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Post by stormmonkey on May 21, 2009 23:03:59 GMT
Trivia question for you all...
In which song does Anderson sing about his own mortality with a degree of black comedy?
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Post by tullistray on May 21, 2009 23:15:37 GMT
not that I have an immediate answer, but is there only one? I would need to peruse the lyrics of At Last, Forever but I doubt if that's it. I do know one of my favorite quotes from Ian, if I recall right it was from some forum on which celebrities offered what they might want written on their tombstones, Ian's response was "Any chance of a wake up call?" That's our boyo.
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Post by stormmonkey on May 21, 2009 23:33:28 GMT
not that I have an immediate answer, but is there only one? I would need to peruse the lyrics of At Last, Forever but I doubt if that's it. I do know one of my favorite quotes from Ian, if I recall right it was from some forum on which celebrities offered what they might want written on their tombstones, Ian's response was "Any chance of a wake up call?" That's our boyo. Good epitaph. lol. It isn't At Last, Forever. Here is a small clue - The lyric in the song I am referring to is best described, I think, as black comedy when considered against the title of the song.
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Post by stormmonkey on May 22, 2009 11:37:50 GMT
A second clue.
The moment of what, as I say, can best be described as black comedy, occurs in the last verse of the song.
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Post by steelmonkey on May 22, 2009 18:55:10 GMT
I'm thinkig of songs that deal w/death...like jasmine Corridor, Chequered Flag and much of passion Play...but i haven't stubled onto the obvious punch line of yer quiz...I'll go home and listen to everything Tull has ever recorded and get back to you. ( Elegy....nothing comedic there?
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Post by fatman on May 22, 2009 19:14:33 GMT
I think the answer is I Don't Want to be Me, where in the last stanza he says, "I can't check out of this crazy world, without being a jerk, I don't want to be me." I say this because that song seems to be autobiographical in nature, i.e., Ian writing about himself.
Jeff
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Post by admin on May 22, 2009 20:18:50 GMT
probably not but...The Dog- Ear Years? If so I'm missing the humour!!!!
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Post by stormmonkey on May 22, 2009 21:05:21 GMT
The song is none of the above.
The best way to describe this lyric, particularly when considered against the title of the song is "black comedy". It's poetic and funny in a dark sort of way.
OK, the song was recorded after the Stormwatch album. That narrows it down...a little bit more I suppose.
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Post by nonrabbit on May 22, 2009 21:54:51 GMT
There's a lot of songs which end with leaving something behind. I'll have a stab at Apogee /Slow Marching Band/ End Game but maybe they don't have the black comedy element - I'll keep looking
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Post by steelmonkey on May 22, 2009 23:00:55 GMT
And Furthur On ?
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Post by stormmonkey on May 22, 2009 23:40:13 GMT
No. The song is not 'And Further On' or any of the other songs mentioned above.
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Post by TM on May 23, 2009 1:03:11 GMT
Apogee?
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Post by fatman on May 23, 2009 5:37:58 GMT
I think one has to be careful in assuming that the narrator of a particular song is necessarily Ian. It may or may not be. For example, a song like Wicked Windows, which deals with death, is clearly not autobiographical in nature, so it cannot be that one.
You have indicated it is not I Don't Want to Be Me, although the last verse would seem to satisfy your clues.
Someone mentioned Jasmine Corridor, which you have also eliminated, even though I think a case could be made for the last verse of that song which includes the line "you made my bed to lie in, stately" where Ian is employing a pun about death, i.e., lying in state. That does seem to qualify in the irony/black humor department because it suggests "you put me in an early grave" which is rather strange when juxtaposed against the apparent meaning of the rest of the song.
I've taken a look at all other post-Stormwatch songs about death, and I don't think that anything from A fits your description. There is a lot of irony to the lyrics to Protect and Survive, but no real references to the death of the narrator and no indication that the narrator is Ian. In Working John, Working Joe, the last stanza does refer to the narrator suffereing from heart disease and other ailments, so that can be taken as an allusion to mortality, but again this is not a song where Ian himself is the narrator.
