This song caught my attention immediately the first time I heard it. Before I even heard the vocals. A song with an evocative guitar line of only a few notes, sparse instrumentation, and lyrics and vocals that all go together to make something bleak and yet warm, in a loving, longing way.
First a little about the singer, then a bit about the possible significance of the title.
After that, I present the lyrics, and try to interpret them as best I can. Then the recording. And lastly, I write a bit about the song’s origin.
The singer..
From Wikipedia:
Leif Vollebekk is a Canadian indie folk singer-songwriter, of mixed Norwegian Canadian and French Canadian descent[4] and originally from Ottawa, Ontario,[5] he learned to play violin, guitar and piano in childhood.[4] While studying philosophy at the University of Ottawa he spent some time in Iceland on an educational exchange,[4] before moving to Montreal after graduation to pursue his musical career.[5]”
“East of Eden” is from Vollebekk’s third album, “Twin Solitude,” which was released in 2017.
The title..
Genesis:
The Book of Genesis is the first book of the Bible. The Bible is better thought of as a collection or library of books, written over the course of more than a thousand years, than thought of as one book, like a novel.
Those of you familiar with the Bible know that Adam and Eve, the first man and first woman created by God, according to the story, were banished from the Garden of Eden, and were sent east. They were banished because they had disobeyed God and had eaten of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.
We know they were sent east of Eden because of Genesis 3:24 (The parenthetical explanations are mine, not found in the text): “So He (God) drove out the man (and his wife, of course) , and placed cherubim (an angel) at the east of the Garden of Eden, and a flaming sword, which turned every way, to guard the tree of life.”
Eve did not bear her first child until after she and Adam were banished. Their first child was a son, who they named Cain. Cain was not only the first human born of woman, but the first murderer.
The second son was named Abel. Abel brought to God an offering that pleased God. Abel was a shepherd and brought God the best of his lambs, slaughtered. Cain was a farmer, and brought God the best of his crops. God did not like this offering. no mention why, in the Bible, except that God said Cain had done wrong.
Cain was very angry that God did not like his offering, so he killed Abel in a field. After he killed his brother, Cain was banished.
“Then Cain went out from the presence of the Lord and dwelt in the Land of Nod on the east of Eden.” Genesis 4:16.
Land of Nod?
From Wikipedia: “Nod” (נוד) is the Hebrew root of the verb “to wander” (לנדוד). Therefore, to dwell in the land of Nod can mean to live a wandering life.”
.Like his parents, Cain was banished. East of Eden represents a place that is away from paradise. Cain was not born in Eden, and he never was allowed to go there. He became a wanderer.
John Steinbeck.
The title of John Steinbeck’s classic novel, “East of Eden,” was taken from this Bible verse. I wish I could tell you that I’ve read the book, but I have not, though I have read several others by Steinbeck. Going by the title, and by some of Steinbeck’s other works, I’m guessing the novel is a tragedy.
The story was turned into a film many years ago, one of only three movies starring James Dean.
No, I haven’t seen the film either.
But what does the song have to do with the Bible story or Steinbeck’s novel?
Seems like the song is about a wonderful relationship that ended. Paradise was lost, and we don’t know why.
The woman went wandering.
The singer, the narrator, is looking back on the relationship, savoring the memories, and wondering where his lost love has gone.
When I write about a song that is not well-known, I like to post the lyrics first, and the song later.
Here are the lyrics, and you will notice the Eden reference:
You got the jack of diamonds
I got the knight of hearts
When the cards get stuck together
So hard to pull them apart
I think your face is showing
The first time in years
That it has stayed on the ground
And when it hits the streets
Oh, it don’t make a sound
She’s just like a book
And I don’t want it to end
Take it with me where I go
Turn the pages slow
She’s just like a book
I don’t want it to end
Love, how we talk at night
In the blue electric lights
Love, how we talk at night
Well, love, how we talk at night
In the blue electric light
No, I’m not the only one
At least I’m not the lonely one
No, I’m not the only one
At least I’m not the lonely one
Just do what you are doing
Do what you are doing
Just do what you are doing
I already wrote about what I think of the Eden reference, and what the song is about, so I’ll just start at the beginning and try to puzzle out the rest of the lyrics.
