yes it definitely seems to be about a traveling snake oil salesmen. I do wonder however what the exact role of the narrator is.. "I'm just one who plays the songs", were they performing rituals? Or were they also offering entertainment? According to wikipedia " to increase sales, an accomplice in the crowd (a shill) would often "attest" the value of the product in an effort to provoke buying enthusiasm" Might that be the narrators role?
The line "here's to absent friends" might indicate that the narrator thinks no one can be trusted, which could serve as a justification for him to keep on deceiving other people as well?
yes it definitely seems to be about a traveling snake oil salesmen. I do wonder however what the exact role of the narrator is.. "I'm just one who plays the songs", were they performing rituals? Or were they also offering entertainment? According to wikipedia " to increase sales, an accomplice in the crowd (a shill) would often "attest" the value of the product in an effort to provoke buying enthusiasm" Might that be the narrators role?
The line "here's to absent friends" might indicate that the narrator thinks no one can be trusted, which could serve as a justification for him to keep on deceiving other people as well?