On Under Wraps, Tundra deals with not one, but two deaths, and contains the line "I make my fade to white-out" in the last verse, but I don't really see much dark humor in that. There's also Wounded Old & Treacherous and the line about "last rites given, no holds barred, Heaven Express on my credit card" but that occurs in the next to last verse, rather than the last one.
On Broadsword there is Beastie with the line about "the lonely fear of dying" but that can't be it, and you've ruled out Slow Marching Band, about a funeral. I think Ian was definitely contemplating his possible demise in No Step, but it cannot be that song because it does not otherwise fit your description.
Crest of a Knave has no songs that meet your criteria, nor does Rock Island. I don't see anything from Catfish that would qualify either. Same goes for the solo material (with the exception of Jasmine Corridor), the X-mas album and the more obscure songs like Night in the Wilderness and It All Trickles Down. On RTB you have excluded At Last Forever, and if it is not Wounded Old and Treacherous it cannot be anything else from that album.
You have also ruled out Dog Eared Years from Dot Com, and there is nothing else from that album that satisfies your criteria. Unless I am missing something obvious -- and I don't think that I am -- that's all there really is.
Jeff
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Post by nonrabbit on May 23, 2009 5:49:02 GMT
"Goodbye cruel world that was my home.. There's a cleaner space out there to roam...etc etc He could be talking about his demise
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Post by tullabye on May 23, 2009 6:10:12 GMT
Too Old to Rock and Roll.....
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Post by tullabye on May 23, 2009 6:25:34 GMT
Lights Out
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Post by stormmonkey on May 23, 2009 10:57:38 GMT
Enjoyed your post fatman/Jeff.
That lyric in 'The Jasmine Corridor' - "you made my bed to lie in, stately". I don't see that as "you put me in an early grave" at all. For me, there isn't really a pun there at all. No irony or black comedy in my opinion. I just take that literally.
You have narrowed the song down even further by pointing out the importance of the narrative voice in the song being Ian. There is no doubt that Ian is the narrator. It is a very personal song.
In terms of the darkly comic, it could be argued there is a dual meaning in the lyrics - particularly when considered against the title of the song.
So, just to be clear - the song I am referring to is none of the songs previously mentioned on this thread.
Ok. To narrow the song down even further...
The song was recorded after the Stormwatch album.
The song is not on Underwraps, Crest of a Knave, Rock Island, Catfish Rising or Nightcap.
The lyrical moment occurs in the last verse of the song. In fact, it is contained within the last two lines of the song.
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Post by fatman on May 23, 2009 12:10:50 GMT
Enjoyed your post fatman/Jeff. That lyric in 'The Jasmine Corridor' - "you made my bed to lie in, stately". I don't see that as "you put me in an early grave" at all. For me, there isn't really a pun there at all. No irony or black comedy in my opinion. I just take that literally. You have narrowed the song down even further by pointing out the importance of the narrative voice in the song being Ian. There is no doubt that Ian is the narrator. It is a very personal song. In terms of the darkly comic, it could be argued there is a dual meaning in the lyrics - particularly when considered against the title of the song. So, just to be clear - the song I am referring to is none of the songs previously mentioned on this thread. Ok. To narrow the song down even further... The song was recorded after the Stormwatch album. The song is not on Underwraps, Crest of a Knave, Rock Island, Catfish Rising or Nightcap. The lyrical moment occurs in the last verse of the song. In fact, it is contained within the last two lines of the song. Thanks, I love stuff like this, but I'm afraid you have me stumped; I'm going back to the drawing board. I've considered Black Sunday. I don't think that's it, but you are suggesting that the song is on one of the following albums: A, Broadsword, 25th Anniversary, RTB, Dot Com or one of the solo albums, so I will revisit those. As for Jasmine Corridor there is a definite pun in the line I mentioned because the phrase "lie in state" refers to a public wake of sorts. So when Ian uses the line 'you made my bed to lie in, stately' within the overall context of the song, he is definitely talking about his own death and is making a pun on that phrase. I'm just not sure exactly what he means by it. Jeff
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Post by stormmonkey on May 23, 2009 12:53:51 GMT
Glad your enjoying the trivia question Jeff. I love stuff like this myself.
