2:39
The Revival Tour 2011 Collections, 2011
Written by Brian Fallon
Fallon, the vocalist for the excellent band Gaslight Anthem, turns in gritty acoustic here, his gravelly, aching voice never before sounding so much like Bruce Springsteen. The song is addressed to an unknown adversary, someone who has thrown stones in the narrator's path. In the chorus, Fallon rewrites the old blues trope "I asked for water, she brought me gasoline" into something wider and more elemental. "And all I wanted from you was no weather / And no dark clouds since I was young / All I needed was slow peaceful rivers / All I felt was poison on my tongue." There's venom in the verses ("Did your mother raise you with Judas or Jesus?") but also a weary dignity. When he multiplies his own voice for backing vocals at the end, it's not for polish, but to suggest solidarity, a lone man harmonizing with his own ghosts.
No comments:
Post a Comment