Comments on Fragments of a Cale Season: Wilson Joliet

this may sound far-fetched, but i have the suspici...

2011-04-06T23:41:09.468-04:00

this may sound far-fetched, but i have the suspicion this song is built lyrically out of edgar lee masters' book of poetry: spoon river anthology. infused with political (even in its day contentious) poetry, each poem is a sort of epitaph for different individuals of a small town, inspired in part by a cemetary. the themes include adultery, thievery, suicide, and sex. unusual for the time, it is free verse - no rhyme. masters dated a woman named lillian wilson while attempting to divorce his wife. masters worked for awhile as a bill collector (shylock?). in the poem silas dement, joliet prison is mentioned:
When I came back from Joliet
There was a new court house with a dome.
For I was punished like all who destroy
The past for the sake of the future.
in another - benjamin pantier - a faithful dog named nig is spoken of:
With Nig for partner, bed-fellow, comrade in drink.
&
Living with Nig in a room back of a dingy office.
Under my jaw-bone is snuggled the bony nose of Nig—

i might also suggest in the line mentioned above - "mothers weep while children sleep like ancestors in the ground" - the children aren't necessarily dead, under the ground, but perhaps just asleep LIKE the dead. again, the funereal quality of the song may refer in tenor to master's eulogies.
i consider this the strongest, most original and fully-fledged song on the album; although i might suggest its tempo is a tad too slow.

As for the "political incorrectness," I&...

2010-01-18T21:00:40.183-05:00

As for the "political incorrectness," I'd observe that

1. the voice is not Cale's, it's the voice of a character, someone in deep pain. The pain comes across, certainly.

2. "Shylock" is a slang term for a loan shark.

3. The "Nigger" referred to seems clearly someone remembered with great affection and loyalty.

One of my top 5 John Cale songs. There is just som...

2009-07-12T11:44:13.215-04:00

One of my top 5 John Cale songs. There is just something incredibly powerful/unsettling about it.

Always liked this one. The reverberating guitar ha...

2007-11-25T11:07:00.000-05:00

Always liked this one. The reverberating guitar has a lot to do with it. And the drums, of course. All the drum parts on Honi Soit are very powerful, muscular, violent.

As far as the lyrics goes, I think it makes some sense as the stream-of-consciousness of a mercenary in Biafra, Bataan, Beirut or whatever. The words and the music (especially the repetitive patterns) evokes a highly nightmarish world, yet it has a strange, almost lyrical beauty to it. That is the song great achievement. But then again, this could be said of a lot of Cale´s best work, e.g. Cordoba and Casablanca.

The Joliet in Illinois is home to the state penite...

2007-11-23T13:50:00.000-05:00

The Joliet in Illinois is home to the state penitentiary, so there's that - especially in relation to "blasting [one's] way out"...

It's hard to imagine this song amusing anyone! As...

2007-11-22T03:23:00.000-05:00

It's hard to imagine this song amusing anyone! As confrontational as the man's career has been, this is his most malignant work by some degree. Hence it's doubly frustrating to not be able to interpret it.

There's a city in Illinois called Joliet, after the French Canadian explorer Jolliet, but, well, so what?

I have no idea, but it's good to have you back. I...

2007-11-22T01:24:00.000-05:00

I have no idea, but it's good to have you back. I dated a Joliat once; I doubt she'd be amused by this song.