Way Over Yonder In The Minor Key

how can you say billy bragg doesn't rock!??? he's an amazing AMAZING singer and lyricist. obviously you haven't done your research to learn about his importance within music history!

and i agree this IS a kick-ass song and Woody Guthrie rocks!.

Talk about a self-fullfilling prophecy. With the lyrics and the chord progression, the hair on my freshly shaven face stands on end right on cue. Really so simple and so perfect.

taking a biographical approach, i would say this song is about woody gutherie's mother (gutherie being the writer of all mermaid avenue songs)

woodys mom had huntingtons disease and ended up being placed in a mental institution. growing up, the disease would cause her erratic and violent behavior. she accidently killed one of his sisters by burning her and she badly burned his father.

however, she was woodys introduction to music. in the book "this land was made for you and me" by elizabeth partridge she quotes woody as saying "she began to gaze out our window and follow her songs out and up and over and away from it all, away over yonder in the minor keys"

the actual town he lived in was called okemah, but you can see the connection. the speaker is blaming himself somehow (the ugly boy), talking about the beatings he got from his mother (the tree part), yet still drawn to her. he loved her and was crushed that she reached the point where she couldnt even recognize him. yes, she was crazy, and abused him, but no one can sing like her...

fascinating. by the way, read about woody gutheries life, he lived an amazing one.

When I saw Billy Bragg a few years ago he played this and mentioned before hand that he felt there was a double meaning to it, with singing 'way over yonder in the minor key' kinda implying going down on a the little girly of the song...

He may just have been joking around, but it does make me laugh when I read the lyrics.

so true as well, male self-confidence vs female naivety

Thank you to raaaaaaaaaaghib for the explination, I've always loved this song and now its taken on a mich more profound meaning. Thank you. I will have to catch up on my Woody Guthrie. I thought I knew a thing or two....

I think he says Ofuskee because he lived in Okemah in Ofuskee county

It's a wonderful song, except there's one really annoying aspect that really bugs me. It's not sung in a minor key! He and Natalie are singing in major fifths! When I sing along, I always tune it down to fit. Not hard to do.

I can't believe nobody has commented on such a kick-ass song. Woody Guthrie rocks and so does wilco. Not so much Billy Bragg. I do have to wonder how this song would have sounded like if Bob Dylan had found this song instead of Billy Bragg.