The meaning of Locomotive Breath

[Facelift]

I agree, but that doesn't keep it from being a good lyric, imo. It's not deep, and I suspect he wrote it quickly, but there's great imagery and, as we have seen, it promotes thought and discussion. A lyric doesn't have to be labored and precious to work well

I think that's one of the weaknesses of Ian Anderson's lyrics. There's often lines that are thought provoking or have interesting imagery, on their own, but too often the song itself doesn't add up to much. APP is a pretty big offender of that. Again, I know he threw the lyrics of APP together very quickly and paired it with (mostly) pre-existing music so doing it well would have been quite a task.

[JJ88]

It always was pretty clearly a metaphor for an out-of-control life to me.

Yes. Although thematically, it does rather sit outside of that second side of 'Aqualung' IMHO.

It was always the lyrics of 'Mother Goose' I never grasped on this album. Was never that sure about 'Up To Me' either. The rest of the album I've always thought was strong lyrically.

[trurl]

Yes. Although thematically, it does rather sit outside of that second side of 'Aqualung' IMHO.

Well, maybe... if one takes it as the loser blaming God though, or that he is going to die, it ties in.

[Homburg]

"All songs on Side Two somehow deal with the concept of God, from a personal standpoint" Ian Anderson, 1971


From the excellent Cup Of Wonder (thanks, zombywoof).

[Jubal]

It's pretty basic. It's about a man who catches his wife cheating on him. The locomotive breath is not only their's but his as well- in a panic.

[zombywoof]

It was always the lyrics of 'Mother Goose' I never grasped on this album. Was never that sure about 'Up To Me' either. The rest of the album I've always thought was strong lyrically.

Check out the excellent cupofwonder link that I posted and Homburg recently reposted. It essentially says that "Mother Goose" is a surreal linking of imagery that has no relation.

[Homburg]

It's pretty basic. It's about a man who catches his wife cheating on him. The locomotive breath is not only their's but his as well- in a panic.

Can you go through the last verse, explaining it all in these terms?

[paulus]

Oddly, I happened to be reading Dombey and Son by Dickens when I first heard this.

Carker, Dombey's evil lieutenant who ruins his business and steals his wife, is killed in a train accident exactly like the song.

Maybe Anderson is more literate than we thought.

[syncopatico]

Maybe Anderson is more literate than we thought.

"more literate"? This is a guy who compared himself to Robert Burns, you know.

[syncopatico]

Again, I know he threw the lyrics of APP together very quickly and paired it with (mostly) pre-existing music so doing it well would have been quite a task.

Imo, this illustrates the *genius* of Ian Anderson: how he was able to come up with such 'thought-provoking' critical and clever lyrics so quickly. I much prefer the lyrics to APP over "Gerald Bostock's" on TAAB.

[Facelift]

Imo, this illustrates the *genius* of Ian Anderson: how he was able to come up with such 'thought-provoking' critical and clever lyrics so quickly. I much prefer the lyrics to APP over "Gerald Bostock's" on TAAB.

IMO it's one thing to write a couple of lines with a metaphor or literary reference, but quite another to make them add up to something meaningful. In that last regard, APP is something of a disaster.

[syncopatico]

IMO it's one thing to write a couple of lines with a metaphor or literary reference, but quite another to make them add up to something meaningful. In that last regard, APP is something of a disaster.

I find the lyrics to APP to be quite profound. Now if you had said that APP is something of a "D'Isaster" that would be something different.

[trurl]

I find most of my best lyrics (such as they are) come very quickly. They are the ones "thrown together", if you will. The ones I labor over are never as good.

[ronmac]

I find most of my best lyrics (such as they are) come very quickly. They are the ones "thrown together", if you will. The ones I labor over are never as good.

If you're like me when I'm designing (and sometimes writing), once it becomes laborious, I have to walk away for a while and come back with a fresher perspective.