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Editor: Unique212@aol.com
Hi "gang" (to copy Suzanne's expression):
I was talking with our good friend Guida from Portugal and we got into
some very interesting discussions on this very mystifying Suzanne song.
We decided it'd be a good idea to make it a topic for the public forum.
Who'd like to venture an interpretation into "Ironbound/Fancy Poultry",
especially the last part of the song ("Fancy poultry parts sold
here/Breasts and thighs and hearts/Backs are cheap, and/Wings are
nearly...)?
I have my own interpretation...I'll give it out after awhile.
I.D.
Subj: Fancy Poultry Parts
Hi everyone!
I am fairly new to the mailing list (subscribed in December 96) and this is
my first post to the list. I am 27 years old and from Southern California
(the Los Angeles area). I first heard Suzanne Vega back in the 80's when
Luka was a big hit. I also really liked Left of Center. For some reason, I
never bought Solitude Standing at the time (probably because I was in high
school working at Target for $3.60 per hour. Anyway, I saw Suzanne at the
Sarah McLachlan - Suzanne Vega - Paula Cole concert in Burbank, CA last
August, and I was absolutely mesmorized. She was so excellent in concert
that I went out and bought almost all her CD's (I still have to get Days).
In November, I saw her at the Ventura Theatre, and it was an absolutely
fabulous concert. We were only about 10 feet from the stage, and it was just
such a great experience.
So I was inspired to finally post to the list because someone brought up the
subject of Ironbound. I guess looking at it somewhat simplistically, the
main part of the song is about the oppression which occurs in poor urban
areas. Basically, it is a discussion of the plight of the poor, attempting
to escape the doldrums of their surrounding (kids will grow like weeds on a
fence, she says they look for the LIGHT, they try to make sense). These
people are bound to this life of poverty from birth. I have always
interpreted the last part of the song as referring to the parts of a person.
For me, the breasts and thighs and hearts represent the sexual parts of a
person (maybe a person's soul? or the very essence of a person instead of
just a body). I associate the "backs are cheap" line as referring to cheap
labor - this would tie in with the beginning of the song, laborers struggling
to make a living, to improve their lives and free themselves. At the end,
she says that "wings are nearly free." I interpret this to mean that if you
have the determination, you can have wings (nearly free) to escape the cycle
of poverty in urban America (or any other country). The way she lets her
voice trail off the word "free" at the end is symbolic of the person actually
becoming free from the plight of poverty (escape from the binding of poverty.
Is this too simplistic of an interpretation? I'm sure there is so much more
than I am seeing on this level.
Michelle
Subj: RE: Ironbound/Fancy Poultry
I.D (??) wrote....
>Who'd like to venture an interpretation into "Ironbound/Fancy
I've always found this song so hauntingly sad, due to my own personal
interpretation. I see the reference to 'Ironbound' as a metaphor for
being born on the ' wrong side of the tracks', Suzanne has a unique
talent for avoiding the cliche. Ironbound allures to the
socio-economic struggle that those born to the very lowest classes
suffer, trying in vain to free themselves from their circumstances.
Then against this contextual background, Suzanne threads the
metaphorical subtexts of Fancy poultry which evocatively conjures up
images of prostitution - "Breast and Thighs and hearts". "Backs are
cheap" may also be a prostitution reference, but I feel it has more to
do with the type of employment open to unskilled workers, which is of
a more physical/'Back' breaking nature. The whole song paints a
panoramic vista of poverty and desperate hopelessness, with suicide as
a real and viable option - "Wings are nearly free...".
As depressing as my interpretation is, I love this song, with its
complex melody, and its "Retina Burn" images of poverty portraying a
pure and honest struggle.
Lee
Subj: Ironbound/Fancy Poultry
Hi Magenta & Guida & everyone,
Here's my take on "Ironbound/Fancy Poultry" è One of the things that
initially attracted me to Suzanne was her ability to paint such vivid
pictures with so few words.
