Mondays are when the regulars at the bar drink to the narrator's son, whom he doesn't see very often because he's always at the bar.
Unsurprisingly, his wife doesn't like that he's always there. He rarely comes home on time, either; he doesn't even use his compass/watch combo as a watch, so he never knows what time it is.
There's fighting at this bar, too, and plenty of gambling. The "sticks" line refers to billiards. (This point is pretty clearly made in the video.) Guy has bet someone everything he has, but asks to keep a Chinese cigarette case, presumably his most prized possession.
Can I just say that I love the chorus? What a beautiful, tortured sentence!
In the second verse, some guys are sitting around a table playing cards ("jokers") and lending each other money ("flesh by the pound" is a reference to one of Shylock's lines in The Merchant of Venice) while some women look on and make comments. "Aniseed" is used to make absinthe.
He may or may not have taken advantage of the ladies' availability; either way, he has plenty to apologize for. He's bought his wife roses before and he'll do it again, but his behavior doesn't change so he might as well not have bothered.
And, depressingly, we learn that his son will be in here soon enough, following his dad's lead.
I really, really like this song. What a stellar single!
Good god, is this ever a song about alcoholism.
Mondays are when the regulars at the bar drink to the narrator's son, whom he doesn't see very often because he's always at the bar.
Unsurprisingly, his wife doesn't like that he's always there. He rarely comes home on time, either; he doesn't even use his compass/watch combo as a watch, so he never knows what time it is.
There's fighting at this bar, too, and plenty of gambling. The "sticks" line refers to billiards. (This point is pretty clearly made in the video.) Guy has bet someone everything he has, but asks to keep a Chinese cigarette case, presumably his most prized possession.
Can I just say that I love the chorus? What a beautiful, tortured sentence!
In the second verse, some guys are sitting around a table playing cards ("jokers") and lending each other money ("flesh by the pound" is a reference to one of Shylock's lines in The Merchant of Venice) while some women look on and make comments. "Aniseed" is used to make absinthe.
He may or may not have taken advantage of the ladies' availability; either way, he has plenty to apologize for. He's bought his wife roses before and he'll do it again, but his behavior doesn't change so he might as well not have bothered.
And, depressingly, we learn that his son will be in here soon enough, following his dad's lead.
I really, really like this song. What a stellar single!
I wish more reviews were this interesting and insightful!
I wish more reviews were this interesting and insightful!