Editor's Note: Originally, this started as a Facebook status update. It obviously got too long for that so I made it into a note but after it was written, I liked it too much to relegate it to "note-ville", and loathe though I am to post twice about the same song in a row, I liked this piece of writing and genuinely am curious about other's interpretations of the lyrics.Some of you fine folks that may or may not reading this might have noticed that I can be single minded at times. And by "at times", I mean "all the time". The plus side of this is the fact that I've excelled at my career, having gotten very far in a very short period of time. The downside of this is that I easily get wrapped up in things and occasionally, other things go by the wayside. This has, since youth, been referred to as "spaciness" or "flightiness". Additionally, I can be very literate, which I think is a strange quality for an abstract thinking person to have.
Lots of musicians I've had the chance to interview have told me they want people to interpret their songs, that it doesn't matter why a song was originally written or what it was originally written about, but rather how a person relates it to their own life or situation.
A great example of this is "Carnival" by Kevin Devine. I had put SO much thought into the theory that that song was some great allegory for the "music business". I asked him about it when I interviewed him for the second time and it ends up I couldn't have been more wrong.
Analyzing things, I think, is in my nature. It's probably why, out of everything I've done, I've excelled the most at interviewing.
There's a song I've been obsessing over recently, a sad folk song by Jeremy Messersmith that I featured in the last post called "A Girl, A Boy, And A Graveyard". The song is a veritable treasure trove of things I love - Intricate guitar, lyrics so sad that they border on macabre romanticism, you know, the usual. After the lyrical set up, introducing the "boy" and the "girl", Lucy, in addition to that titular graveyard, Messersmith quotes Lucy as saying "I don't know how I'm supposed to feel. My body's cold, my guts are twisted steel."
Now what I'm wondering is: Do the quotations stop here? Is the following stanza from her, or Messermith's, perspective? The first chorus is: "I feel like I'm some sort of Frankenstein, waiting for a jolt to bring me back to life." Now, it could easily relate to either character. From Lucy's perspective, she's continuing her point from the previous line about feeling indescribably numb and lonesome. However, from Messersmith's, the song takes on the idea of Lucy's uncertainty "leading the boy on", with him holding on hope for a relationship that will probably never come to fruition, thus making him less of a bystander in the song's narration and more involved.
I am of the mind that the girl, Lucy, is the Frankenstein, and, to be honest, that's part of the reason the song appealed to me so much in the beginning. Not many writers would compare their heroine to something as conventionally "grotesque" as Frankenstein's monster. To be honest, however, Frankenstein has always been one of my favorite love stories. What can I say, I relate to the misunderstood underdog. Or, you know, baby killing, neck-bolt-ridden monster, in this case. (Other good Frankenstein songs are by Timber Timbre and Aimee Mann and to be honest, this realization is probably going to result in a "Monster Mash" mix in the near future.)
So that's my opinion on the song. My friend Heidi, however, is of the opposite mind, an idea I never entertained until last night when she brought it up.
So what's your thoughts? (And don't be a dick and tell me to look in the liner notes. I did that already. There are no quotations anywhere.)
Another Editor's Note: Messersmith has more lovely songs other than this one, this is just the one I constantly choose to focus on. Check out the two following tracks and see for yourself.
Artwork, per usual, by the man who holds the coveted position of "Hot Half Favorite Artist", William Schaff, of Okkervil River cover art fame.
ACCORDING TO THE MAN HIMSELF, Jeremy Messermith, the intent was for Lucy to be "speaking" both choruses. I'm happy with this because, as I believe I previously stated, I relate more to the feeling of being a Frankenstein than a princess, a girl pieced together from bits of others thoughts and theories and ideas, waiting for someone to think "Hey, this girl's something." So thanks, Messersmith. I'm happy to know I'm not alone, even if your Lucy is mostly fiction.