It's my nature to take most songs at face value; if it contains some deeper
meaning, I'll get to it eventually. A well-written song doesn't necessarily
need it. Heck, I'll venture that even Suzanne has written songs that don't
have any deeper meaning than what the words impart.
Which brings me to "Ironbound/Fancy Poultry" (one of my favorite songs).
The yearnings of a young woman shackled by class and sex ("bound up in iron
and wire and fate") strike a chord in me, for I've felt similar yearnings
myself.
So, in the matter of what "breasts and thighs and hearts" "means," well, it
means that the guy selling the fancy poultry parts is hollering about what
he's selling, and we, in our omniscient position outside the song,
recognize the poignant irony of the words. I think a better question would
be -- does the girl in the song recognize the irony? Or even better, does
she know someone is singing about her?
Don't laugh: to quote the Beatles (in Liverpool, y'know?), "the pretty
nurse is selling poppies from a tray, and though she feels as if she's in a
play -- she is anyway."
Jim in Music City
Subj: Fancy Poulty interpretation
Who'd like to venture an interpretation into "Ironbound/Fancy Poultry",
especially the last part of the song ("Fancy poultry parts sold
here/Breasts and thighs and hearts/Backs are cheap, and/Wings are
nearly...)?
I just joined this group, but I've been a Suzanne Vega fan for years, so
here goes...
I've always thought the "fancy poultry parts sold here" refers to people
being treated as objects, being bought and sold in bits instead of being
treated as complete human beings. Breasts and thighs and hearts are
sexuality and love; maybe in the place the song is about (Ironbound
section near Avenue L? I've never been to New York, I suppose this is in
New York) when life is hard it's easy to think of these things as just
merchandise. I don't mean prostitution, just that in order to survive you
may have to give up control over some parts of yourself. (This is pretty
fuzzy; I'm thinking of women who stay in a not-so-good relationship
because they have kids to take care of, they can't get along financially
etc.) Backs are cheap: same thing, it may be tempting to sell out on your
pride, your backbone, when things are tough. Wings are nearly free...
wings are hope, the soul, whatever. They're considered worthless, nearly
free, because they symbolize fantasies, the wish to leave this dismal
place (the woman in the song "opens her purse and feels a longing" away
from where she is), but that will probably never happen (she's "bound up
in iron and wire and fate").
There. A pretty hopeless view of the situation (not to mention a pretty
muddled attempt at explaining what I at first thought was a crystal-clear
idea), but of course this is just one interpretation. The wonderful thing
about Suzanne's songs, like poetry, is that everyone can see them in a
different light and there's no absolute right or wrong way to interpret
them (I don't know if she would agree with this...;-).
Sarianna
Subj: RE: Ironbound/Fancy Poultry
Hello everyone,
Lee Allen wrote:
I agree with most of this interpretation, except I don't think the song
portrays their efforts as being "in vain." There's at least some
hopefulness in the way that "kids will grow like weeds on a fence" and
"they come up through the cracks." Perhaps the woman who walks her son
"up to the gate in front of the Ironbound school yard" feels that she
won't escape these surroundings, but maybe he will. I always interpreted
the line "she touches him goodbye" as signifying that he will go farther,
or cross more barriers, than she has been able to.
>The whole song paints a
Hmmmm... I never thought of this line in these terms. I tend more to
go with Michelle's interpretation here:
(Michelle wrote) -
-Rob
Subj: ironbound fancy poultry
To me, this is one of Suzanne's finest songwriting accomplishments - I
feel its purpose is to insert the listeners into a specific time and
place ... making them experience and understand this specific city
setting, even if they've never been out of Kansas.
The lyrics create the physical surroundings and conditions in the
listener's mind, as well as the 'feeling' of the area ... anyone who has
ever lived in NYC understands that every section of the city has a
different 'sense' about it, and SV delivers this perception with sly
verbal cues.
"The clouds so low, the morning so slow/as the wires cut through the
sky" are images and feelings anyone can connect with, regardless of
background - and place us into an emotional context. She then
accentuates this core with some physical details: "Beams and Bridges cut
the light ... through the rust and heat" and then pops us with a
beguiling detail "sweet coffee color of her skin"
This is followed by an everyday situation: a mother going through the
ritual of walking her child to school and then going to a market.
