(8) Watch me gone

[quizzaciously]

And the hopscotch traces, well, you can still see 'em here
The chalk lines faded and unclear
Time for me to disappear
Put my old boots back on, whatever

The same boots as he refers to in Pale Imitation, also the same house? How can these chalk lines still be visible after 60 years or more?

My question might sound stupid but since DTRW I detect a certain lack of clarity in his lyrics. I know that it's sort of poetry and not the news but he always had a way with words that was totally on point and always nailed it but in the lyrics of late he lost that somehow.

LE

As I read all the comments, I sometimes think... Jeez, dear Mark, write an autobiography already, not everything in this world needs to be put in lyrics and songs

[Dutchessy]

Notice there is no background response during the first 'watch me go' after the first verse... as he was telling / announce his wife he wants to go... than after the 2nd verse his wife responds (as the background voice) and kinda agrees (or let him go) with the divorce / him going away...

Very nice touch if that was what MK intends with it..

[goon525]

Notice there is no background response during the first 'watch me go' after the first verse... as he was telling / announce his wife he wants to go... than after the 2nd verse his wife responds (as the background voice) and kinda agrees (or let him go) with the divorce / him going away...

Very nice touch if that was what MK intends with it..

That first time doesn't he say 'Go' both times, 'Gone' only appearing second time around?

[Dutchessy]

Notice there is no background response during the first 'watch me go' after the first verse... as he was telling / announce his wife he wants to go... than after the 2nd verse his wife responds (as the background voice) and kinda agrees (or let him go) with the divorce / him going away...

Very nice touch if that was what MK intends with it..

That first time doesn't he say 'Go' both times, 'Gone' only appearing second time around?

Yes it sounds as Watch me go twice...

And later his (ex) wife responds with 'watch me gone' as a respond to Mark saying Watch me go babe.. That makes the female background voice 100% meaningful..

[Dutchessy]

As GF said:

As with all of Mark’s albums, there are hidden gems, elements, and meanings that are born before our eyes during these sessions, often without the band’s immediate realisation. Maybe you will hear things before we did. I hope you enjoy the journey as much as we have.

Well... we just found the first hidden meaning i think, did we? 

[dustyvalentino]

Just chipping in after my first listen.

Seemed clear to me right away that he was talking about his first marriage.

I found it kind of brutal to be honest, I'm not used to MK being so open about stuff like this. Is this his most nakedly autobiographical song ever? I know we've had the likes of R&J and GH but they were clouded in metaphor. And more recently we've had stuff like Laughs and Jokes, Basil and One Song at a Time, but they haven't focussed on something as hard hitting as his marriage collapsing.

I like the music - MK's guitar swells sound more like a pedal steel than ever.

I agree with LE that some of the lines have too many words and don't scan properly.

Overall though I like the song. I'll take an album full of this moody, ruminative stuff any day, but I understand why they went with a sort of upbeat single first.

[JF]

sorry tor this trivia question that surely has been already answered :
background vocals are sung by "Topolski" right ?

but who are they ? sisters ?

thanks

[dustyvalentino]

sorry tor this trivia question that surely has been already answered :
background vocals are sung by "Topolski" right ?

but who are they ? sisters ?

thanks

One is a musician who performs under the name Saint Claire, and her sister is mainly an actor I think.

https://www.vingtseptmagazine.com/post/in-conversation-with-saint-clair

[JF]

sorry tor this trivia question that surely has been already answered :
background vocals are sung by "Topolski" right ?

but who are they ? sisters ?

thanks

One is a musician who performs under the name Saint Claire, and her sister is mainly an actor I think.

https://www.vingtseptmagazine.com/post/in-conversation-with-saint-clair

thanks !

[goon525]

Not sure if it's remotely relevant, but Felix Topolski was a famous artist in London; there's still a wine bar with his stuff in it, and named after him, next to the Royal Festival Hall.

[quizzaciously]

Just chipping in after my first listen.

Seemed clear to me right away that he was talking about his first marriage.

I found it kind of brutal to be honest, I'm not used to MK being so open about stuff like this. Is this his most nakedly autobiographical song ever? I know we've had the likes of R&J and GH but they were clouded in metaphor. And more recently we've had stuff like Laughs and Jokes, Basil and One Song at a Time, but they haven't focussed on something as hard hitting as his marriage collapsing.

I like the music - MK's guitar swells sound more like a pedal steel than ever.

I agree with LE that some of the lines have too many words and don't scan properly.

Overall though I like the song. I'll take an album full of this moody, ruminative stuff any day, but I understand why they went with a sort of upbeat single first.

And of course, it was strange to say the song is about David, since who on Earth is going to call his bro "babe"? Or sister for that matter.

MK's guitar sounds like Jeff Beck, you can almost think it's a collaboration song. And yes, it's a personal song just like Pale Imitation.

Too personal, maybe? But whatever, the song even has this "whatever" vibe to it, so why not after all? Not my cup of tea though.

[Robson]

"but we should bear in mind that these two releases are not ‘singles’ in the old meaning of the word, they’re just album tracks we get to hear a bit early"

That's true. I don't know if the promotional single "Ahead Of The Game" hit the radio like Good On You Son did. The last single with a photo and cover is Beryl.

[Matchstickman]

Overall though I like the song. I'll take an album full of this moody, ruminative stuff any day, but I understand why they went with a sort of upbeat single first.

If Ahead of the Game is the upbeat single, then we're not in for much of a ride 

[Jules]

And MK speaks about this song just at the beguining of the Part 2 video:

[Dutchessy]

Also at the end of the part 2 video haha. No 'new' music in the video