I know playings cards have meanings, so I decided to look up the two cards mentioned in the beginning of the song.
Presumably, it is the woman Vollebekk is speaking directly to, at first, and then later, but in the middle of the song, seems to be talking with someone else.
In the beginning of the song, it is the woman who has the Jack of Diamonds.
Here are some meanings for this card:
“Isolated, the Jack of Diamonds represents the postman or, better said, the messenger. It also symbolizes a young soldier or an unfaithful servant (assistant, employee); sometimes a young blond man, traitor and of bad morals. If the consultant is a young man, it is the announcement of new lovers.” – from cardarium.com.
How can the significance of this card be applied here? I can’t think of anything that really fits. The woman is not a messenger. Unfaithful? Doubtful. It is possible the narrator would still wish for the woman to be with him again, and be in a sadly romantic, reminiscing mood even if she cheated on him, but probably not.
Nope, I can’t make anything out of the Jack of Diamonds, and why it is associated with the woman.
The man has the Knight of Hearts.. well guess what.. there is no “knight of hearts” in a standard playing card deck. No knights at all.
Closest I can get to this card is in a Tarot deck, the Knight of Cups.
“In the Knight of Cups, a knight rides on a white horse and holds out a golden cup as if he bears a message from the heart.” – from biddytarot.com
Tarot cards have two meanings. One is positive, and one negative. From biddytarot.com,
UPRIGHT: Creativity, romance, charm, imagination, beauty.
REVERSED: Overactive imagination, unrealistic, jealous, moody.
The narrator of the song and the song itself is definitely romantic, creative. Perhaps he also has the negative traits of this card, and that is why the woman left.
“The cards get stuck together..” I think this could be a reference to a couple going from two to become one. All mixed up in each other, so much so, that seeing the individual can be difficult.
But the next line says.. “I think your face is showing.”
It seems the woman has disentangled herself from her man. She can be seen as an individual.
The reference to the weather I think does not have much symbolic significance, except that it emphasizes the bleak and lonely and beautiful feel of the music and the mood.
I imagine the man is alone watching the snow fall, and thinking about the woman.
In the next part, he is talking to someone else, or thinking to himself.. “Tell me is she east of Eden?”
So, yes, the woman has gone somewhere else.. wandering.
“She’s just like a book and I don’t want it to end..”
I like this line.. You probably remember reading a book for the first time that eventually became one of your favorite novels. You felt the same way. You didn’t want the story to end.
I think what he is referring to is his memories. He can take his memories with him and think about her wherever he is.
Not only that, but also he’d like to have her with him. She is wonderful, and he didn’t want to be separated from her.
Next he is talking to the woman again.. “Love, how we talk at night in the blue electric light.”
I think of blue at night as a soothing color. Peaceful.
Back when I was living in the Central Valley of California, I would, at night, sometimes drive past a little place called The Blue Light Motel, on the outskirts of the small city of Ripon, on my way home.
I really liked that landmark. A very small hotel with one line of neon blue running horizontally just under the eaves.
I always felt peaceful when I slowly rode past.
When I heard the song, I imagined a couple standing late at night at the motel, underneath the blue light, quietly talking.
The following line..
“No, I’m not the only one?” What does he mean?
Not the only one who loves to talk at night. He means his woman loved this too.
But I also think he is referring to couples in general enjoying talking at night.
“At least I’m not the lonely one.”
An ironic line. He is lonely. He’s looking back to the time when he wasn’t, but is feeling romantic and lonely now.
“Do what you are doing.”
