I guess it's set before the partition of Ireland, and therefore the narrator isn't Van Morrison, but a protestant schoolboy in Dublin. The song begins with his adult self in a reverie on Cyprus Avenue, remembering bygone days, seeing himself as a teenager, clutching history books, entranced by the sight of Madame George, a glamorous transvestite, leading a drunken soldier boy back to her flat.
The narrator finds himself in the flat, a sort of speakeasy, with gambling, drinking, drugs and dancing on offer - and perhaps sex. The narrator is captivated by this outré character and her Bohemian life. It's a place to which he returns again and again. The song tells of two episodes from the flat: a police raid which results in Madame George throwing the drugs out of the window; and the final tearful goodbye, as the narrator leaves for a new life in Belfast.
The song is about a juvenile infatuation with someone fearlessly living a life which breaks all the rules, and a wistful reflection of adolescent freedom and possibility.
@Paega This seems right to me. I don't know much about Ireland at the time, but the song reminds me of cities in the US that have undergone gentrification and lost their bohemian culture. It's bigger than Madame George specifically.
@Paega This seems right to me. I don't know much about Ireland at the time, but the song reminds me of cities in the US that have undergone gentrification and lost their bohemian culture. It's bigger than Madame George specifically.
@Paega Wait hold a second... why is this madame george a transvistite.... where is the proof to that. Lots of people have last names that start with George. I believe most times, it goes Madame/Monsieur (last name). Clarification please.
@Paega Wait hold a second... why is this madame george a transvistite.... where is the proof to that. Lots of people have last names that start with George. I believe most times, it goes Madame/Monsieur (last name). Clarification please.
@josh101586 Van doesn't choose the names of his characters by accident, we're meant to infer something from them: no-one in Ireland is referred to as Madame, in the British Isles a Madame is a brothel-keeper. So we know she's an outsider. Nor is it an accident that she's given the name George, the sexual ambiguity is intended: Van's painting a picture of an outsider of indeterminate sexuality who draws enlisted British soldiers into a shabby house for drugs and whatever else is on offer.
@josh101586 Van doesn't choose the names of his characters by accident, we're meant to infer something from them: no-one in Ireland is referred to as Madame, in the British Isles a Madame is a brothel-keeper. So we know she's an outsider. Nor is it an accident that she's given the name George, the sexual ambiguity is intended: Van's painting a picture of an outsider of indeterminate sexuality who draws enlisted British soldiers into a shabby house for drugs and whatever else is on offer.
The picture he paints for me is of a transvestite, the archetypal outsider - outside of society and outside of gender. If he's painting an outsider, why not?
I guess it's set before the partition of Ireland, and therefore the narrator isn't Van Morrison, but a protestant schoolboy in Dublin. The song begins with his adult self in a reverie on Cyprus Avenue, remembering bygone days, seeing himself as a teenager, clutching history books, entranced by the sight of Madame George, a glamorous transvestite, leading a drunken soldier boy back to her flat.
The narrator finds himself in the flat, a sort of speakeasy, with gambling, drinking, drugs and dancing on offer - and perhaps sex. The narrator is captivated by this outré character and her Bohemian life. It's a place to which he returns again and again. The song tells of two episodes from the flat: a police raid which results in Madame George throwing the drugs out of the window; and the final tearful goodbye, as the narrator leaves for a new life in Belfast.
The song is about a juvenile infatuation with someone fearlessly living a life which breaks all the rules, and a wistful reflection of adolescent freedom and possibility.
@Paega This seems right to me. I don't know much about Ireland at the time, but the song reminds me of cities in the US that have undergone gentrification and lost their bohemian culture. It's bigger than Madame George specifically.
@Paega This seems right to me. I don't know much about Ireland at the time, but the song reminds me of cities in the US that have undergone gentrification and lost their bohemian culture. It's bigger than Madame George specifically.
@Paega Wait hold a second... why is this madame george a transvistite.... where is the proof to that. Lots of people have last names that start with George. I believe most times, it goes Madame/Monsieur (last name). Clarification please.
@Paega Wait hold a second... why is this madame george a transvistite.... where is the proof to that. Lots of people have last names that start with George. I believe most times, it goes Madame/Monsieur (last name). Clarification please.
@josh101586 Van doesn't choose the names of his characters by accident, we're meant to infer something from them: no-one in Ireland is referred to as Madame, in the British Isles a Madame is a brothel-keeper. So we know she's an outsider. Nor is it an accident that she's given the name George, the sexual ambiguity is intended: Van's painting a picture of an outsider of indeterminate sexuality who draws enlisted British soldiers into a shabby house for drugs and whatever else is on offer.
@josh101586 Van doesn't choose the names of his characters by accident, we're meant to infer something from them: no-one in Ireland is referred to as Madame, in the British Isles a Madame is a brothel-keeper. So we know she's an outsider. Nor is it an accident that she's given the name George, the sexual ambiguity is intended: Van's painting a picture of an outsider of indeterminate sexuality who draws enlisted British soldiers into a shabby house for drugs and whatever else is on offer.
The picture he paints for me is of a transvestite, the archetypal outsider - outside of society and outside of gender. If he's painting an outsider, why not?