Right. So here's my take on She's A Jar. Didn't really want to draw this out but someone called me a troll yesterday so I feel the need to take the time to defend myself... ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1) The "woman" in this story is "My pop quiz kid" implying an inquisitive child. She's "a sleepy kisser" implying she only gets kissed goodnight. She's also "pretty" (not beautiful) implying a less intimate relationship. "She's a jar -> With feelings hid" is someone with emotions bottled up that does not want to share their true feelings. "She begs me not to miss her" tells me she would rather the protagonist forget about her for reasons described within the song.... She's a jar With a heavy lid My pop quiz kid A sleepy kisser A pretty war With feelings hid She begs me not to miss her ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 2) The "woman" in this story is light enough to climb into the arms of the protagonist and float inches above the ground. Sounds like a child to me. The "train tracks" probably refer to the protagonist's use of drugs / heroin. It's also not much of a leap here to say a member of the protagonist's "fragile family tree" is one of "the people underneath" (aka dead and buried). Just climb aboard The tracks of a train's arm In my fragile family tree And watch me floating inches above The people underneath ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 3) The protagonist dreams about this deceased family member and has had intimate relationships with them before the child in question was born. I would describe that as the protagonist's lover. Are there really ones like these The ones I dream Float like leaves And freeze to spread skeleton wings I passed through before I knew you ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 4) For reasons unexplained the protagonist ends up in some kind of drunken / drug induced stupor that causes him to barely function. I have to assume this was a regular occurrence. When I forget how to talk I sing Won't you please Bring that flash to shine And turn my eyes red Unless they close When you click And my face gets sick Stuck Like a question unposed ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 5) Something bad happened to someone leaving the house (against the protagonists wishes) that made the child in the story sad/mad. Given all the clues above it's not that hard to assume the protagonist's wife was fed up with her husband, drove off with their daughter and died. Please beware the quiet front yard I warned you Before there were water skies I warned you not to drive Dry your eyes you poor devil ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 6) If the daughter witnessed her mother die in a car crash due to something her father did/said I'd think she'd be pretty mad at him. Nothing he could do is going to change that. I believe it's just because Daddy's payday is not enough Oh I believe it's all because Daddy's payday is not enough ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 6) The daughter ends up antagonizing her father by suggesting that the two of them should take off somewhere (anywhere) like her mother did before. She says forever To light a fuse We could use A hand full of wheel And a day off On a bruised road However you might feel Tonight is real ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 7) Her father is not amused. She begs me not to hit her You can say these lyrics are a bunch of nonsense or I'm just trolling?!? but you'll never convince me this isn't about a father that wants to hit his daughter no matter now many times I listen to the song. I realize many Wilco tunes have multiple meanings and I refuse to believe this one was accidental. The lyrics are leaps ahead of what Jeff has written before. I just don't like the narrative and can't believe it's such a popular song...
Wasn't talking about those albums as I feel they were still catering to the Uncle Tupelo crowd. I'm talking specifically about summerteeth and the perceived changes the band was attempting to make. They had to know the new direction wasn't going to be loved by everyone who'd followed them from the beginning...
Sadly I don't see that at all. The only drug references are to the protagonist. People can change for a lot of reasons other than drugs...
I'm sure you're right about the pain-killers as that makes much more sense. Maybe it was "handshake drugs"?? I would hope he wouldn't take negative reactions to his music seriously but I do think he could have been inspired to write a kiss off to all the fans stuck in the past looking for Being There Vol. 2...
Rule number one of song by song threads: no skipping ahead. We can fight when we get to Sky Blue Sky in a few weeks. Well, not you and me per se, as I agree with you, but I’m sure someone here will! Until then, enjoy the ride!
I think the fact that Wilco continues to regularly play so many of the darker songs from this album lends credence to the theory that these songs are NOT truly autobiographical, but rather the product of Tweedy's imagination, perhaps using some of the things he was feeling at the time. If they were strictly diary entries from his personal life, I can't see him wanting to play them any longer, at least regularly.
Do you think that they shouldn't have made an album like Summerteeth because it would be such a cold shower for many of their early, loyal fans?
I liked to read your interpretation, though I don't share it. Possible reasons why it's so popular: 1. The music is so good. 2. Many people don't listen to the lyrics very well or they have another interpretation of the lyrics. 3. It's only fiction. He's not hitting her in reality. Do you think there shouldn't be a place for child abuse in fiction or is it just your personal dislike? If it's the first, then what about murder, rape, torture, genocide etc, etc in fiction?
I think Shot In The Arm works much better to open Summerteeth. Would be happy to move I Can’t Stand It to track 3. My interpretation of the “we fell in love, in the key of C” is for Cocaine (Party Drug) And the going down the neck to D is Diazepam (Valium) used to treat anxiety. From Jeff’s book.... It was 1997, and we were part of the Tragically Hip’s Another Roadside Attraction tour with Los Lobos and Sheryl Crow. I didn’t know much (or anything) about pills at the time. I’d taken plenty of non-narcotic pain medication in my life, but mostly in suppository form due to my inability to keep solids down during a migraine. What’s that? You didn’t need to know that? My bad. The point is, I was unfamiliar with pills, okay? Anyway, in Canada it was apparently much easier to find pharmaceuticals than in the States, so Jay Bennett and some of the guys from the other bands were starting to carry stockpiles around that made them sound like maracas when they walked up stairs. I was bored and homesick and they all looked like they were having a blast. “What should I try?” I asked Jay. He astutely recommended Valium because, duh. It’s what they prescribe for anxiety anyway, isn’t it? So technically I wouldn’t even be abusing the drug.