Physical details are repeated while new ones provided: "blood and
feathers" While following this woman, Suzanne fills in the mindset of
the residents ... a mixed aura of resigned acceptance "kids will grow
like weeds ... she touches him goodbye" that only allows dreams which
will never reach fruition "Stops at the stall ... feels a longing."
This touches off the final section of the song, where the poultry the
mother is shopping for is used as a metaphor ... though she already
knows the course her life will take, she still yearns for some kind of
escape - an escape for which she could not even provide details if
asked.
Suzanne gives us the somewhat oppressive physical layout, the languid
pulse of the residents as another day begins, and the admirable figure
to capture the resignation that comes with an inability to formulate an
escape. The only other song that comes close to enveloping me in a
completely different surrounding is "Stratford on Guy," where Liz Phair
makes me feel like I'm sitting next to her on that flight.
keith
"I pay all my unpaid debts
Subj: Ironbound
Hi !
It's quite interesting reading what you've been associating the lyrics of
the song with.
Interesting and sad at the same time.
Ironbound Fancy Poultry is one of my *favorite* songs. NO ! It's not because
Suzanne says "where the Portuguese women come to see what you sell".
When she sang it here in Lisbon, all the crowd went crazy and sang the whole
song along with Suzanne. We all knew it by heart, but I think that no one at
that time wondered what the song was about. We were just excited to hear the
word ... Portuguese !
Well, at least I didn't ! I thought that it was a great song because of the
line "Bound up in iron and wire and fate / Watching her walk him up to the
gate / in front of the Ironbound schoolyard", when the narrator compares
herself in some sort of a way with the situation of the woman who is walking
him up to the gate.
She feels the same thing as the couple, they are both, bound like "prisoners" up
in Iron, though in diferent ways, the couple is bound by their social
condition, and it's not only because they are poor, it's because they are
far away from HOME. As I think the narrator feels trapped for another
reason. A situation that the narrator feels that has no end "And the rails
run round" just like the couple's condition.
I don't think that there's any prostitution around here. The couple is
married, or at least she is -> "Fingers the ring / Opens her purse and feels
a longing"
I think the story is all about a new life of, perhaps a young couple with
children that migrated to the "promised land" -> "Kids will grow like
weeds on a fence- She says they look for the light / they try to make sense".
Trying to make sense in a foreign country.
About the Fancy Poultry, in the book "Murmurios Urgentes" (Urgent whispers)
the name of the song was translated like this -> Ring of Iron / Poultry of
dreams. I don't think that it was a bad translation since the writer and Suzanne
chatted for a LONG time.
When you feel far from home, you wish you had wings ! And sometimes your
ring can "weigh" more than it should !
And I think that she [the woman in the song - Ed.] works in the market and she actually
sells poultry, which is a thing that we Portuguese, specially if there's no much money, eat !
Suzanne is talking about a Portuguese community that lives in Newark, New Jersey.
And we usually cut it "Breast and thighs and hearts".
I don't know if you have noticed but the last part of the song "Fancy Poultry
Parts sold here...." is in commas ! It's a street cry, for her to sell the
poultry.
One of the most beautifull songs that Suzanne ever wrote, though so sad.
Guida.
Subj: Ironbound
I remember Suzanne telling a story about a town in New Jersey
where everyplace was prefixed with the name Ironbound, Such as
"Ironbound School." The town itself was not called Ironbound,
however - At least I don't think it was? The place was very
industrial with tracks and bridges, hence the nicknames.
Anyone else remember hearing this story?
Albert.
Subj: Re: Ironbound
Albert wrote:
> I remember Suzanne telling a story about a town in New Jersey
I vaguely recall reading, many years ago, that "Ironbound" referred to
the Ironbound area of Newark, New Jersey, where many Portuguese
immigrants live.
