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Don�t tell my sister about your most recent vision. Don�t tell my family�they�re all wicked-strict Christian. Don�t tell the hangers-on, don�t tell your friends. Don�t tell them we went down to Ybor City, again. Don�t tell the dancers, they�ll just get distracted. Don�t tell the DJs. They already suspect us. Don�t mention the bloodshed, don�t mention the scams. Don�t tell them Ybor City almost killed us, again.
We are the theatre, they are the people�dressed up to be seated, lookin� upwards and dreamin�. We�re the projectors. We�re hosting the screening. We�re dust in the spotlights�we�re just kinda floating.
Don�t drop little hints. I don�t want them to guess. Don�t mention Tampa, they�ll just know all the rest. Don�t mention bloodshed, don�t tell them it hurts. Don�t say we saw angels, they�ll take us straight to the church. They queue up for tickets to see the performance�they push to get closer, lookin� upwards with wonder. We are the actors. The cameras are rollin�. I�ll be Ben Gazzara, you�ll be Gena Rowlands.
Sometimes, actresses get slapped. Sometimes, actresses get slapped. Sometimes, fake fights turn out bad. Sometimes, actresses get slapped. Some nights, makin� it look real might end up with someone hurt. Some nights, it�s just entertainment, and, some other nights, it�s real.
They come in for the feeding, to sit in stadium seating. They�re holding their hands out for the body and blood, now. We�re the directors�our hands will hold steady. I�ll be John Cassavettes�let me know when you�re ready. Man, we make our own movies. Man, we make our own movies. Man, we make our own movies. Man, we make our own movies.
We are the theatre, they are the people�dressed up to be seated, lookin� upwards and dreamin�. We�re the projectors. We�re hosting the screening. We�re dust in the spotlights�we�re just kinda floating.
Don�t drop little hints. I don�t want them to guess. Don�t mention Tampa, they�ll just know all the rest. Don�t mention bloodshed, don�t tell them it hurts. Don�t say we saw angels, they�ll take us straight to the church. They queue up for tickets to see the performance�they push to get closer, lookin� upwards with wonder. We are the actors. The cameras are rollin�. I�ll be Ben Gazzara, you�ll be Gena Rowlands.
Sometimes, actresses get slapped. Sometimes, actresses get slapped. Sometimes, fake fights turn out bad. Sometimes, actresses get slapped. Some nights, makin� it look real might end up with someone hurt. Some nights, it�s just entertainment, and, some other nights, it�s real.
They come in for the feeding, to sit in stadium seating. They�re holding their hands out for the body and blood, now. We�re the directors�our hands will hold steady. I�ll be John Cassavettes�let me know when you�re ready. Man, we make our own movies. Man, we make our own movies. Man, we make our own movies. Man, we make our own movies.
Lyrics submitted by idolatry
Track duration: 05:18
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For a second here the characters wake up from the story to realize they are fictional, mere actors in a Shakespearean tragedy but staggeringly important for us, the real people. They are sad for it, but they take the slap like Gena's Myrtle (another layer in the referenced meta-movie) because the show must go on.
Maybe Finn is even somewhat sorry for making it so hard for his characters, as he has obviously fallen in love with them. And this is his apology - but the audience must hear the story. Gorgeous.
the importance is that they have to protect charlemagne's life, and as such they have to lie at all costs.
my two cents.
Craig Finn intentionally left out all of the proper names for his characters on "Stay Positive", but it's the same overall story --
Charlemagne is a small-time dealer who owes 7 grand to the Cityscape Skins, which is Gideon's former gang.
Holly and Charlemagne hook up, and then break up, because that night that she got born again, he was getting with her little hoodrat friend.
That friend is Mary/Sapphire, who has the visions of the future. At first, those visions come in handy for betting on the ponies ("Chips Ahoy").
Meanwhile, Holly falls in with Gideon ("I heard Gideon did you in Denver.")
At first, Holly doesn't say where Charlemagne is hiding out -- (if they ask, "just be polite, say something vague.") But at some point, out of jealousy or drug-fueled weakness, she probably tips off Gideon's friends, and the trap is set.
Throughout Stay Positive, we alternately hear about 1 or 2 townies getting killed in the woods. In "Both Crosses" and "Yeah Sapphire", we learn that Mary has been having visions of Charlemagne's murder. ("She saw the footage right before it got cut/she saw 'em stick a body in a bag in the trunk/she saw the guys comin in from the sides/baby that's how we get sanctified".) Charlemagne doesn't even blame Holly - saying "hey, I still love you, Judas."
Anyway, based on "Slapped Actress" and visions came in handy, and it's hinted that while Charlemagne got stabbed, he doesn't get killed after all. He's back to hiding out in Ybor City, where the story all began.
The first verses are Holly or Gideon saying -- don't tell anyone *anything* about Ybor City and Charlemagne. Don't even mention Tampa. Don't mention bloodshed. Don't mention the Skins. Don't say you saw "angels" -- they'll take you straight to the church.
The second half of the song is more generalized -- Craig Finn using the film "Opening Night" and some Shakespeare "All the World's a Stage"-esque lyrics to address the larger themes or life and making your own destiny, with a little religious imagery crossed with rock-n-roll imagery and the phrase "Hold Steady" thrown in for fun.
Some nights it's just entertainment/and some other nights it's work.
Definitely one of the album's top three. Almost as good of an album ender as Separation Sunday's.
I'm 99% sure it's
"We're dust in the spotlights" as opposed to "dusting".
My favorite song on the album. Very "meta".
"Myrtle (Gena Rowlands) goes on to tell Manny (Ben Gazzara) she is very worried about the slap that is to be delivered by Maurice (John Cassavetes) during the play. Manny raises his voice and tells her succinctly, "It's a tradition. Actresses get slapped. It's mandatory you get hit." His use of the term "slap" in this context means that actresses must make themselves vulnerable in their profession, and be "hit" by the reality of love, aging, mortality, beauty, etc., on a level apart from their stage roles. That one sentence "it's mandatory you get hit" sums up the crux of Myrtle's dilemma, and serves as the catalyst for her fight to avoid being "hit" by reality.
-johncassavetes.net/
Ben Gazzara and Gena Rowlands were in Opening Night also starring and directed by John Cassavettes. The film is about an girl who dies trying to meet her favorite actress (played by Gena Rowlands) and the actress' downward spiral when she thinks it is her fault.
John Cassavettes is most well known for starting the independent film revolution i.e. we make our own movies.