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I cut my teeth on the stone of a teenage romance
I was the salt of the earth, I was hard, and the last of the independents
And in the breath from my chest I was blowing kerosene
My lips and fingertips were stone, I wore my heart on my jeans
I sang the blues like the dogs left too long in the street
I still sing the blues with the dogs
And I got half a mind to let it all burn up in this fire
I've had been burning through my veins since I first learned to cry
I'd watch this whole night come down and never miss her again
I never felt right and never fit in, walking in my own skin
Now I got scars like the number of stars, my head's full of vipers
I got the dust of the desert in my bones, coming through the amplifiers
Between the minor chord fall and the fourth and the fifth
It's a broken Hallelujah and a pain in my fist
I wash my hands like the man with the blood on his teeth
Over and over without relief
And I got nothing for you, darling, but a story to tell
About the rain on the pavement and the sound as it fell
I'd watch this whole night come down and never miss her again
I never felt right and never fit in
Walking in my old man shoes, with my scientist heart
I got a fever and a beaker and a shot in the dark
I need a Cadillac ride, I need a soft summer night
Say a prayer for my soul, Señorita
Because I've been dying out here in the cold and the snow
I got a picture of you, Mama, to remind me of home
On the hood of a Dodge on a Saturday night
Say a prayer for my soul, Señorita
I was the salt of the earth, I was hard, and the last of the independents
And in the breath from my chest I was blowing kerosene
My lips and fingertips were stone, I wore my heart on my jeans
I sang the blues like the dogs left too long in the street
I still sing the blues with the dogs
And I got half a mind to let it all burn up in this fire
I've had been burning through my veins since I first learned to cry
I'd watch this whole night come down and never miss her again
I never felt right and never fit in, walking in my own skin
Now I got scars like the number of stars, my head's full of vipers
I got the dust of the desert in my bones, coming through the amplifiers
Between the minor chord fall and the fourth and the fifth
It's a broken Hallelujah and a pain in my fist
I wash my hands like the man with the blood on his teeth
Over and over without relief
And I got nothing for you, darling, but a story to tell
About the rain on the pavement and the sound as it fell
I'd watch this whole night come down and never miss her again
I never felt right and never fit in
Walking in my old man shoes, with my scientist heart
I got a fever and a beaker and a shot in the dark
I need a Cadillac ride, I need a soft summer night
Say a prayer for my soul, Señorita
Because I've been dying out here in the cold and the snow
I got a picture of you, Mama, to remind me of home
On the hood of a Dodge on a Saturday night
Say a prayer for my soul, Señorita
Lyrics submitted by ohhhhhreally
Track duration: 03:02
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It's definitely something that's been done before though.
But that wasn't a really great attempt, but that's just my opinion. Beautiful song.
Also, one of the songs on "Sink or Swim" connects to this one explicitly. "Angry Johnny and the Radio" has the following lines:
"And I'm still here singing and thinking about the government,.
And my old man shoes and how you'd understand that.
Are you hiding in a basement, mixing up your medicine?
Every April Fools' I say your name."
I'm not sure what the connection is but it's worth looking at.
the line "walkin in my old man shoes and my scientist heart"
i always thought this was "walking in my old man's shoes and my scientist heart"
old man's shoes meanin his dad's shoes, because in TGA'a other song Angry Johnny and the Radio , brian says "and i'm still here singing, thinking about the government, in my old man's shoes, and how you'd understand that."
my interpretation of this is that brian wears his dads shoes (i dont know why), as this is mentioned twice. also the words "and how you'd understand that" may imply there is some deeper reason as to why brian wears his dads shoes, but only the person he is singing about understands that.
anyway, amazing song. thats just an idea i had :D
I've only seen them once in Glasgow and was really upset they didn't play it!
It's an internal battle between his logical, analytical side and his passionate side.
I suppose the title could hint at regret. As in, if he wasn't so obsessed with being like Elvis (either in the rock star sense or the way that Elvis appeared to be too cool to let a woman interfere with his plans) then maybe things could have worked out.
Old man's shoes and scientist heart
he's jaded or disillusioned (over-experience/world-weariness, ie old man's shoes) to the point where his heart, which obviously symbolizes emotion and the counterpoint to logic, has become cold and logical. To me it seems like, particularly in a creative sense, the poet (and, by extension, the protagonist of almost any song) uses his heart and the scientist uses his brain. To say that he's got a "scientist heart" is to say that his heart has either been contorted to something that operates by the rules of cold logic, or that it simply isn't used; that he, like a "scientist," has abandoned the heart (emotion) for the brain (logic). Practically, it means the same thing (logic overtaking emotion), but those are two ways of breaking the line down.
I got a fever and a beaker
This line caries on themes from the one above. "Fever and a beaker" are analogous to "scientist heart" in that there's a conflict (and ambiguous incompatibility) between emotion (heart/fever) and logic (scientist/beaker). The "fever"/emotion connection is well established, and if this line isn't an intended reference to Bruce Springsteen's song "The Fever," then at least that song shows the tradition Fallon is working off of. The beaker is obviously a tool and symbol of the scientist. I may be digging too deep here, but at the risk of inventing meaning, here's another potential dynamic: fever, in the literal sense, is an illness, and the parallels between the pains of emotion and those of physical sickness have made "fever" as enduring a metaphor as it is. A beaker, however, is also a tool of the medical profession, the purpose of which is to cure illness. Intended or not, this feeds into the idea of Logic being brought in to cure the ills of the Heart. It's a profound conflict, presented on many levels.
a shot in the dark, etc
That was the easy part. Beyond the amazing little structure above are what I consider to be the cause (Old man shoes) and the outcome (a shot in the dark). It appears that emotion or impulse wins out in the end, or at least that the protagonist wants it to. A shot in the dark is the opposite of a logical decision, but it's also more impulse/desperation than emotion. The line which follows (I *need* a Caddilac ride, I *need* a soft summer night) expresses his desire to break free from cynicism and the domination of logic.
I honestly did not think I would end up writing this much on three lines. Just goes to show how subtle Fallon's lyrical expertise is.