There certainly is no Avenue L in Manhattan. :-)
Steve
Subj: Re: Ironbound
On Thu, 16 Jan 1997 szwanger@gnu.ai.mit.edu wrote:
> I vaguely recall reading, many years ago, that "Ironbound" referred to
I read the same thing - I forget where.
Anyway, those of you with [the book] 'Bullet In Flight' will probably
know that there is some mention of this song in there.
At the start of the book, there is a short piece written by
Suzanne that indirectly refers to this song:
(I'm not sure if this is on the website or not - but I felt
like having a play with our scanner anyway :)
[It is on the website, but I left it in for continuity's sake nonetheless. -- Ed.]
--------
BLUE SKY AND BLOOD ON 10TH AVENUE
by Suzanne Vega
from: THE NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE
When I was growing up I spent five years in Spanish Harlem and ten years on
the Upper West Side. The streets were always crowded with different types
of people: kids from the projects, white liberals, students from Columbia.
But I didn't hang out much. You could find me in my room, or in the park by
the river. Facing south on an afternoon and seeing the angles of sunlight
gave me a weird sense of orientation. As a child, I felt: "The sun is
there. It's high and on my right. I am here. Everything is 0.K." As an
adult I had stopped going to the park on the weekends, and that feeling
rarely, if ever, visited again.
So it was about 4 o'clock on a cold Sunday, and I was out walking downtown.
At 10th Avenue and 14th Street, or thereabouts, suddenly the rest of the
city fell away, and I felt that same weird sense of orientation. I was in
the meat market area.
The buildings in front of me were long and low, and the sky seemed very wide
and intensely blue. It was a shock after the relentless verticality of the
city behind me. Because of the cobblestone streets, the tin doors with
porthole windows like a ship's kitchen, the ivy on the bricks, the river on
my right, I thought for a minute I was somewhere else. Cannery Row, maybe.
It was quiet and still, with a lonely feeling. A strange landscape of cool,
fat shadows and slices of dazzling sun on tin. Later, when I lived on
Horatio Street where the meat market ends, I learned the neighborhood's
other moods and faces, but 4 o'clock on a Sunday afternoon is still my
favorite time of day there.
If you look past the serene surface, you find clues to the violence beneath.
The most obvious are the painted signs, worn and flaking: "Baby Lamb! Young
Kid! Fancy Poultry!" "Breasts, Thighs, Hearts, Livers, Wings." "Boxed Beef."
Words that in another context can be sensual, or tender, or playfully
erotic, here read like pornography or skewered poetry.
The elevated tracks with their big metal beams seem to shelter this empty
place. Pigeons roost under these beams, and fly freely where their relatives
are slaughtered every day. Little rivers of blood run along the cracks in
the sidewalk, mixing with the sawdust. Or your foot is surprised by a skid
of animal fat, white and greasy.
It feels like an underworld. If you see anyone, it might be a man with a
wool cap and a big belly and a cigar. He doesn't want you looking at him or
minding his business. There is an atmosphere of unseen deals, people
watching and being watched, violence about to happen.
And at night when the meat shops close, the other "meat shops" open -- the
transvestites begin peddling after dark. What are they selling, exactly? I'm
not sure. Things are displayed, discussed, bargained for and maybe sold in a
quick sleight-of-hand; but you see it only from the corner of your eye, as
you walk by fast or speed past in a car. Long, thin mincing men, swaybacked
and fiercely feminine, parade on the corners, their skinny masculine legs
tottering in high heels and ragged pantyhose. Sometimes there is a bonfire,
and you see a few of them, with one womanly man dressed in what seems to be
a bathing suit and a full-length fur coat, calling to you, laughing,
preening, fixing his lipstick. The graffiti read: "Silence = Death." "Linda,
I love you. Frank."
In the morning, though, the place bustles. That's the time I'm least
familiar with. It's crowded with trucks and truckers -- to get anywhere you
wind and dodge your way through a thick traffic of men in bloody white
aprons and slabs of meat swinging on hooks. By 2 in the afternoon it has
settled down. By 4 o'clock it has regained the stoic feeling of an Edward
Hopper painting, with calm cubes of color and long rectangular shadows, and
a soft, windy rustle of pigeons and the river.
