One Sunday Morning (For Jane Smiley's Boyfriend) Lyrics
Oh, but it's long.
One Sunday Morning
Oh, one son is gone.
Over the sea
My father said what I had become
No one should be.
Like the bones in a shrine
How am I forgiven?
Oh, I'll give it time.
Holding my brow
In time we thought I would kill him
Oh, but I didn't know how.
No, your Bible can't be true
Knocked down by the long lie
He cried I fear what waits for you.
Spoken and gone.
I feel relief I feel well
Now he knows he was wrong.
Frozen underground
Jesus I wouldn't bother
He belongs to me now.
So I wandered around.
I fell in love with the burden
Holding me down.
Being told how to live.
What I learned without knowing
How much more I owe than I can give.
Oh, but it's long.
One Sunday morning
One son is gone.
This is probably my favorite song on the new album and it is just heartbreaking.
It's about a son who lost a father who was overbearing and critical and he hated the added pressure of the harsh father. The son is then a bit happy that his father is gone and he no longer has to deal with his judgements and criticisms, then he feels guilty, then he regrets not appreciating his father's love and guidance, no matter how harsh it is.
"Bless my mind I miss being told how to live. What I learned without knowing how much more I owe than I can give"
For a guy who lives a life that might not be approved by his parents...this song just hits like a rock.
mstigall, I like your interpretation; you put into words why this song resonates with so many people, even though it is a specific story about a religious father and the conflict w/ his non-religious son. It hits home for anyone who did not live up to their parent's expectations or chose a different path in life that their parents couldn't understand or accept. Breaks my heart, too. Rhonda
mstigall, I like your interpretation; you put into words why this song resonates with so many people, even though it is a specific story about a religious father and the conflict w/ his non-religious son. It hits home for anyone who did not live up to their parent's expectations or chose a different path in life that their parents couldn't understand or accept. Breaks my heart, too. Rhonda
The song is heartbreaklingly beautiful. The subtitle is (Song for Jane Smiley's Boyfriend)
Tweedy said in and interview that the song was about meeting Jane Smiley's boyfriend at a dinner and having a poignant conversation in which the boyfriend spoke about his overly religious father who condemned him for the way he lives his life and the son's relief when his father died.
I was wondering if this was the writer, Jane Smiley. Thanks for the answer. Do you know where the interview can be found? I think this may be the most beautiful song Tweedy has written yet.
I was wondering if this was the writer, Jane Smiley. Thanks for the answer. Do you know where the interview can be found? I think this may be the most beautiful song Tweedy has written yet.
I tried to find it so I could post the exact quote but couldn't track it down. Sorry.
I tried to find it so I could post the exact quote but couldn't track it down. Sorry.
I love the way he write songs with beautiful tension. The juxtaposition of dark and light. Exploring the human spirit in the most honest and raw yet tender way. For me this is in the same camp as She's a Jar and Via Chicago.
I love the way he write songs with beautiful tension. The juxtaposition of dark and light. Exploring the human spirit in the most honest and raw yet tender way. For me this is in the same camp as She's a Jar and Via Chicago.
I think the actual quote was from an article in St. Louis magazine: " Q: There’s a song on the new album called “One Sunday Morning (Song for Jane Smiley’s Boyfriend). Smiley’s from Webster Groves–do you know her?
I think the actual quote was from an article in St. Louis magazine: " Q: There’s a song on the new album called “One Sunday Morning (Song for Jane Smiley’s Boyfriend). Smiley’s from Webster Groves–do you know her?
A. (from Tweedy): I don’t know her very well, but I have met her and her boyfriend, and I’m a little nervous about that song now because I’m hoping that it will be taken in good spirits. Having met her only once, though, I will say that I know her better than I know her work even. It’s...
A. (from Tweedy): I don’t know her very well, but I have met her and her boyfriend, and I’m a little nervous about that song now because I’m hoping that it will be taken in good spirits. Having met her only once, though, I will say that I know her better than I know her work even. It’s really more about the meeting of her boyfriend, and I had a really poignant moment over dinner with him one time, so I thought it was cool to reflect that in the song. Even though now I’m really sad that I’m going to have to skirt around this for the next year.
