Scene From A Marriage

SCENE: Carroll Gardens, on an early spring afternoon.
CHARACTERS:
Glenn Kenny, hereafter referred to as "GK," recently deprived-of-steady-employment film critic.

His Lovely Wife Claire, hereafter referred to as "HLW," actress, administrative assistant, overall wonder of nature.

(As the couple stroll down Second Place, an SUV rolls by, blaring Thin Lizzy's '70s hit, "The Boys Are Back In Town.")

GK (nodding in nostalgic approval): Nice. Lizzy.

HLW: I always got them mixed up with Bachman-Turner Overdrive.

GK: Oh, no way. Totally different animal.
(unfortunately, he begins singing)
Friday night they'll be dressed to kill...
Down at Dino's Bar and Grill...
(ceases singing, furrows brow)
...because, as everybody knows, Ireland is replete with joints called "Dino's".
(resumes singing, alas)
drinks will flow and blood will spill,
and if the boys wanna fight you better let 'em...
(ceases singing again, thank the lord)
That part always bothered me. "Blood will spill." Okay, so blood will spill. But they follow it with "And if the boys wanna fight." When they say "blood will spill," don't you think that presupposes the boys are gonna fight to begin with?

HLW: Well, yeah, absolutely.

GK: It's like when the Butthole Surfers did that song "The Shah Sleeps in Lee Harvey's Grave." "There's a time to fuck and a time to crave, but the Shah sleeps in Lee Harvey's grave." I think when R.J. Smith reviewed it, he just said, "But?"

HLW: Well, in the case of this song, you know, it could just be that Dino, the proprietor of the aforementioned Bar and Grill, is a hemophiliac; hence, he's cutting himself all the time and getting blood everywhere as he goes about his business. And that's why, at his place, the blood will spill even before the boys decide whether or not they want to fight.

GK: I think you're on to something there.

(GK and HLW enter subway station, and, scene.)

Comments

[Dave]

Glenn,
The boys are definitely gonna fight. And, given that the boys are gonna fight if they want to (and they totally want to), you better let 'em. Just sayin'.

Though the hemophiliac theory is pretty awesome too.

[Ryland Walker Knight]

Say, you heard that Mountain Goats cover (live on German radio) that segues into an R Kelly ("Ignition Remix") cover? It's pretty dope. That is, if you like nasal-y white guys accompanied by aggressive (and aggressively simple) acoustic guitar strumming; if that sounds hellish, I understand. BUT: If you desire a listen, here's a link --

http://www.zshare.net/audio/11880910c6a2cf6d/

[James Rocchi]

There's another Thin Lizzy philosophical quandary that's always driven me nuts, in "Jailbreak":

"Tonight, there's gonna be a jailbreak/Somewhere in this town ..."

I know that Phil's trying to be conspiratorial, and all secretive about his friend's plans, but isn't it logical to assume that the Jailbreak will occur, oh, I don't know, somewhere near the jail?

[lazarus]

Nothing confouned me more in Phil Lynott's lyrics than the opening verses to Dancin' in the Moonlight:

"When I passed you in the doorway
You took me with a glance
I should have took that last bus home
But I asked you for a dance

Now we go steady to the pictures
I always get chocolate stains on my pants
My father he's going crazy
Say's I'm living in a trance"

So, the guy is so smitten with this new girl, that he can't help from defecating on himself during movie dates? I mean, how many chicks are willing to put up with something like that? I don't think the father is the one who's crazy here.

[Dan]

@James

Best iPod moment ever: "Jailbreak" followed immediately by Nick Cave's cover of "There's No Night Out at the Jail".

[oakling]

ha! your wife is AWESOME.

[Will Grigg]

Look, given that Ireland's most notable rock star was a black man, I'm willing to believe that somewhere on that lovely Emerald Isle there is at least ONE bar and grill named "Dino's." Besides, since the original title of this immortal tune was to be "GI Joe's Back In Town," we can assume the setting is somewhere in the U.S.A.

As to the "Jailbreak" conundrum -- The action described in that song takes place in an enclosed prison community. That's right: the whole TOWN is one big prison. Once this is understood, it's entirely reasonable that only those apprised of the plot would know exactly WHERE the jailbreak would occur.

As to "Dancin' in the Moonlight" -- the chocolate stains adverted to were the result of untidy people who had occupied the seats BEFORE Philo and his inamorata arrived.

Are there any other Lynott lyrics I can elucidate, seeing that I have nothing else clamoring for my time and attention?

[Will Grigg]

Look, given that Ireland's most notable rock star was a black man, I'm willing to believe that somewhere on that lovely Emerald Isle there is at least ONE bar and grill named "Dino's." Besides, since the original title of this immortal tune was to be "GI Joe's Back In Town," we can assume the setting is somewhere in the U.S.A.

As to the "Jailbreak" conundrum -- The action described in that song takes place in an enclosed prison community. That's right: the whole TOWN is one big prison. Once this is understood, it's entirely reasonable that only those apprised of the plot would know exactly WHERE the jailbreak would occur.

As to "Dancin' in the Moonlight" -- the chocolate stains adverted to were the result of untidy people who had occupied the seats BEFORE Philo and his inamorata arrived.

Are there any other Lynott lyrics I can elucidate, seeing that I have nothing else clamoring for my time and attention?

[marriage and sex]

Scene From A Marriage is a good post, I really enjoyed, thanks for sharing!