"A nice heart and a white suit and a baby blue sedan
And I am doing the best that I can"
I think it symbolizes the empty promises of the American Dream. You know, breadwinner father who brings home the paycheck. Has an ideal family, a lot of material goods. It's common for men in today's world to feel a bit disempowered with the family rapidly changing. Woman now working and the wage gap slowly closing. Men in America are losing the masculine image they used to have. Hence doing the best that he can signifies a desperate struggle. Most men nowadays express masculinity superficially through status, resources, and especially material. Masculinity represents any sense of worth in western culture.
"All the eunuchs, they were standing in rows
Singing, "Please stud us out just as fast as you possibly can" "
Eunuchs are men who can't reproduce. In today's society we'd probably see them as woman-like or men without their manhood anymore. Demasculated. The fact that there's multiple eunuchs shows that it's not a single phenomenon. They're unmasculine men looking to look appealing to women. Studding out I think is more of an exaggeration for how desperate they are to seem like men again.
"Sad song, last dance and no one knows who the band was
And Henry, you danced like a wooden Indian"
Someone mentioned Bukowski writing about a wooden Indian so I don't get this reference since I couldn't find it.
"Except this one mattered and I felt it had a spirit
And I shot the story because I didn't hear it that way"
Suddenly he feels something that matters but the way he's been stuck in his thinking keeps him from accepting it. Since I think it's about masculinity in a lot of ways, guys tend to be divorced from their emotions in American culture. Not that they don't feel, we all do. But it's considered wimpy or gay to openly admit feelings and somethings even being in love and opening up is hard. For a guy who ends up finding something like that it seems normal to dismiss it and avoid having to leave yourself emotionally open. So masculinity keeps you from getting too close for comfort and you're emotionally unavailable or try to be.
"And it's hard to be a human being
And it's harder as anything else
And I'm lonesome when you're around
And I'm never lonesome when I'm by myself
And I miss you when you're around"
This is pretty straight forward. There's a lot of ambivalence. Contradicting feelings. Guys like to be by themselves and stick to themselves. But when around someone they love they might still hold onto that independent almost isolationist way of being. Deep down though they long for something deeper but can't bring themselves to admit that.
The title itself is a car, which is often a symbol of true manhood. But it's baby blue which is a girls color. This also fits the entire overarching theme.
Overall theme I think is trying to adhere to a standard way of being and feeling completely different from that on the inside which ultimately leads to an unfulfilled feeling that devastates a person internally.
Overall theme I think is trying to adhere to a standard way of being and feeling completely different from that on the inside which ultimately leads to an unfulfilled feeling that devastates a person internally.
"A nice heart and a white suit and a baby blue sedan And I am doing the best that I can" I think it symbolizes the empty promises of the American Dream. You know, breadwinner father who brings home the paycheck. Has an ideal family, a lot of material goods. It's common for men in today's world to feel a bit disempowered with the family rapidly changing. Woman now working and the wage gap slowly closing. Men in America are losing the masculine image they used to have. Hence doing the best that he can signifies a desperate struggle. Most men nowadays express masculinity superficially through status, resources, and especially material. Masculinity represents any sense of worth in western culture.
"All the eunuchs, they were standing in rows Singing, "Please stud us out just as fast as you possibly can" " Eunuchs are men who can't reproduce. In today's society we'd probably see them as woman-like or men without their manhood anymore. Demasculated. The fact that there's multiple eunuchs shows that it's not a single phenomenon. They're unmasculine men looking to look appealing to women. Studding out I think is more of an exaggeration for how desperate they are to seem like men again.
"Sad song, last dance and no one knows who the band was And Henry, you danced like a wooden Indian" Someone mentioned Bukowski writing about a wooden Indian so I don't get this reference since I couldn't find it.
"Except this one mattered and I felt it had a spirit And I shot the story because I didn't hear it that way" Suddenly he feels something that matters but the way he's been stuck in his thinking keeps him from accepting it. Since I think it's about masculinity in a lot of ways, guys tend to be divorced from their emotions in American culture. Not that they don't feel, we all do. But it's considered wimpy or gay to openly admit feelings and somethings even being in love and opening up is hard. For a guy who ends up finding something like that it seems normal to dismiss it and avoid having to leave yourself emotionally open. So masculinity keeps you from getting too close for comfort and you're emotionally unavailable or try to be.
"And it's hard to be a human being And it's harder as anything else And I'm lonesome when you're around And I'm never lonesome when I'm by myself And I miss you when you're around" This is pretty straight forward. There's a lot of ambivalence. Contradicting feelings. Guys like to be by themselves and stick to themselves. But when around someone they love they might still hold onto that independent almost isolationist way of being. Deep down though they long for something deeper but can't bring themselves to admit that.
The title itself is a car, which is often a symbol of true manhood. But it's baby blue which is a girls color. This also fits the entire overarching theme.
I also think it's no coincidence that this song was added to the vinyl edition of the Lonesome Crowded West.
I also think it's no coincidence that this song was added to the vinyl edition of the Lonesome Crowded West.
Overall theme I think is trying to adhere to a standard way of being and feeling completely different from that on the inside which ultimately leads to an unfulfilled feeling that devastates a person internally.
Overall theme I think is trying to adhere to a standard way of being and feeling completely different from that on the inside which ultimately leads to an unfulfilled feeling that devastates a person internally.