I had to think about this one a little. Just saying keep on with whatever you are doing and wherever you are, I’m not going to come find you.
I value these memories. I miss you, but I’m going to let you be.
That’s the feel of the song, I think.
Before I present the song, I want to write just a bit about the instrumentation. Although I am not a good guitar player, I am a pretty good listener. The guitar tone is not quite like any I’ve ever heard, and neither is the guitar line.
I’m guessing the guitar is one equipped with single coil pickups – I won’t get in depth into guitar electronics now, but single coil pickups, like those commonly found on Fender electric guitars, have a slightly thinner sound than pickups called humbuckers, which are two single coils wired together to get a fuller sound. A single coil-equipped guitar could be partially responsible for this particular tone.
I don’t know if my guess is correct. I don’t know what kind of guitar was used on the recording. But in a few live videos, Vollebekk is indeed playing a Fender equipped with single coil pickups.
What guitar effects is he using? I’m really not sure. The drums have a certain way about them too, especially when the cymbals are hit. The drums were skillfully mic’d to achieve this sound.
Lastly, I read in an article on the the website brightonsbest.com (https://brightonsfinest.com/music/album-reviews/leif-vollebekk-twin-solitude/2017/) that Vollebekk recorded this album the old-fashioned way – on analog tape. Also, he mostly played live in the studio, instead of doing a lot of overdubs and laying each track down individually. The sound is raw and honestly and purposefully a bit imperfect this way. And that’s another reason why it sounds the way it does.
The music, lyrics, and Vollebekk’s voice go together beautifully.
Here is the song..
The song’s origin..
According to Jeff Hemmings, the writer of the article I mentioned, Vollebekk is, “very straight-forward about his source. In this case it’s Gillian Welch’s spiritualist-cultural epic ‘I Dream A Highway’. Vollebekk says he found himself singing new verses to the existing rhythm and melody of the song. But, in doing so, has created a new, albeit much shorter version.”
Gillian Welch is one of the greats of Americana music. “I Dream A Highway,” is over 14 minutes long. No wonder Vollebekk wanted to write a shorter song.
I’ve found conflicting information about who actually wrote “East of Eden.”. Mostly, this song is credited to Gillian Welch and David Rawlings, but elsewhere, Vollebekk is listed as one of the songwriters.
Regardless, it is lovely, and one of my favorite songs that I have discovered in the past year. I spend a LOT of time exploring music – sometimes using a streaming service – that’s how I found this song – and sometimes by buying a great many used CD’s from various decades – most of them sampler albums – and harvesting the songs I like – adding them to my digital collection.
Yes, “East of Eden” is one of the best I’ve heard in a long time.
Beautiful.
Thanks to Leif Vollebekk, Gillian Welch, David Rawlings, Jeff Hemmings, and the websites brightonsbest.com, cardarium.com, biddytarot.com, and of course thanks to the many writers of the articles on Wikipedia.
The Covers: X – “The Man In Black.
Last of four posts featuring Johnny Cash.
This one is odd for three reasons:
- It is not entirely a cover, since Johnny sings on part of the cover – he does a duet with the singer of the band covering this tune.
- This version is a hard rock/punk version by an obscure band. A punk cover had been made the year previous to this recording, but it was made by a much better-known band. In an earlier post, I presented the classic punk group Social Distortion’s cover of “Ring of Fire.” Cash did not sing on that one. What’s strange is the band this time was not at all famous. And Cash was on the recording. Only people like me who are in their 40’s or older, and who were into Christian hard rock when we were young (I graduated high school in 1991), probably remember the band Cash did this cover tune with.
- The third strange thing is I can find no information online on how this collaboration came to be.