Also in the interview at the back [of Bullet in Flight] there is the following (p 77) :
"[...] I intend for a lot of my songs to have many layers of meaning.
Like "Ironbound," for example. I could have written a whole album about what
it means to be bound by iron, married, or to be confined by your small
town, to be a weed and entrapped in netting, any kind of grille... It's a
common urban image to see living things trying to grow up in a very
inflexible environment."
--------
Personally, I suspect that Suzanne is playing with some images and
memories from the neighbourhood she used to live in and toying, like
she always does, with the phrases to imbue them with multiple meanings.
Probably just so we can discuss them at length ;)
I picture her sitting, composing, with a pen and guitar. Every so often
she pauses, chuckles and says to Mitchell 'I can't wait to see what the
list makes of _this_ verse!'
"See this word here...?"
"Yes honey?"
"I put that one in just to confuse Guida. Heh heh."
"Nice one, dear. Is it time for Ruby's metaphor lesson yet?"
Cheers
Paul
Subj: Re: Fancy Poultry Parts
I think everyone who's replied has basically been right, with a lot more
eloquence than I can muster at the moment. (Everyone's been basically
talking about "how" the song means, which is usually a lot more satisfying
than debating "what" it means). However, a couple points:
1) Ironbound is a section of Newark, NJ, if I'm not mistaken.
[Yes, it is, and has fine and inexpensive Portuguese food, so I hear -- Ed.]
2) I always thought the fancy poultry parts had to do with prostitution.
Suzanne furthered that impression at one show in '87 when she said the
song was "basically about what you think it is." It's also one of her big
lyrical fascinations. Still, that doesn't nearly begin to explore all the
layers of meaning she works into her imagery, or even the reasons why
prostitutes might be relevant to the rest of the song. Her ability to find
all these resonances in humdrum urban scenery and signs outside a butcher
shop (hmmmm ... "meat market"?) is certainly a big part of what makes her
so special.
This make any sense?
-- Bob
Subj: RE: Ironbound/Fancy Poultry
Hi Lee (or is it 'Allen Lee')?
> talent for avoiding the cliche. Ironbound allures to the
Alludes, I think you meant to say? It's a perfectly legitimate
interpretation, of course.
But it seems that if we interpret Suzanne's singing style, her songs very
often reveal a sombre narrative voice that detaches itself in order to
create some distance between the darker parts and the listener.
> As depressing as my interpretation is, I love this song, with its
Quite interesting interpretation!
Derek "I.D." Mok.
Subj: Weight of words / Fancy Poultry
Sinto-me completamente desfeita hoje. Para mim, hoje algo morreu dentro de
mim, a voz da Suzanne...
Toda a gente pensa que Fancy Poultry e' sobre prostituicao, que coisa bonita
para eu encaixar. Sera' mesmo ? Tera' sido a Suzanne completamente cinica
quando ca' a cantou ?
Hi !
No ????
I hope that you've had a kick of my "naif" interpretation of "Fancy Poultry".
Subj: Re: Weight of words / Fancy Poultry
Guida wrote:
> Well, I think that no one understood what they were
Don't panic Guida :)
I don't think that it is about prostitution at all.
Sometimes, I think, people try a little too hard to
find the metaphor.
I think the main point of the song is comparing the
(nick)name of the place - 'Ironbound' (because it's
surrounded by railway tracks) - with other interpretations
of the word 'ironbound'
- the telephone/power wires (cut through the sky)
'Bound up in iron and wire and fate'
The last bit talks about the womans' longing to escape
'... nearly free'
I can't remember what your interpretation was, Guida, but
I don't think it's about Portugese prostitutes. :)
Paul
Subj: Re: Weight of words / Fancy Poultry
Perhaps I'm just shallow, but I've *never* considered "Fancy Poultry" to be
such a "deep" song.
