Zevon Song of the Week #24
haro...@yahoo.ca
Category: Love-Gone-Wrong
"The real highlight, however, is the ballad "The Indifference of
Heaven," which resonates equally with beauty, isolation, and defeat."
- CDUniverse review of Mutineer
Warren wrote The Indifference Of Heaven (TIOH) in 1993, and sang it
during his solo European tour that resulted in the Learning To Flinch
live disc. That album also featured the debut of Piano Fighter. Both
songs were re-recorded in the studio for Mutineer in 1995. The LTF
version of TIOH also made the cut for the 2-CD Rhino box set that came
out in 1996, giving it the distinction of being the only song to ever
appear on three consecutive Zevon albums.
On Learning To Flinch, TIOH isn't really finished at the song's
4:12 conclusion. Warren slowly transitions into PPPM by means of some
wonderful improvisational 12-string guitar playing that begins with
chords from TIOH and then wanders into a little Waltzing Matilda (!)
before finally settling into PPPM. Very cool stuff.
On Mutineer, the song is played quite differently from the LTF live
version. It's more laid-back and contemplative, and there are some
subtle harmonies from long-time Zevon friend and one-time manager Peter
Asher (of Peter and Gordon fame). Personally, I prefer the added energy
of Warren's live performance.
The Love-Gone-Wrong category is from Warren himself. Here are his
comments from the ISWID box set booklet:
"The first of many depressing songs about the departure of my
flaxen-tressed fiancée, this one owes a considerable debt to the
English novelist Martin Amis, who has as yet betrayed no interest in
it."
In TIOH, Warren is as bummed out by a failed relationship as we have
ever seen him. Not only does his woman leave ("she left town, town
burned down") but there's an overwhelming despair and isolation
from her departure ("nothing left but the sound of the front door
closing forever"). As opposed to the younger Zevon of the late '70s
and early '80s, for whom a failed love affair was sad indeed but not
the end of the world (in Empty-Handed Heart, Warren sings "Will I
fall in love again? It's a possibility."), the middle-aged Zevon of
1993 questions the very underpinnings of his existence ("All life
folds back into the sea"), causing him to "contemplate eternity".
The key phrase, of course, and the most provocative idea, is contained
in the title--The Indifference Of Heaven. I don't know how religious
Warren was at this time in his life, whether he was already wearing the
cross we saw around his neck in the Vh1 documentary, but this is a man
who clearly either believes there is no God or that the God that does
exist cares little about his misery. It's a place most thinking
people have ended up in at one time or another. Stay in that place too
long, however, and you may end up contemplating jumping off the local
bridge.
Fortunately for us (and for him), Warren took solace in his music. He
sang his way out of these funks. In doing so, he created masterpieces
likes this one, a song that justifies the CDUniverse labeling of it as
resonating "equally with beauty, isolation, and defeat."
He also took a friendly dig at two of the celebrity couples of the
time, the Springsteens and the Joels (the latter couple went belly-up).
>From Diane Berger's now-dormant AOL Zevon Fan Web Page, we have Steve
Roeser's blurb about TIOH: "One of Zevon's newest songs, the
devastating "Indifference Of Heaven," has an effective dose of
insouciance in his references to Springsteen and Billy Joel ("I haven't
heard from either of them about it," he remarked innocently enough)."
But that lighthearted touch can't negate the desperation and
resignation that spills out from the rest of the lyrics ("Same old
sun, same old moon, it's the same old story,
same old tune"). This is a man who has seen it before too many times,
and has no confidence that he can ever turn it around.
I should say that I have no idea what the 7-11 and the "blood on my
hands and my hands in the till" references mean. Any interpretations
would be most welcome.
In July of 2005, my wife and I attended the annual Vancouver Island
Music Fest held just outside the seaside town of Courtenay, BC.
Although we quite enjoy the folk festival setting, and have attended
many, I was there specifically hoping to hear (and record) David
Lindley's cover of a Zevon song. I had no idea what his setlist was,
and was not even sure he would play one. He kept us in suspense,
finally introducing TIOH about 45 minutes in, wherein he managed to pay
a memorable tribute (and fracture a couple of titles) to his late
friend and colleague with the following words:
"I'd like to sing you a Warren Zevon song. It's on a great CD
called The Mutineer. A lot of good songs on there. He's got ... more
good songs than anybody. This is called Beneath The Vast Indifference
Of Heaven."
(Two weeks later, Lindley performed at a club in Vancouver and covered
another song from "The Mutineer", Seminole Bingo. He ended up
playing both of them together in subsequent shows. His most recent live
setlist seems to be Zevon-free, which is a shame. Lindley has a way of
extracting the musical truth from Warren's songs that is simply
magical.)