This song is one of Cash’s best known and best loved. Here is some info from Wikipedia on the history of the song:
“Man in Black” (or “The Man in Black“) is a protest song written and recorded by singer-songwriter Johnny Cash, originally released on his 1971 album of the same name. Cash himself was known as “The Man in Black” for his distinctive style of on-stage costuming. The lyrics are an after-the-fact explanation of this with the entire song as a protest statement against the treatment of poor people by wealthy politicians, mass incarceration, and the war in Vietnam. In the intro to his first performance of the song, Johnny Cash revealed he had talked to some of the audience members from Vanderbilt University that weekend, and was inspired to write “Man in Black,” revising it a few times just before the concert on Wednesday. He performed the song holding a piece of paper with the just-revised lyrics. At the end of the song he received a standing ovation.”
And now, the cover version/duet.. with the Christian punk/hardrock band One Bad Pig – a band who many Christians did not like.. these guys enjoyed smashing guitars and doing Gallagher-like stunts (though no watermelon smashing), and generally had a good time on stage. They, like pretty much all Christian bands except Stryper, were unknown outside of Christian circles.
But Cash was cool enough and had a good enough sense of humor to not only allow this recording, but to sing on it.
Cash purists will not like this cover version, but I am still going to post it. Why? Because it is a lot of fun. Also, I remember, back in ’91, a friend telling me “Johnny Cash is on the new One Bad Pig album!” I’d already bought OBP’s first album, and was a fan. I was very surprised to hear Cash on the second one.
So, from the 1991 album, “I Scream Sunday,” here is Johnny Cash and the band, One Bad Pig:
Alrighty.. Hope you aren’t deaf..
This was the last of four posts with Johnny Cash. I don’t plan on doing multiple posts on bands in the future, but who knows.. Actually, yes, I do have two Led Zeppelin covers in mind.. but I won’t be doing either of those next..
Next post is a song from one of the best known ’80’s syth-pop/new wave bands, and an Italian metal group’s fantastic cover.
RIP Johnny Cash.. you were, and always will be, The Man in Black.
The Covers: IX – “Hurt.”
This is the third of four posts featuring Jonny Cash.
As I mentioned in the previous post, Cash made several albums late in his career, with producer Rick Rubin.
Rubin had some unusual ideas for songs he thought Cash could cover. Last post was about the Soundgarden song “Rusty Cage,” and Cash’s cover of it.
This is the other cover that Cash is most famous for, at least for people of my generation, “Hurt.” The song was originally recorded by Nine Inch Nails, an incredibly popular industrial hard rock band, fronted by Trent Reznor. (Supposedly, the nails used to crucify Christ were nine inches long. And no, NIN is not a Christian band).
Reznor wrote “Hurt,” and most if not all NIN songs. He also has created much of the musical arrangements. Reznor pretty much is Nine Inch Nails. “Hurt” was from NIN’s bestselling album, “The Downward Spiral,” released in 1994.
A word about industrial music before I go any further.. it is a genre that blends elements of dark hard rock, such as distorted guitar tones and intense vocals, as well as disturbing lyrics, with strange sound effects, including noises you might hear at a construction site, auto shop, or a factory. Lots of different mechanical noises, and sounds created on a computer or with a synthesizer, programmed drum beats.. Weird stuff.
Here is the original recording.. it starts almost imperceptibly, with just an eery sound effect for a few seconds..
And here is Johnny Cash’s version, from the album “American Recordings IV: When the Man Comes Around.” This album, from late 2002, was the last of Cash’s to be released while he was still alive. Cash died in 2003, at the age of 71.
Here is the cover song, not just the audio, but the video as well. One of the best videos ever made, I think. Especially if you know about Johnny’s past – struggles with drug addiction and so forth that not only caused damage to himself, but those closest to him as well.
If you would like to know the story of Cash teaming up with Rick Rubin, and how this song came to be covered by Cash, please take 10 minutes or so to watch this video from one of my favorite youtube channels, Rock and Roll True Stories. In the video are scenes from Cash’s last interview, as well as audio from an interview with Trent Reznor, the writer of this song.
