. But, if you consider when it was written, and what was happening in the country at that time, I think it is as valid an opinion as any. There are a few key phrases that are extremely strong hints about what it is really referring to. I will be interested to see if anyone agrees with me on this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Len Colby Posted August 2, 2012 Share Posted August 2, 2012 (edited) With all due respect Patrick unless you can point to an interview with Dylan or someone close to him saying the song referred to the assassination you're stretching more than Richard Simmons. Edited August 2, 2012 by Len Colby Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now