Roscoe

Not to throw a monkey wrench in the theorizing, but check this out. Have you ever heard of "Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles" in the L.A. area? Well, I have been to the one in Pasadena, and let me tell you it has some delicious southern-style home cooking. To the point though. The full name is actually "Roscoe's House of Chicken and Waffles". Not many people know this. What are they working on in the song, "Roscoe"? Well, houses. Fixing a roof leak, which they do in the song, is like what? Let me answer for you. It is like satiating an appetite, which one does by "working" (aka eating) at the waffle house. What type of material do the mountaineers use at the beginning of the song? Stone. They are stonecutters. What happens to an overcooked waffle? It becomes like stone, and if you want any chance of eating it you would need to cut it. The "timber gathered" in the song refers most likely to the wood paneled walls inside the waffle house. Aunt Rosaline is like Aunt Jemima, and what is Aunt Jemima? Syrup. What do you put on waffles? Syrup. The parallels are uncanny. The "mixed up" part is obviously a reference to mixing up orders. What happens at a restaurant when you are given the wrong dish? It is said by the waiter or waitress, "I must have mixed up your order," or by the patron "They mixed up my order." For instance, maybe you asked for syrup, and they didn't bring any. You are then presently waiting for syrup aka Aunt Jemima aka Aunt Rosaline, as in the song. It all circles back. "When the morning comes we will step outside" refers to waking up early to go to "Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles". Since you went so early you "will not find another man inside". The "newness" either refers to the cleanliness of the restaurant since it's early in the morning, it just opened, and has not had time to get sullied, or the people "stepping outside" are heading to a new waffle house location. "Growing in the garden soaking for so long" refers to all the built up thoughts the people who "stepped outside" had about going to Roscoe's waffle house. It could also refer to the fresh collard greens that had just been steaming in water, freshly "chosen" from the garden. "Something more productive like Roscoe" I think refers to the owner of the restaurants, who is obviously productive, featuring a diverse and expansive menu at four unique locations. 1891 I am not sure about since "Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles" opened in 1975, but the difference between 1891 and 1975 equals 84 years. If you say the lyrics "1891/They looked around the forest/They made their house from cedars" really fast it starts to jumble together and sound like "eighty-four years." This is probably what the writer from the Nebraskan was talking about when he said the song unites past and present. "Eighty-four years" brings us to the establishment of Roscoe's waffle house, which is what the whole song is based off.