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It's my father's voice dreaming of
Sailors sailing off in the morning
For the air-conditioned rooms
At the top of the stairs
His jaw's been broken
His bandage is wrapped too tight
His fangs have been pulled
And I really want to see you tonight
There's Bourbon on the breath
Of the singer you love so much
He takes all his words from the books
That you don't read anyway
His jaw's been broken
His bandage is wrapped too tight
My fangs have been pulled
And I really want to see you tonight
Someone ties a bow
In my backyard to show me love
My voice is climbing walls
Smoking and I want love
My jaw's been broken
My heart is wrapped in ice
My fangs have been pulled
And I really want to see you tonight
And it makes no difference to me
How they cried all over overseas
It's hot in the poor places tonight
I'm not going outside
They cried all over overseas
It makes no difference to me
It's hot in the poor places tonight
I'm not going outside
Sailors sailing off in the morning
For the air-conditioned rooms
At the top of the stairs
His jaw's been broken
His bandage is wrapped too tight
His fangs have been pulled
And I really want to see you tonight
There's Bourbon on the breath
Of the singer you love so much
He takes all his words from the books
That you don't read anyway
His jaw's been broken
His bandage is wrapped too tight
My fangs have been pulled
And I really want to see you tonight
Someone ties a bow
In my backyard to show me love
My voice is climbing walls
Smoking and I want love
My jaw's been broken
My heart is wrapped in ice
My fangs have been pulled
And I really want to see you tonight
And it makes no difference to me
How they cried all over overseas
It's hot in the poor places tonight
I'm not going outside
They cried all over overseas
It makes no difference to me
It's hot in the poor places tonight
I'm not going outside
Lyrics submitted by Yoshiidino
Track duration: 05:15
"Poor Places" as written by Jeffrey Scott/bennett Tweedy
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., BUG MUSIC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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1. Dylan does in fact take words from books that you never read anyway
2. Bob Dylan used a minor motorcycle accident to begin a period of seclusion in 1966 and if memory serves he claimed to break vertebrae and his jaw.
3. The album Street Legal includes the song Where are You Tonight (Journey Through the Dark Heat) Street Legal is about coming to terms with a broken relationship - Bob & Sarah
4. The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll - a very famous Dylan tune is a tune about racism and makes references to taking the rag from your face. Poor Places seems to resonate the theme of this song in particular: lyricsmode.com/lyrics/b/bob_dylan/…. The rich get away with whatever they like, the poor suffer the consequences.
5. Bill Bragg had a connection with Wilco around the time YHF was made and Bragg covered the Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll
His bandage is wrapped too tight
His fangs have been pulled
And I really wanna see you tonight"
I find this change to the first person very powerful because it is as if he loses his trail in the narrative and switches the focus to himself, maybe realising what's important to him.
Is it just me, or does anyone else think of Spike from Buffy the vampire slayer? Mind you, I've been listening to Wilco long before I watched Buffy, but on reflection I can see a few similarities.
"Ther's bourbon on the breath
of the singer you love so much"
It's funny how such a small element of the song can mean so incredibly much. I think Tweedy is refering to someone he cares about having misconceptions of him. He feels badly about himself and the way he hurts others, but he/she still feels that they are perfect. This concept can also be applied to his listeners. Surprisingly, i love songs where Tweedy is on the giving end of the pain.
his jaw's been broken
his bandage is wrapped too tight
his fangs have been pulled
and I really wanna see you tonight
These lyrics about fangs being pulled apply to the narrator's father, his favorite singer, and to the narrator himself. A person's father and his favorite singer can presumably be called his heroes, or at least, people he looks up to. Not even these people are immune to life and the things that can happen in it. Their jaws (spirits? pride?) have been broken, and their hearts have been broken and are wrapped in ice. His fangs have been pulled and he can't even defend himself anymore against anything. All he wants is a meaningful distraction, some kind of cure: to see this person tonight.
And with all that's happening in his personal life -- he's got enough pain. He's so hopeless, so jaded, so cynical...he doesn't even care about the worse things that are happening in the world. He's just trying -- and it's taking all of his trying -- to save himself.