The line "You made my bed to lie in, stately" - I prefer to think of it as a play on words, rather than an all-out pun. I suppose it could be considered a pun, but as there is nothing to suggest that Ian is using the phrase to infer an ironic or double meaning I prefer to think of it as a simple play on words.
The song I am writing about is not on A, Broadsword or the 25th Anniversary boxset.
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Post by fatman on May 23, 2009 13:27:51 GMT
Glad your enjoying the trivia question Jeff. I love stuff like this myself. The line "You made my bed to lie in, stately" - I prefer to think of it as a play on words, rather than an all-out pun. I suppose it could be considered a pun, but as there is nothing to suggest that Ian is using the phrase to infer an ironic or double meaning I prefer to think of it as a simple play on words. The song I am writing about is not on A, Broadsword or the 25th Anniversary boxset. Okay, so then it has to be on RTB, Dot Com, X-mas or the solo albums. You are really narrowing it down for us, but I'm still not getting it. Yet. Jeff
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Post by stormmonkey on May 23, 2009 13:32:56 GMT
The song is not on Roots To Brances, Dot Com or The Jethro Tull Christmas Album.
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Post by nonrabbit on May 23, 2009 14:09:44 GMT
Can't see it either in SLOB or Rupi's Is it in SLOB or Rupi's ?
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Post by stormmonkey on May 23, 2009 14:14:49 GMT
Can't see it either in SLOB or Rupi's Is it in SLOB or Rupi's ? Yes - the song is on one of those two albums.
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Post by nonrabbit on May 23, 2009 14:22:13 GMT
Then maybe Sanctuary ?
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Post by stormmonkey on May 23, 2009 14:36:40 GMT
No, the song is not Sanctuary.
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Post by fatman on May 23, 2009 15:25:50 GMT
Can't see it either in SLOB or Rupi's Is it in SLOB or Rupi's ? Yes - the song is on one of those two albums. If it's Circular Breathing then I think it's a stretch to say it refers to death. If it is Old Black Cat, then it's about the death of the cat, not him. I can't see any other possibilities from either of those records. Jeff
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Post by stormmonkey on May 23, 2009 15:31:06 GMT
Yes - the song is on one of those two albums. If it's Circular Breathing then I think it's a stretch to say it refers to death. If it is Old Black Cat, then it's about the death of the cat, not him. I can't see any other possibilities from either of those records. Jeff The song is neither Circular Breathing or Old Black Cat. The song is on the album Rupi's Dance.
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Post by fatman on May 23, 2009 15:35:29 GMT
If it's Circular Breathing then I think it's a stretch to say it refers to death. If it is Old Black Cat, then it's about the death of the cat, not him. I can't see any other possibilities from either of those records. Jeff The song is neither Circular Breathing or Old Black Cat. The song is on the album Rupi's Dance. You're killing me. What is it already and why? (Be prepared to defend your thesis. ) Jeff
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Post by stormmonkey on May 23, 2009 15:48:45 GMT
But if I told you what it was that would spoil the fun!
We're down to one album now. The song is on the album Rupi's Dance. It is not Old Black Cat, Pigeon Flying Over Berlin Zoo or Photo Shop and it can't be either of the two instrumentals!
I am prepared to defend my thesis 100%.
The lyric to which I refer are the last two lines of the song in question. Considered against the title of the song there is most definitely a sense of dark comedy in the poetic lines.
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Post by fatman on May 23, 2009 16:00:18 GMT
But if I told you what it was that would spoil the fun! We're down to one album now. The song is on the album Rupi's Dance. It is not Old Black Cat, Pigeon Flying Over Berlin Zoo or Photo Shop and it can't be either of the two instrumentals! I am prepared to defend my thesis 100%. The lyric to which I refer are the last two lines of the song in question. Considered against the title of the song there is most definitely a sense of dark comedy in the poetic lines. Then it has to be Lost in Crowds, doesn't it? Although I fail to see how he is contemplating his own mortality in that song. Jeff
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