Lyrics for 2.99¢ Blues as interpreted by medicine

2.99¢ Blues Lyrics
Somewhere far away where I roam
there live my buffalo twin in our twin buffalo home
he takes good care of my native son
and calls me by my native name
he even lets us drink spring water on Sundays
2.99 a gallon...

And somewhere further down the road where I also roam
there lives my caterpillar cousin beneath a fancy engraved tomb head stone
in the middle of his southern town
beneath a cemetery burial plot
he don't pay rent no more
but he sure likes the spot

but in the furthest place I've ever known
where even I so rarely roam
there lives a boy who just come back from war
his flesh was wounded but he made it back home
his mother calls him by his given name
and the neighbors whisper how he prefers to be alone
and he gets nightmares about boys dripping blood
sold for 2.99 a gallon...

but when I get me all real tired
and I got no more strength to roam
I catch me a horse-driven carriage ride
from a local man named Ethan Frome
he don't say much as he tips his hat
and he carries his body as heavy as lead
and he could have been flying through the snow on his sled
but his wife was in bed and the horses had to be fed
besides, it's 2.99 a story
pay up, it's just 2.99 a story

2.99 a gallon...

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  • 18 Comments
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betwnliesntruth
06-08-2006

Rated 0 
This song is fun, and I love listening to it.

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blueofthesky
06-28-2006

Rated 0 
Ethan Frome

The novel explores the theme of infidelity through the character of Ethan Frome, who wishes to feel vibrant and young again. Ethan's wife, Zenobia (nicknamed Zeena), is a hypochondriac and has led herself to believe that she is going to die. Her relatives send for her cousin, Mattie Silver, who needs work as she has been left penniless and an orphan. Ethan embarks on a chivalrous affair with Mattie, which causes him to consider leaving his wife numerous times although he lacks the confidence to carry out his plans. When Mattie displeases Zeena, she sends her back to the city. Emotion overcomes Ethan, and he tells Mattie that he wants to live with her forever. They decide to sled into a bulky tree, so it will kill them instantly rather than live the rest of their lives separated. The accident fails to kill them, but paralyzes Mattie and leaves Ethan with many ailments.

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troiaj
09-09-2006

Rated 0 
Wow, you should have said you were going to use spoilers!

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envirohodges
04-01-2007

Rated 0 
this song is so upbeat, and i love to ing it it makes me so happy, ut i recently read Ethan Frome and it is so depressing.... such a contrast... regina is wonderfull

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spotless_mind
07-17-2007

Rated 0 
I think this song is about materialism.

She mentions things like water and stories and soldiers all having pricetags on them. Things that we need or create. Things that should be free to us are all sold for profit.

So anyways, maybe I'm wrong, but I just think its about how wrong that is.

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aerickson
08-09-2007

Rated 0 
in the lyrics its stated her:
"he calls me by my native name
and takes good care of my native son"

but i believe its actually:
"he take good care of my native son and he call me by my native name."

possibly "called me by my..."
oh yaa,
& i meant to say, that in the first part of the song :$. ahahha

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aerickson
08-09-2007

Rated 0 
* here.
fuck i cant spell :$

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besstudor
08-19-2007

Rated 0 
When she says "He takes good care of my native son"...could this be an allusion to Native Son by Richard Wright?

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phunkometry
11-29-2007

Rated 0 
I love this song.

I find it interesting that the places where she usually roams are the most bizarre, while "in the furthest place [she's] ever known" lives a young, shell-shocked war veteran, obviously the most real of all these images.

And the only character who is not concerned with money is the "caterpillar cousin" who doesn't pay rent.

I read Ethan Frome in 9th grade or something, and I hated it. But now that I think of it, I don't feel much love for it, but it is depressing. But depressing in a kind of pathetic way. For some reason, I always picture Regina (not a character of hers) singing this song, and to picture her getting a carriage ride from Ethan Frome is just a weird image.

Bottom line, I do not know what this song means.

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chabocinnamon
01-11-2008

Rated 0 
It just occurred to me that the speaker could be a storyteller-for-hire. Maybe a guy on the street corner telling you that he knows a couple of stories, and for 2.99 he'll tell you the rest.

Town criers used to be like that, right? They'd scream the headlines, and then you'd have to stop them and ask, maybe pay, for the rest.

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xMusicsmylifex
01-29-2008

Rated 0 
This is probably my favorite Regina song, and it's the entire reason I read Ethan Frome. I really love the last verse and the way that Regina sings the whole song. I'm not sure what it's about, though, other than the fact that everything costs money.

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ne me quitte pas
04-24-2008

Rated +1 
i feel like i should read Ethan Frome right now with this song on repeat in the background just to understand the whole story. But really, then i think about it again, and decide i don't feel like spending that much time on classic literature.

oh well

yay for one of the most upbeat jazzy regina songs i know of!

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love_is_free
07-31-2008

Rated 0 
It's one of Regina's ever so cleverly told fictional stories.
It's about having a home in everywhere you go.

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ms.cellophane
01-12-2009

Rated 0 
So, funny story.
I was working on notes for Ethan From for school, listening to Regina Spektor-- this comes on. Cool. (Mind you, I hadn't listened closely to the lyrics at that point. Or read Ethan Frome before that day.)

So I'm writing.
And Regina Spektor name-drops Mr. Frome.
WHAT IS THIS?

Naturally I had to go back and check on the song, then check here...

I like that book so much more now!

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anythingatall02334
02-28-2009

Rated 0 
I know this song was written prior to the war in Iraq (I think this album came out in 2001), but the line "boys dripping blood sold for $2.99..." always makes me think of the war and how many believe it was fought over oil (which was also being sold for 2.99/gal not too long ago!)... just an observation.

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bexsullie
03-13-2009

Rated 0 
To me it sounds like she is just talking about different books.

"but in the furthest place I've ever known
where even I so rarely roam
there lives a boy who just come back from war
his flesh was wounded but he made it back home
his mother calls him by his given name
and the neighbors whisper how he prefers to be alone
and he gets nightmares about boys dripping blood
sold for 2.99 a gallon..."
This verse seems similar to the book Ceremony and the last verse is obviously about Ethan Frome.


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itfloatz
05-27-2009

Rated 0 
Great song. The lyrics and her singing... I've never heard anything like it. :)

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pinkielikespink
09-11-2009

Rated 0 
I always thought that her catipliiar cousin was dead. She uses irony to illistrate this. He lives beneth a fancy engraved head tombstone beneth a cemetary burial plot. And he doesn't pay rent anymore but sure likes the spot was her way of saying he can't leave. I don't know I just love that line. I was so surprised when I read this and found out she was saying furthest not finest. lol



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