From Suzanne's "Portrait of an Artist" interview:
"Fancy Poultry is a pretty bizarre little thing, and you'll probably
have to hear it yourself. It's like reading a butcher sign, okay?,
in a kind of waltzing 3/4 time. (Laughs) I find it very amusing, and
it's the coda to 'Ironbound'."
Hmm. Somehow I can't imagine her finding prostitution wildly hysterical,
unless she's been concealing a very twisted sense of humor :)
Also from "POAA":
[BTW, if Suzanne's recollection is correct, this would place her "Ironbound
Epiphany"
sometime around July or August 1986]
So certainly the meaning of "Ironbound" *can* be discussed at some depth,
but I assert that "Fancy Poultry" is no different than ordinary chicken :)
-- Dave H.
Subj: Poultry and other fancy stuff
Thanks, David Hammar, for the refreshing look at Ironbound, etc. I think
Undertow needed your response to put a halt to these interpretations. It
came just in time since I was about to offer my own deep thoughts about
the use of chicken parts in prostitution. I know I read about it
somewhere.
Now I can throw it away and just enjoy the song, as simple as a sign in a
butcher shop window.
To my ears, it's one of SV's finest.
-Doivey
Subj: excuse me
I just read my letter in Undertow and found it to be a little rude.
Sorry.
-Doivey
Subj: Re: Weight of words / Fancy Poultry
> "Fancy Poultry is a pretty bizarre little thing, and you'll probably
I do think "Fancy Poultry/Ironbound" is in 4/4, then going into
double-speed during the "Fancy poultry parts sold here" segment.
[Actually, Suzanne is correct -- Fancy Poultry has a definite 3/4, waltz feel to
it, as opposed to the "two-And" emphasis of the Ironbound part of the song.
(That's as in one-and-TWO-and-three-AND-four-and, which is the empnasis of
the first part of the song) -- Ed.]
> Hmm. Somehow I can't imagine her finding prostitution wildly hysterical,
That's one thing I've always associated with Suzanne. Like her letter
to...Details? Or SPIN? (Found on the web page under "Correspondences".)
And her article on Fighting.
> So certainly the meaning of "Ironbound" *can* be discussed at some depth,
Could be. But it's not really up to Suzanne anymore, once her song is out
there, as to what the song means. A good artist can certainly make strong
suggestions intratextually which would lead a listener to interpret a song
the way the writer meant it, but the writer's intention doesn't dictate
the meaning.
Derek "I.D." Mok.
Subj: Re: Poultry and other fancy stuff
dgreen@tc3net.com (Dave Green) writes:
> Thanks, David Hammar, for the refreshing look at Ironbound, etc. I think
Personally, I always enjoyed the fight over who gets the wishbone.
Later, skaters
-- Bob
Subj: No Subject
Date: 97-01-16 08:46:35 EST
From: 4dm@qlink.queensu.ca (Magenta)
Date: 97-01-16 11:23:21 EST
From: Dilberta99@aol.com
Date: 97-01-16 11:35:38 EST
From: lallen@galileo.co.uk (Lee Allen)
>Poultry", especially the last part of the song ("Fancy poultry parts
>sold here/Breasts and thighs and hearts/Backs are cheap, and/Wings
>are nearly...)?
lallen@galileo.co.uk
Date: 97-01-16 12:17:31 EST
From: webbjn@ctrvax.Vanderbilt.Edu (Jim Webb)
Date: 97-01-16 12:44:05 EST
From: Sarianna.Silvonen@trantex.fi (Sarianna Silvonen)
Date: 97-01-16 12:49:22 EST
From: rwalters@lafayette.unocal.com (Rob Walters)
>Ironbound allures to the
>socio-economic struggle that those born to the very lowest classes
>suffer, trying in vain to free themselves from their circumstances.
>panoramic vista of poverty and desperate hopelessness, with suicide as
>a real and viable option - "Wings are nearly free...".
>"wings are nearly free." I interpret this to mean that if you
>have the determination, you can have wings (nearly free) to escape the cycle
>of poverty in urban America (or any other country).
