Zevon Song of the Week #26
haro...@yahoo.ca
Category: Party
For those of us who know the circumstances behind The Wind, and all of
us do, The Rest Of The Night has a bittersweet feel to it. The casual
listener might assume that it's a simple homage to having a good
time, a happy and unfettered romp. But we know in this case that Warren
is celebrating under a cloud, a danse macabre as it were.
Is it a party song? A strong case could be made that it belongs in the
Mortality category, as surely as the other two songs that are there so
far, LKY and Prison Grove. But there are enough Zevon songs already in
that particular category. The Party category may begin and end with The
Rest Of The Night, but who cares? There's no law against a category
with one entry.
And I'm in a party mood. Tuesday night enough American voters finally
came to their senses to effectively end the six-year bully (and
criminal, as in war criminal) regime of Cheney and Bush. They're both
now as lame as the ducks that Cheney goes hunting for and occasionally
even hits. If people listened carefully this week, they could hear the
simultaneous sighs of relief breathed by tens of millions of thinking
people around the world.
Yeah, yeah! Oh, yeah! Let's party for the rest of the night!
That's the beauty of Zevon songs--they can be applied to all kinds of
situations.
Here's what Dwight Ozard had to say about The Rest Of The Night in
his article about The Wind, "Bang the Drum Loudly"
(http://www.dwightozard.com/lq-article.asp?id=56):
"In the face of certain death, everything becomes a function of
community and companionship-even the limits of sentiment.
"A good, if surprising example is "The Rest of the Night," an
invitation to pure revelry and comraderie (sic) that in another context
might seem a caricature of rock and roll excess. Against the backdrop
of "numbered days," however, it rings as absolutely responsible.
Zevon understood that the certainty of death must not stand in the way
of a full, throaty and defiant laugh and a long night of merriment.
Indeed, death demands such things."
Well said, sir. And who better to provide the harmony vocals on a song
like this than Tom Petty, making his first appearance on a Zevon album?
Better late than never.
So have a good time with this one. It's the only truly upbeat song on
The Wind. If you work hard enough, you can forget its double meanings.
Just groove with Warren: You may never get the chance again.
Categories to date
-------------------------
Addiction and Recovery: 2
Cover: 2
Family: 1
Geopolitical: 1
History: 1
Law and Order: 1
Love-Gone-Wrong: 6
Mortality: 2
Party: 1
Satire: 3
Social Commentary: 5
Sports: 1
Jill A.
news:1163241735.6...@m73g2000cwd.googlegroups.com...
> Here's what Dwight Ozard had to say about The Rest Of The Night in
> his article about The Wind, "Bang the Drum Loudly"
> (http://www.dwightozard.com/lq-article.asp?id=56):
>
> "In the face of certain death, everything becomes a function of
> community and companionship-even the limits of sentiment.
>
> "A good, if surprising example is "The Rest of the Night," an
> invitation to pure revelry and comraderie (sic) that in another context
> might seem a caricature of rock and roll excess. Against the backdrop
> of "numbered days," however, it rings as absolutely responsible.
> Zevon understood that the certainty of death must not stand in the way
> of a full, throaty and defiant laugh and a long night of merriment.
> Indeed, death demands such things."
Thanks for that link, Howard. Ozard was certainly in a position to
understand the bittersweetness of The Rest of the Night, having been
diagnosed with multiple myeloma. I was sorry to read that Ozard himself is
gone now too, but I'm glad he had WZ's music to help him feel understood and
less alone. Some of Ozard's other entries are worth reading, as well.
Jill
haro...@yahoo.ca
> Ozard was certainly in a position to
> understand the bittersweetness of The Rest of the Night, having been
> diagnosed with multiple myeloma. I was sorry to read that Ozard himself is
> gone now too, but I'm glad he had WZ's music to help him feel understood and
> less alone. Some of Ozard's other entries are worth reading, as well.
>
> Jill
I did not know that about Ozard.
Your point about The Wind is well taken, though. Just like he did with
Tom Arnold in rehab, Warren had the gift for making people feel less
alone.