Although I haven't come close to experiencing Warren's level of
emotional turmoil, I can still appreciate TIOH's raw honesty and
ennui. And the phrase "A gentle rain falls on me" hits very close
to home--I live in Vancouver, one of the wettest winter cities there
is.
Something for everybody.
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
Satire: 2
Social Commentary: 5
Sports: 1
susan
> hands and my hands in the till" references mean. Any interpretations
> would be most welcome.
here's what I hear in those lines:
Guilty as charged. Guilty as sin. Caught in the act (of commission or
ommission, probably both, but blood dripping, cash in fist, pulling
from the drawer). I had love. I killed it. Let the sentence fit the
crime, now all I got is Time.
Time the avenger.
To me, this is one of the most beautiful, poignant beginnings to one of
the most accurate pictures of what becomes of the broken hearted. Like
Jesus said (somewhere)-the most terrible thing is indifference ( but he
called it lukewarmness). A world without love, generally and
specifically is just a sort of existential madness. Why not spend it
robbing
the local convenience store. And getting caught. Or not. What
matters, really, outside the context of love?
Time marches on
Time stands still
Time on my hands
Time to kill
Blood on my hands
And my hands in the till
Down at the 7-11
Gentle rain
Falls on me
All life folds back
Into the sea
We contemplate eternity
Beneath the vast indifference of heaven
Dan
think is the main point of modern isolation and wondering if there is a
heaven/god and is there any meaning which leads to the "hand in the
till" because the protagonist has given up and needs to start anew with
different assumptions about life.
Howard Roseman
> here's what I hear in those lines:
> Guilty as charged. Guilty as sin. Caught in the act (of commission or
> ommission, probably both, but blood dripping, cash in fist, pulling
> from the drawer). I had love. I killed it. Let the sentence fit the
> crime, now all I got is Time.
> Time the avenger.
> To me, this is one of the most beautiful, poignant beginnings to one of
> the most accurate pictures of what becomes of the broken hearted. Like
> Jesus said (somewhere)-the most terrible thing is indifference ( but he
> called it lukewarmness). A world without love, generally and
> specifically is just a sort of existential madness. Why not spend it
> robbing
> the local convenience store. And getting caught. Or not. What
> matters, really, outside the context of love?
>
Thanks Susan, that's what I was looking for. It also makes a lot of sense.
Howard Roseman
> think is the main point of modern isolation and wondering if there is a
> heaven/god and is there any meaning which leads to the "hand in the
> till" because the protagonist has given up and needs to start anew with
> different assumptions about life.
>
I started out putting the song in the Mortality category and was quite
comfortable with that. I switched it over to Love-Gone-Wrong after rereading
Warren's comments in the ISWID booklet. Hard to argue with the songwriter.
cc
> I should say that I have no idea what the 7-11 and the "blood on my
> hands and my hands in the till" references mean. Any interpretations
> would be most welcome.
>
Howard,
I think the song is set during the LA riots following the OJ Simpson
verdict. I seem to recall an "official" comment from zevon clarifying
this during one or another performance, maybe Mountain Stage (which is
my favorite version)? Anyway, that theme certainly broadens the context
of the song, maybe pushing it into a different category?
cc
about DVDs 7 & 8. - cc
Howard Roseman
I've begun dual-posting these items here and on the Zevon BB, and someone
there confirmed your recollection, cc.
I would definitely consider switching the category, if you tell me a better
one -- "Nutball SoCal Juries", perhaps?
cc
> I've begun dual-posting these items here and on the Zevon BB, and someone
> there confirmed your recollection, cc.
>
> I would definitely consider switching the category, if you tell me a better
> one -- "Nutball SoCal Juries", perhaps?
>
Well, I was thinking "Social Commentary," but Nutball is sure right...
OJ is back in the news this week, though I haven't had the stomach to
read what it's all about.
cc
Howard Roseman
better
> > one -- "Nutball SoCal Juries", perhaps?
> >
>
> Well, I was thinking "Social Commentary," but Nutball is sure right...
With the added information, that makes sense, and I'll do it. There are more
than enough Zevon love-gone-wrong songs to fill the void.
> OJ is back in the news this week, though I haven't had the stomach to
> read what it's all about.
>
> cc
Believe it or not, he's written a supposedly hypothetical book called If I
Did It and the no-shame Fox News is planning to air an interview with him
about it.
I doubt a penny of his "earnings" will go to the Goldman family, who have
seen squat from the civil verdict.