Date: 97-01-16 13:51:08 EST
From: keith.sawyer@FMR.Com (Sawyer, Keith)
Count my blessings and regrets of knowing you
Knowing you and wanting you"
-The Reivers, 'Keep Me Guessing'
Date: 97-01-16 15:04:39 EST
From: guida@mail.telepac.pt (Guida Fonseca)
Date: 97-01-16 15:58:53 EST
From: albert@teracorp.com (Albert J. Horst)
Date: 97-01-16 17:42:36 EST
From: szwanger@gnu.ai.mit.edu
> where everyplace was prefixed with the name Ironbound, Such as
> "Ironbound School." The town itself was not called Ironbound,
> however - At least I don't think it was? The place was very
> industrial with tracks and bridges, hence the nicknames.
[True -- but we have an A, B, and C.... Ed.]
szwanger@gnu.ai.mit.edu
Date: 97-01-16 19:34:38 EST
From: paul@caverock.co.nz (Paul LeBeau)
> the Ironbound area of Newark, New Jersey, where many Portuguese
> immigrants live.
NOVEMBER 20, 1988
---------
Date: 97-01-17 00:17:19 EST
From: bobking@gate.net (Robert King)
Date: 97-01-17 10:11:25 EST
From: 4dm@qlink.queensu.ca (Magenta)
> socio-economic struggle that those born to the very lowest classes
> suffer, trying in vain to free themselves from their circumstances.
> complex melody, and its "Retina Burn" images of poverty portraying a
> pure and honest struggle.
Date: 97-01-17 18:09:21 EST
From: guida@mail.telepac.pt (Guida Fonseca)
Do you understand a thing of what's written above ?
Well, I think that no one understood what they were singing, when we sang
along with Suzanne.
Bye,
Guida.
Date: 97-01-17 19:21:49 EST
From: paul@caverock.co.nz (Paul LeBeau)
singing, when we sang along with Suzanne.
>
> I hope that you've had a kick of my "naif" interpretation of "Fancy Poultry".
- the beams and bridges (cut the light into little triangles)
- the fence around the school
- marriage; the wedding ring on the woman's finger
- lives get bound up in routine
- her fate or perhaps her marriage; her life.
Date: 97-01-17 20:43:56 EST
From: djhamma@aloha.net (David J. Hammar)
"Ironbound is a real section of Newark, New Jersey. There isn't a thing,
a place in Newark called 'Ironbound'--it's the Ironbound section.
It's called that because the tracks run around it. But I was there,
I guess about eight months ago and we were trying to get the car fixed,
and suddenly we went by this school, and it said 'Ironbound School',
and I looked at it, and I thought 'God, that's weird...'.
I hadn't realized that that was the name of the town.
It seemed like a vocational school, 'Ironbound', and I thought 'What kind
of things would kids learn in an "Ironbound School". (Laughs)
So this kind of got me thinking about the whole concept of 'Ironbound'
and what it might mean, and different meanings that that word could have.
But it's actually taken from that section of Newark."
http://www.aloha.net/~djhamma
Date: 97-01-18 08:29:32 EST
From: dgreen@tc3net.com (Dave Green)
Date: 97-01-18 16:56:29 EST
From: dgreen@tc3net.com (Dave Green)
Date: 97-01-19 14:47:58 EST
From: 4dm@qlink.queensu.ca (Magenta)
> have to hear it yourself. It's like reading a butcher sign, okay?,
> in a kind of waltzing 3/4 time. (Laughs) I find it very amusing, and
> it's the coda to 'Ironbound'."
> unless she's been concealing a very twisted sense of humor :)
> but I assert that "Fancy Poultry" is no different than ordinary chicken :)
Date: 97-01-19 17:40:10 EST
From: bobking@gate.net (Can't eat no 'much obliges')
> Undertow needed your response to put a halt to these interpretations. It
> came just in time since I was about to offer my own deep thoughts about
> the use of chicken parts in prostitution.
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