Corduroy

I didn't start paying much attention to this song until I heard it over and over again at concerts last year. It's a great concert song. I was trying to find the lyrics to Corduroy on tenclub.net, and then on Synergy, but the final parts may be open to interpretation. In fact . . . is that the point of the song?! Actually, I just read that the images of Eddie's teeth are a reflection of what Eddie was presenting in this song. Not of teeth, but as his health with his teeth, so his view of the world. Kindof creative way to project a feeling. I wished he'd put the lyrics in instead :)

The song could be about a relationship between 1 or a million people, but what's with forcing the words to fit in a line?

Example I'll pay it off in blood, let I be wed.

I think this reflects an almost giving up in lyric writing, like words were just forced to fit, and it reflects an anxiety within the author. It's not smooth, and it stands out, which is what the song is about, eh? There are two main themes within the song; giving up, and fighting back. In fact, talking about giving up, there's the line

I'm already cut up and half dead...
I'll end up alone like I began...

As I was just listening to it I noticed how the first part of the song is in complete opposition to the feeling in Given to Fly. In both songs there are challenges, but there is a cynicism, almost despair in the Corduroy lyrics. Also in Corduroy I'm sensing more and more a lack of time. Time is seen as tangible at this point because so many people grab pieces of the protagonist's stash. It's given a different value akin to food. The grating sounds within the music are like the grating of the hands of a clock, hurry hurry hurry.

At the same time the protagonist or author challenges those that create the original challenge. The following is one of my favorite lines from the song:
I take your entrance back

We could all be silenced throughout a walk along a sidewalk, but within us there may be the fighting spirit of a lion. Even with this line
I'll take the varmint's path
I don't sense as much a giving up, as a willingness to go underground; for the protagonist to find his way of doing things even if all those ways are new to him. It's still on his terms. There is strength within the song.

I sense annoyance, and a challenge to what is considered human. For instance, with the following line:
you're finally here and I'm a mess
If we are taught to be on time, and we think that is considerate, doesn't it challenge our perceptions of what is a good human if someone is late without apology? We have to take a step back, and re-evaluate if our safe haven is now just a bunch of bricks anyone could use.

I feel sorry for the protagonist with the following line:
I would rather run but I can't walk...
If walking implies time, then there must be anxiety, somewhere to go or rather somewhere to be away from implied in the line.

I heard this song a lot when the album first came out. Any song on Vitalogy makes me think of chills, windows without proper insulation, and cafes. I was always in cafes in Seattle, and I guess people in Seattle don't think they get cold because the windows are not insulated, just thin panes. What's interesting is that this song reminds me of that time full of chilled anxiety, and waiting waiting waiting. I had a couple jobs and either I was waiting for one to start, or just getting off one that ended, or waiting for a bus home in the chilled air. I didn't have anyone looking over my shoulder, in fact I didn't have anyone, but the discomfort of that time is mirrored in the memories of listening to this album which is full of discomfort.