Know something about this song or lyrics?
Add it to our wiki.
Darling, remember when you come to me
I'm the pretender, and I'm not what I'm supposed to be
But who could know if I'm a traitor?
Time's the revelator
They caught the Katy and left me a mule to ride
The fortune lady came along, she walked beside
But every word seemed to date her
Time's the revelator, the revelator
Up in the morning, up and on the line
Drive into Corning and all the spindles whine
And every day is getting straighter
Time's the revelator, the revelator
Leaving the valley fucking out of sight
I'll go back to Cali where I can sleep out every night
And watch the waves and move the faders
Time's the revelator, the revelator
Queen of fakes and imitators
Time's the revelator
I'm the pretender, and I'm not what I'm supposed to be
But who could know if I'm a traitor?
Time's the revelator
They caught the Katy and left me a mule to ride
The fortune lady came along, she walked beside
But every word seemed to date her
Time's the revelator, the revelator
Up in the morning, up and on the line
Drive into Corning and all the spindles whine
And every day is getting straighter
Time's the revelator, the revelator
Leaving the valley fucking out of sight
I'll go back to Cali where I can sleep out every night
And watch the waves and move the faders
Time's the revelator, the revelator
Queen of fakes and imitators
Time's the revelator
Lyrics submitted by pomegranatesROCK, edited by smallwonderrobot
Track duration: 06:21
Add your thoughts
Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.
Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!
Rated 0 I feel a lot of people are on the wrong track with this song. The interpretation that makes sense to me is that when Gillian refers to "they caught the Katy and left me a mule to ride" she was referring to her biological parents - given she was adopted. Fortune's lady came and walked beside her and things turned out ok. She wonders however whether she is a traitor like her parents who betrayed her were???? She knows she is not really who she pretends to be - the people who brought her up weren't her real parents - however - queen of fakes and imitators - she behaves like she is their child and one of them, when underneath she really feels she is not. The understanding of this experience (which is also my experience) is expressed in a book on experiences of adoption called "Primal Wound"
Gillian and I are definitely getting married...just have to tell her about that.
Regarding the lyrics themselves, I thought the line was "Driving the corn in, and all the spindles whine", with the spindles being part of some sort of mechanical harvester. She really slurs the syllables together so it's hard really say for sure, but that hearing makes the most sense to me...
"time's the revelator"
Part of the song is placed in Kansas [Corning] and The Cady is the Katy - the railroad as Paega mentions above. Leaving the mule to ride implies she feels she is being left behind, a representation of the old morality and sensibilities of a woman caught between two worlds, one very staid and conservative, and one very modern and free.
It's a juxtaposition of the old [the spindles whine, hitching a ride on a freight train] and the new .. the 'fortune lady' is a shrink or a spiritual guide, who is trying help her understand her own inner feelings. But every day seems to date her: this person does not understand the yearnings within the woman's inner desires.
She's made up her mind, as she deals with the day to day drudgery of her life ..
"Up in the morning, up and on the line
Drive into Corning, and all the spindles whine
And every day it's getting straighter,"
'Going back to Cali' and 'move the faders' is the escape from an old fashioned husband or boyfriend by a woman who is torn between traditional values and being free to do what she wants - forced to 'keep the fucking out of sight'.
At the end, there's the bittersweet realization she is indeed a traitor.
"Queen of fakes and imitators
Time’s the revelator."
"time's the revelator"
Part of the song is placed in Kansas [Corning] and The Cady is the Katy - the railroad as Paega mentions above. Leaving the mule to ride implies she feels she is being left behind, a representation of the old morality and sensibilities of a woman caught between two worlds, one very staid and conservative, and one very modern and free.
It's a juxtaposition of the old [the spindles whine, hitching a ride on a freight train] and the new .. the 'fortune lady' is a shrink or a spiritual guide, who is trying help her understand her own inner feelings. But every day seems to date her: this person does not understand the yearnings within the woman's inner desires.
She's made up her mind, as she deals with the day to day drudgery of her life ..
"Up in the morning, up and on the line
Drive into Corning, and all the spindles whine
And every day it's getting straighter,"
'Going back to Cali' and 'move the faders' is the escape from an old fashioned husband or boyfriend by a woman who is torn between traditional values and being free to do what she wants - forced to 'keep the fucking out of sight'.
At the end, there's the bittersweet realization she is indeed a traitor.
"Queen of fakes and imitators
Time’s the revelator."
s easy to glorify time, but when it comes to it, times a revelator.