After The Beanstalk

[Fletch]

So like many of Marks songs, this one is surreal but autobiographical right ?

"A hen can lay can golden egg but she still can't sing.."
He's reflecting on his own modest views about his singing ability.

"Gunning for glory a boy just won't be told..."
Marks stubborn no compromise rise to glory doing his OWN songs, without bowing to any pressures of trends or hit sinles.
"I went up three times but it never was for the gold"
...please help me with this, what can it mean? Why 3 times??....

"After the beanstalk your life's not the same.."
Dire Sraits enormous success.

"I'm still up in the morning to get behind the plough."
The man is still enjoying what he's always done, writing and working on songs.


It all makes perfect sense to me!

[jennja]

I don't know Fletch, guessing it's Dire Straits 3 cds? Making Movies, OES, and BIA (guess you know Jack went up 3 times)

Like Jack cut down the Beanstalk...MK cut out of DS. MK was a string bean when young...I get a visual image as well--his slim figure climbing that beanstalk. ))

What I want to know--and don't fault me for this question!!!---who is it that's doing the intricate, fast playing at the end of this song--on what instrument? Great song.

[you know, I don't know why the ? emoticom gets in my posts---I don't do it. I did do a big grin--which printed out, instead of imaging out--so I just removed it.]

[superval99]

What I want to know--and don't fault me for this question!!!---who is it that's doing the intricate, fast playing at the end of this song--on what instrument? Great song.

I think it's Tim O'Brien on mandolin.

[jennja]

Thanks Val, yeah I *thought* so...then wasn't sure...it sure is awesome. Love these country/bluesy type songs on here--they make me feel as if I'm sitting on a porch listening...which I often am...just without the physical players present.

[superval99]

This is such a great album that I just can't drag myself away from it - loving it more and more every listen!   

[jennja]

Ya...me too!

Besides just being such a fun song, it puts me in mind of a dream I had of MK once---mk and maybe his brother too....we were on a spaceship...I was sitting at a cool sleek desk...MK was preparing for his journey to Earth...he had on what looked like black leather, pretty much head to toe--sort of like motorcycle gear..or, spaceship garb. He went to jump out of the spaceship down this long slide that went off into space--no spaceship--just his body. I called out " give my love to your mother!"

God only knows where the stuff of dreams are made up.

[superval99]

Ya...me too!

Besides just being such a fun song, it puts me in mind of a dream I had of MK once---mk and maybe his brother too....we were on a spaceship...I was sitting at a cool sleek desk...MK was preparing for his journey to Earth...he had on what looked like black leather, pretty much head to toe--sort of like motorcycle gear..or, spaceship garb. He went to jump out of the spaceship down this long slide that went off into space--no spaceship--just his body. I called out " give my love to your mother!"

God only knows where the stuff of dreams are made up.

         Did you have a lot of cheese before bed that night, Jennja!        

[jennja]

LOL...well, maybe I did eat a lot of cheese. I'll have to try more varieties of cheese too and see what I dream.

Mark STILL is a string bean. Get it? har har har 

and, the harp is wonderful, I especially like the harp part in the middle of the song...waaa..waaa...waaa. waaa...so funny. They had to have had a great time doing this song.

[Marikablue]

I'm glad that many members here like this song 

I must say that " After The Beanstalk " is the only song on the album that I don't like at all. 

After " Today Is Okay " it's always back to disc one for me..........

[nababo]

I'm glad that many members here like this song 

I must say that " After The Beanstalk " is the only song on the album that I don't like at all. 

After " Today Is Okay " it's always back to disc one for me..........

My opinion is that After the beanstalk is an underrated song, lyrically and musically.

Its sonority recalls some songs from RPD and even from GH.

And about the lyrics, even if it's not about his own life, it's about the struggling to survive, to make a life, just like most of the songs in GL.

[superval99]

I love "After the Beanstalk" and I agree with previous posters that it is about life after DS.   It's one of my favourites.

[Tally]

It must be partly based on the folktale "Jack and the Beanstalk". See here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_and_the_Beanstalk

Interesting autobiographical rewrite.

[JF]

After The Beanstalk is not my fav track on the album, but yesterday, I was listening to it in the car, and at the end of the album, I ejected the disc, and my radio-cd player switched automatically to the radio, and it was a jazz radio with Hugh laurie " you don't know my mind" playing

funny, because the same kind of song, same sound, same groove...

when listening yersterday I found the 2 songs merged fit very well 

but after hearing them again today, well, not so much....

[Stanko]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_and_the_Beanstalk

I think, it is just that he had found a inspiration from the fairy tale that I have mentioned above and interpret it in his own humorous way. But of course The song is free to escape the fairy tale boundaries and metaphorically can talk the different stories in so many other different ways...

[Stanko]

It must be partly based on the folktale "Jack and the Beanstalk". See here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_and_the_Beanstalk

Interesting autobiographical rewrite.

 ...I have just read it all over again and I have figured that I had missed your comment...