We're Just Friends (Another song credited to Tweedy/Bennett/Stirratt) This sounds a little bit like a John Lennon song to me. Always has. Something in the melody and the leading, pensive piano line does that to me... This is another song I like a great deal. I enjoy how it touches on the confusions of love and Jeff's vocal on this is gorgeous. It sounds to me like he's saying "we're just friends" to himself, rather than to the woman--reminding himself that this can't go any further even if he wants it to, rather than trying to keep her at arm's length. He wants to change for her (and be 'brand new') but he's really struggling emotionally. I like the last verse especially: Over and over and over again I try to make amends For everything I've done wrong My whole world just spins Make some coffee, hold me up Try to talk me out of giving up I like how it focuses just on conversation between these two people and I can imagine them sitting at a kitchen table together, having coffee, as she tries to help him with his depression. There's love in this song and sadness too. Very intimate and, as I said, Lennonesque to me.
We’re Just Friends: Tweedy/Bennett/Stirratt So far Wilco is hitting on all cylinders. Four for four in my (post-2003) world. “Over and over and over again You say that we're just friends” Dialed down after the urgency of A Shot In the Arm, somber, rich in tone, with a longing and ache in Jeff’s vocals. “Over and over and over again I try to make amends For everything that I've done wrong My whole world just spins” Heavy on the piano, farfisa organ swirling in back, nice bass line (evidently played by the organ). Jay on bass drum, too. In fact, Jay plays all the instruments on this track. Jeff sings, both John and Jay contribute backing vocals and Ken Coomer doesn’t play on it at all. This is John’s second co-write on this album (4th songwriting credit to date in overall discography). Looking at ASCAP, much of the music for this track was written by Jay Bennett.
Does anyone know if there’s an Austin demo of We’re Just Friends? ( I can only find two songs on YouTube). Just curious because I’m wondering why John gets a co-writing credit because, as far as I can make out, he’s not playing the bass. Maybe wiki credits are wrong? Or he plays it on the demo and just wasn’t in the studio when Jeff and Jay recorded? The latter is my guess.
We're just friends After the opening blast of the first three songs, musically and lyrically, we mellow completely into a fairly straight heartbreak type song. It seems to be based in longing, and I am not altogether sure he believes his promise that "we're just friends". I think the song is pretty decent, but essentially seems to be a bit of a breather, in a way. The vocal delivery seems to come from a point of devastation. So this isn't a light breather by any means.... perhaps it works more like a comma.
There is an Austin demo of that song - but I can’t help with the rest of your question because the demo sounds very munch like the finished version in this particular case.
Things really slow down with We're Just Friends, but the song is good enough that it doesn't drag. It's hard to do that! It's not a favorite but I like it well enough, and earlier posters have explained why.
It sounds like he’s just has been crying or is about to. I’m in awe of the versatality of his voice, even if this one doesn’t get me completely. The lyrics may sound familiar to many of us out of own personal experience.
He believes it and is fooling himself. Or he doesn't believe it, but he knows it's the only way not to loose her. I dunno.
"We're Just Friends" has been played only twice since the '99 Summerteeth tour. On February 18, 2008, at the Riviera, it followed "A Shot in the Arm" during the winter residency where Wilco attempted to play the whole catalog. Jeff muffed the first "I promise / we're just friends," coming in too early. It sounds like Nels is playing lap slide. On May 2, 2010, in Marrickville, Australia, it closed the show. Imagine going home after that downer. So, in other words, Wilco has played this song live only twice without Jay Bennett.
Lyrically, very similar (theme, anyway) with 10 cc’s ‘I’m Not In Love.’ Keep saying it and you might finally believe it.
"We're Just Friends"- This album has many Beach Boys moments and this song feels like the Dennis Wilson tune on the record. I would have loved to hear Dennis sing this song. Jeff's voice is a little whiny in parts. It's still a song I really enjoy. A short and mellow break between the bigger pop moments. 3.5/5
Yes, yes, it is lennonesque, the crackling frailty in the voice, the desperation, the singer lamenting on his own shortcomings, his own self depreciation, the sadness of the minor chords… Yes, I hear a lot of Lennon there, but which song(s) ?? How can this channel Lennon so much without resembling any of his particular songs ? Across the Universe maybe ? Or Love ? Those are the closest I can think of, and it's still a stretch. But I hear him too. I also hear a lot of Beach Boys here. 1971/1973 Beach Boys, somewhere between Feel Flows (the keyboard sound, the atmospheric quality of the song) and a Dennis Wilson piano ballad (let's say Barbara, for instance) for the aching voice and sentiment. When I first got Summerteeth, this was instantly a favorite. As we said some 60 pages ago (how great is this thread, by the way??), the handful of aching ballads with a lot of Jay Bennett production and/or songwriting input are a significant sub-category in the Wilco catalogue : Blasting Fonda, We're Just Friends, Cars Can't Escape, Venus Stopped the Train, Let Me Come Home (not sure about Bennett's input in this one) and even Ashes of American Flag, all share a similar aching quality that Wilco never channeled again after Jay's departure. Even Jeff's singing is quite specific on most of these songs. A lot of sad songs that he wrote later feature more of a sense of resignation and melancholy. But this is unabashed pain (maybe that's where lies the Lennon influence). Edit : @palisantrancho Ah ! Dennis ! You beat me to it !