For my fourth and last post on Johnny Cash, I am going to do something rather odd, that I don’t feel exactly good about. I think “Hurt” would have been a good place to end things with Cash, but..
Next post I’m going to present to you a song that isn’t entirely a cover song, since Johnny sings on both the original, one of his classics, and does a truly bizarre duet with an obscure Christian hard rock band that covered the song. I’m doing this to show a lighter, humorous side of Johnny Cash, and what a good sport he was to re-record one of his most famous songs in such a strange way.
After that post.. not sure.. too many ideas..
Stay with me..
The Covers: VIII – “Rusty Cage.”
Greetings once again, music lovers! Tonight’s offering will be the second of four posts featuring Johnny Cash.
The song “Rusty Cage” was originally recorded by one of my favorite bands, Soundgarden. This band was tremendously influential in the ’90’s, and one of the Big Four grunge bands from Seattle, the others being Pearl Jam, Alice In Chains, and Nirvana.
“Rusty Cage” was written by one of the greatest rock singers ever, the late Chris Cornell, and was from the 1991 album “Badmotorfinger.”
A few things I want to write about regarding this song and video, 1. This is not even close to my favorite Soundgarden song, even though it is one of their classics. The fast tempo of most of the song is not something they did very often. They tended to have more riff-heavy slow songs. 2. I’ve learned not to try and make sense out of Soundgarden’s lyrics.. such as the lyrics in the slow part of the song. 3. If you suffer from epilepsy, I recommend not watching this video. I’m serious.
Ok.. You’ve been warned..
After hearing this song, you are probably wondering why one of the greatest music legends of the 20th century, Johnny Cash, decided to cover this..
Ok.. I will be as brief as I can..
Legendary music producer Rick Rubin (a sasquatch-wolfman looking dude with sunglasses he wears indoors) had previously talked with Cash about making an album. Cash made an album with Rubin called “American Recordings.” This was Cash’s.. wait for it.. 81st album!
Awhile later, Rubin and Cash made another album. This one was called “Unchained,” released in 1996 .. and no, the Van Halen song “Unchained” is not the one Johnny covered.. it’s a different “Unchained.”
This album featured some covers. That in itself, not an odd idea.. but.. Rubin thought “Rusty Cage” would be a good song for Johnny to cover. The 64-year-old Cash was surprised, but his backup band, mostly comprised of Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, came up with an arrangement.. and it worked amazingly well. I like the Cash version a LOT more than Soundgarden’s original. You probably will too.
Alright.. a bit of bonus material.. a short video on how the album “Unchained” was made.
Next post, Johnny Cash with a cover of the heart-breaking song “Hurt,” originally recorded by Nine Inch Nails.
The Covers: VII – “Ring of Fire.”
The last two posts involved Dolly Parton. This and the next three after will be partially about Johnny Cash.
As with several other songs, the version I thought was an original by a famous performer turned out to be a cover.
That’s right. “Ring of Fire,” originally “(Love’s) Ring of Fire,” was written by Cash’s future wife, June Carter and her cowriter Merle Kilgore. It was recorded by June’s sister Anita in late 1962, and released in 1963.
Here is the original..
Wow.. so different from any other recording of this song! And it is rather good! I love how her voice goes up a few times before it fades.. Maybe this is an example of the “high lonesome sound” of old-timey and early country music.
Next is Johnny Cash’s version.. also released in 1963.. and I really can’t stand it. Why? The damn mariachi band. Some mariachi music I can sort of appreciate, but not in a Johnny Cash song!
You want to hear johnny’s version without the horns? Ok. Here he is, late in his career, performing part of the song live, without horns.. yeah this is better.
And now the version I am most familiar with.. the punk rock cover by Social Distortion, This version was released in 1990.
There are other covers besides these of course. I just wanted to post the two I’m most familiar with, as well as the original, which I just discovered this past week. I will be adding the original to my early country-old-timey-americana playlist on my various devices. I call that playlist “kinda folksy,” and it spans many decades.
