Neko Case has so many wonderful songs that I could easily have ten listed here and still barely have scratched the surface. Her well runs deep, full of clever storytelling and beautiful imagery. She has a gift with metaphors and she always finds the perfect words to tell her stories.
I’ve made it no secret that I believe Neko Case to be a lyrical genius. Since I gushed about her talents as a songwriter and performer before, I’ll not dive too deep in this post, but feel free to check it out if you feel so inclined:
It is always difficult to select only one poem to spotlight when there are so many to choose from. I decided I’d post two; one that tells a big story without telling a long story and one that I’d put up there with my favorite poems of all time.
Margaret vs. Pauline is the story of two girls with two very different fates. From the words Case chooses, we can certainly see the imagery and the dense idea that lingers below it. The idea that fate has a hand in all our lives.
This poem has grown bigger than its words in my mind. Near the end, when the girls are compared, Case goes on to illustrate the difference between them in a way that provokes the imagination.
I can’t help but wonder about them, and I wonder about us all. What are the things we can change and what can we not? Do some people lead charmed lives? Are some of us dealt a losing hand right off the bat?
Margaret vs. Pauline by Neko Case
Everything's so easy for Pauline
Everything's so easy for Pauline
Ancient strings set feet a light to speed to her such mild grace
No monument of tacky gold
They smoothed her hair with cinnamon waves
And they placed an ingot in her breast to burn cool and collected
Fate holds her firm in its cradle and then rolls her for a tender pause to savor
Everything's so easy for Pauline
Girl with the parking lot eyes
Margaret is the fragments of a name
Her bravery is mistaken for the thrashing in the lake
Of the make-believe monster whose picture was faked
Margaret is the fragments of a name
Her love pours like a fountain
Her love steams like rage
Her jaw aches from wanting and she's sick from chlorine
But she'll never be as clean
As the cool side of satin, Pauline
Two girls ride the blue line
Two girls walk down the same street
One left her sweater sittin' on the train
The other lost three fingers at the cannery
Everything's so easy for Pauline
I am drawn to this song for its minimalism. The true focus is on the words; the music was made to cradle them. They are strong yet feminine, they are almost clear, but not quite. I think I understand what the song is about, but then maybe I don’t. It is a lovely web Case has spun and I love every time I get caught in it.
Vengeance Is Sleeping by Neko Case
I didn't know what a brute I was
I dipped my cigarette and rode the bus
Vengeance built me hastily
And I dragged the clanging notion
I was nobody, nobody
Nobody
All I had was my invention
And my love invented all of you
Oh look what thoughts can do
What thoughts can do
If you're not run-out, dead and buried
You're most certifiably married, oh married
I'm sure you're sleeping sound
With the mistress of the hours
The hours that grind your life to dust
Your easy loves you keep like pets
Denied them you are powerless
Whatever keeps you sleeping through the night
I'm not the man you thought I was
My love has never lived indoors
I've had to drag it home by force
Hired hounds at both my wrists
Damp and bruised by strangers' kisses on my lips
But you're the one that I still miss
You're the one that I still miss
And it's ruthless that it comes as no surprise
I'm not the man you think I am
I'm not the man you think I am
Do you have a favorite Neko song or lyric? Please share it with us!