I think it's about Gillian Welch coming to realise that most of her songs are about times and situations that she's not experienced herself. Therefore, though she's in love with the folk music of the '20s and '30s, she can't be considered an authentic voice ("I'm a pretender, I'm not what I'm supposed to be"). She hopes she is doing the music justice ("But who could know if I’m a traitor? Time’s the revelator.").
It is "They caught the Katy and left me a mule to ride". To catch the Katy is to jump onto one of the goods carriages of a moving train and hitch a free ride, common practice for those crossing the country looking for work duing the depression (the authentic voices). She's saying they experienced the real thing, she is left with only an echo of those times.
I think it's "and all the spindles white", i.e. the waggon wheels used as decoration on houses, which are generally painted white. They're meant as tokens of rural authenticity, but ("everyday it's getting straighter"), that they're equally pretenders. She's tired of the pretensions and sets off for California, she no longer feels the need to live the rural life to write songs. Time's the revelator :)
Thank you for your insightful contribution. I've got some thoughts on the KT and the For me Eric the contradiction between the KT express train and the mule is likely the important thing. These bluegrass/Country artists caught the express train to fame and fortune while they left her struggling to find recognition: the mule to ride. Slow and tedious without much support or acknowledgement. But the image also refers to Mary who rode the mule to Bethlehem while pregnant. She was also considered unwelcome and refused hospitality and ended up sleeping in a stable. Yet her gift was ...
Thank you for your insightful contribution. I've got some thoughts on the KT and the For me Eric the contradiction between the KT express train and the mule is likely the important thing. These bluegrass/Country artists caught the express train to fame and fortune while they left her struggling to find recognition: the mule to ride. Slow and tedious without much support or acknowledgement. But the image also refers to Mary who rode the mule to Bethlehem while pregnant. She was also considered unwelcome and refused hospitality and ended up sleeping in a stable. Yet her gift was pure, truthful and profound. A valid comparison. Welch’s gift is pure truthful and profound too and she knows she is truthful but time will eventually show the world if she is truthful or a traitor. Just like time will tell if the world will consider Mary’s gift the Truth or a traitor. And the way it is going in the world now it looks like Mary’s gift is getting trod upon and not understood to an ever increasing degree. As far as the comparison with Welch goes, her enormous talents found ample acknowledgements in the world but still maybe not with the country folk she started her journey out with. I don't know
Thank you for your insightful contribution. I've got some thoughts on the KT and the For me Eric the contradiction between the KT express train and the mule is likely the important thing. These bluegrass/Country artists caught the express train to fame and fortune while they left her struggling to find recognition: the mule to ride. Slow and tedious without much support or acknowledgement. But the image also refers to Mary who rode the mule to Bethlehem while pregnant. She was also considered unwelcome and refused hospitality and ended up sleeping in a stable. Yet her gift was ...
Thank you for your insightful contribution. I've got some thoughts on the KT and the For me Eric the contradiction between the KT express train and the mule is likely the important thing. These bluegrass/Country artists caught the express train to fame and fortune while they left her struggling to find recognition: the mule to ride. Slow and tedious without much support or acknowledgement. But the image also refers to Mary who rode the mule to Bethlehem while pregnant. She was also considered unwelcome and refused hospitality and ended up sleeping in a stable. Yet her gift was pure, truthful and profound. A valid comparison. Welch’s gift is pure truthful and profound too and she knows she is truthful but time will eventually show the world if she is truthful or a traitor. Just like time will tell if the world will consider Mary’s gift the Truth or a traitor. And the way it is going in the world now it looks like Mary’s gift is getting trod upon and not understood to an ever increasing degree. As far as the comparison with Welch goes, her enormous talents found ample acknowledgements in the world but still maybe not with the country folk she started her journey out with. I don't know
I think it's about Gillian Welch coming to realise that most of her songs are about times and situations that she's not experienced herself. Therefore, though she's in love with the folk music of the '20s and '30s, she can't be considered an authentic voice ("I'm a pretender, I'm not what I'm supposed to be"). She hopes she is doing the music justice ("But who could know if I’m a traitor? Time’s the revelator.").
It is "They caught the Katy and left me a mule to ride". To catch the Katy is to jump onto one of the goods carriages of a moving train and hitch a free ride, common practice for those crossing the country looking for work duing the depression (the authentic voices). She's saying they experienced the real thing, she is left with only an echo of those times.
I think it's "and all the spindles white", i.e. the waggon wheels used as decoration on houses, which are generally painted white. They're meant as tokens of rural authenticity, but ("everyday it's getting straighter"), that they're equally pretenders. She's tired of the pretensions and sets off for California, she no longer feels the need to live the rural life to write songs. Time's the revelator :)
@Paega
@Paega
Thank you for your insightful contribution. I've got some thoughts on the KT and the For me Eric the contradiction between the KT express train and the mule is likely the important thing. These bluegrass/Country artists caught the express train to fame and fortune while they left her struggling to find recognition: the mule to ride. Slow and tedious without much support or acknowledgement. But the image also refers to Mary who rode the mule to Bethlehem while pregnant. She was also considered unwelcome and refused hospitality and ended up sleeping in a stable. Yet her gift was ...
Thank you for your insightful contribution. I've got some thoughts on the KT and the For me Eric the contradiction between the KT express train and the mule is likely the important thing. These bluegrass/Country artists caught the express train to fame and fortune while they left her struggling to find recognition: the mule to ride. Slow and tedious without much support or acknowledgement. But the image also refers to Mary who rode the mule to Bethlehem while pregnant. She was also considered unwelcome and refused hospitality and ended up sleeping in a stable. Yet her gift was pure, truthful and profound. A valid comparison. Welch’s gift is pure truthful and profound too and she knows she is truthful but time will eventually show the world if she is truthful or a traitor. Just like time will tell if the world will consider Mary’s gift the Truth or a traitor. And the way it is going in the world now it looks like Mary’s gift is getting trod upon and not understood to an ever increasing degree. As far as the comparison with Welch goes, her enormous talents found ample acknowledgements in the world but still maybe not with the country folk she started her journey out with. I don't know
Thank you for your insightful contribution. I've got some thoughts on the KT and the For me Eric the contradiction between the KT express train and the mule is likely the important thing. These bluegrass/Country artists caught the express train to fame and fortune while they left her struggling to find recognition: the mule to ride. Slow and tedious without much support or acknowledgement. But the image also refers to Mary who rode the mule to Bethlehem while pregnant. She was also considered unwelcome and refused hospitality and ended up sleeping in a stable. Yet her gift was ...
Thank you for your insightful contribution. I've got some thoughts on the KT and the For me Eric the contradiction between the KT express train and the mule is likely the important thing. These bluegrass/Country artists caught the express train to fame and fortune while they left her struggling to find recognition: the mule to ride. Slow and tedious without much support or acknowledgement. But the image also refers to Mary who rode the mule to Bethlehem while pregnant. She was also considered unwelcome and refused hospitality and ended up sleeping in a stable. Yet her gift was pure, truthful and profound. A valid comparison. Welch’s gift is pure truthful and profound too and she knows she is truthful but time will eventually show the world if she is truthful or a traitor. Just like time will tell if the world will consider Mary’s gift the Truth or a traitor. And the way it is going in the world now it looks like Mary’s gift is getting trod upon and not understood to an ever increasing degree. As far as the comparison with Welch goes, her enormous talents found ample acknowledgements in the world but still maybe not with the country folk she started her journey out with. I don't know