Next post.. Johnny Cash and the mighty Soundgarden.
The Covers: VI – “Jolene.”
Last post, I wrote a bit about a song called “Making Believe.” I first thought it was an original by a Danish metal and punk band called Volbeat. Later, I heard Dolly Parton’s version and thought she’d written it. Nope. It was recorded in 1954 by a country singer named Jimmy Work. Not a Dolly original, like I’d thought.
The song for this post, “Jolene,” is a Dolly original, and one of her most famous tunes.
Here is Dolly explaining the origin of the song, and performing it:
And here is the version I first heard.. which will blow your head off..
The White Stripes.. Jack and Meg White.. Jack often claimed they were brother and sister. Not true. They were married for little while. Among many unconventional things Jack has done, he took Meg’s surname, instead of her taking his, when they married.
They were married from 1996-2000. They formed their radical, intense, two person band in 1997. They got divorced before they became massively popular. Must have been weird to tour together after the divorce, but Jack is a weird dude..
I don’t really need to write about the woman who wrote and originally recorded this song. She’s a legend.
But I do feel I should mention an amazing, very entertaining, and even educational podcast series called Dolly Parton’s America, created and hosted by Jad Abumrad (pronounced ah-boom-rod), one of the two guys from one of NPR’s most well-loved shows, Radiolab. (NPR – National Public Radio, in the US. There are tons of NPR and related podcasts.. some of them really worth listening to, such as Radiolab). Abumrad met Dolly because his father was her doctor.
Abumrad and Parton got to talking, and Jad had an idea for a podcast.. not just about Dolly, but about the country music scene when Dolly was young, how America has changed over the decades, and many more subjects.
Not having grown up with country music or being much of a country fan now, I’ve, until recently, paid little attention to Dolly Parton. When I was a kid, other boys told me about her boobs. That’s pretty much all I knew about her when I was young. Country singer with big boobs.
There’s a LOT more to know. I listened to the whole series. It was excellent. I’ll listen to it again someday.
Check it out here..
https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/dolly-partons-america
The next four posts will feature Johnny Cash!
Thanks for stoppin’ by!
The Covers: V – “Making Believe.”
5th in my cover tunes series..
I first heard this song as performed by Danish metal/punk/country band Volbeat, on their 2008 album, “Guitar Gangsters and Cadillac Blood.” Having never heard the tune before, I figured it was an original..
But then I heard a version by Dolly Parton, and thought that one was an original..
..Until I looked up the song on youtube and saw a comment stating that there was an earlier version by a woman called Kitty Wells, and that she had recorded the song in 1955..
That version was also a cover. A lot of people online don’t know this, apparently.. judging by various youtube comments.. This song has been covered by over 20 artists and bands! I had no idea.
Sadly, this is a song that pretty much every human being on the planet can relate to. I think that’s partially why it has been covered so often.
The original was recorded by Jimmy Work, in 1955, according to Wikipedia, but in 1954, according to a website called secondhandsongs.
Ok then.. as far as I can tell, this is the original..
Here is the Kitty Wells version from the same year, or a year later..
Here is Dolly Parton’s cover, from 1963..
(If I get any of the dates, years wrong, etc. please let me know, and provide evidence, not opinion. Thanks).
I like some of Dolly Parton’s recordings, but for me, that was excruciating.
Those of you who like classic country, but who don’t like punk or metal will not care for my favorite version.. the one I first heard.. by Volbeat..
Alright, and yes, to be fair, even a punk version of this had previously been recorded, in 1992, by Social Distortion, so what Volbeat did.. making the song heavy.. wasn’t their idea.. ok whatever. I like Volbeat more than Social Distortion, so there..
That was fun.. amazing how far down the rabbit hole goes with some of these cover songs!
Next covers post.. a Dolly Parton original.. (it damn well better be).. covered by The White Stripes.
Wandering Spirit 