Perhaps it is the atheist in me, but I have been a wilco fan since A.M., and still think this might be their most beautiful song.
I hear the first and last stanzas/verses as:
This is how I'll tell it Oh, but it's long One Sunday Morning Oh, when the sun is gone ("I'll" sounds like just "I" at the end though)
I hear the first line of the second stanza as: "Against silhouetted dawning" but I could have that wrong. I'm fairly certain though that "How am I forgiven?" should be "How will I forgive him?".
Great song, and a very different type of songwriting than we usually see from Jeff.
I think this is one of his best. I wrote down the lyrics during the 24 hour live stream, listening to it over and over. He usually includes lyrics with his albums, so we'll be able to see for sure what the words are when this album is released in about a week.
I think this is one of his best. I wrote down the lyrics during the 24 hour live stream, listening to it over and over. He usually includes lyrics with his albums, so we'll be able to see for sure what the words are when this album is released in about a week.
While I understand that the intentional meaning was about Jane Smiley's boyfriend, I believe that the beautiful thing about music is that it can mean whatever you want it to. I believe that the song is about a religiously rebellious boy who religion imposed upon. he is emotionally destroyed because his ideas of reality are undermined so terribly by his own father. It is almost as if he is lost his own life when his father does, because he is left in a turmoil. It is an endless cycle that causes him to die inside, hence the line, "One son is gone."
Maybe the son is gone but he's only gone in the eyes of the father. Now that the father is out of the picture the son is reborn to a new life.
Maybe the son is gone but he's only gone in the eyes of the father. Now that the father is out of the picture the son is reborn to a new life.
This song peters on significantly after its lyrics come to rest. There is a particular instrument dynamic that always brings a tear to my eye: Right after the narrator ceases his recollection, the song lingers on a painful, monotonous bass segment. Although the narrator's spoken account has concluded by this point, his listlessness is made most palpable here. The mundane thuds of the bass audibly construct the narrator's mental rut. Then it is so emotionally uplifting when the song fades out with a jumpy, melodic bass line.
Just got my Whole Love album in the mail, complete with booklet and lyrics! I corrected the words above, according to the booklet.
Thanks! Mine hasn't even been shipped yet, or at least I haven't received an email yet saying that it's been shipped. Can't wait!
Thanks! Mine hasn't even been shipped yet, or at least I haven't received an email yet saying that it's been shipped. Can't wait!
From Spin: Loosely inspired by the Pulitzer Prize-winning author's books, Tweedy says it's an autobiographical tune with ten verses: "It has a pretty long narrative."
From an interview with Jane Smiley on Galleycat (MediaBristo.com): Smiley says, “Apparently my partner was chatting to Jeff Tweedy about some religious thoughts. I don’t quite understand the song, but those who’ve heard it seem to really like it, especially the music. I do think that it is really funny that someone as square (and old) as myself would end up in the title of a song in an alt-rock group’s album.”
From Chicago Mag.com: “Now he’s [the dead father] going to know he was wrong and that there is an only loving God,” Tweedy explains.
I love this song; it reminds me of a young me and my father. Luckily, he hasn't passed yet and I still have time to repay what I owe. It's funny how much we think we know when we're younger. I listen to it every time I drive to his house in Virginia's house country. I associate some very special memories with it and many beautiful images pop into my mind when I hear it.
hah... horse country*.
hah... horse country*.
Interesting how this is so sad but still uplifting in that old gospel/bluesy kind of way. Is there something here about the trinity- father, son, ghost (maybe jane's boyfriend since he never actually makes an appearance?). Aren't there some ancient myths about slaying the father in order to realize the full potential of the son? "I wouldn't bother, he belongs to me now". The way the song fades, then rebirths into something slightly more lively, more soulful, more forward- looking. Love the piano over.