Hey, D.J!: Lyrics from (non-POE) songs in HoL

[John B.]

Yes, I searched, and I'm frankly surprised this didn't turn up.
As I was Concordancing this evening, I came across this passage:

Of course, curiosity killed the cat, and even if satisfaction supposedly brought it back, there's still that little problem with the man on the radio telling me more and more about some useless information. But I didn't care. I just turned the radio off. (xviii)

Yes: we get a snippet from the first verse of "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" by the Rolling Stones. But what is even more interesting, given this point in Johnny's account of his growing involvement with TNR, is the line in the song that immediately follows what is quoted here, and which Johnny (conveniently?) leaves out: "Supposed to fire my imagination." Johnny's imagination by this time is more than stoked, so no wonder what he hears is "useless" to him. And more: his turning the radio off is his first gesture in the direction of isolating himself from others.

So, then: has anyone else noticed quotes from songs in HoL? What/where are they? And what do you think their connection(s) to the text might be?

[pwhite]

There was a recent thread on the French forum on this very subject, I think it was this one. They mention 'When Johhny comes Marching Home', 'Daisy Daisy', and (looks like MZD is more Beatles than Stones) 'I saw a film today, oh boy' (Ch. 1 epigraph, obviously); John Lennon and 'Let it Be' cited in footnotes (not sure about page numbvers). Also p.476 Navy quotes 'Help'. And p.149 Johnny almost quotes 'Help' while looking for music at a Virgin Megastore.

[John B.]

Like I can read French.
But, yes: I had forgotten about the quote from "A Day in the Life." I suspect there are others; the 'Stones quote was something of a surprise.

[John B.]

The quote from "A Day in the Life" (the epigraph for Chapter I of The Navidson Record) is curious on a couple of levels that raise issues we've all seen in HoL.

1) Attribution: Yes, The Beatles (Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, to be exact). But officially--that is, legally--the attribution should read "Lennon/McCartney." And here's where things get complicated. The rule for the "Lennon/McCartney" songs is, Whoever is the primary singer on the song, actually wrote the song. Yet, on "A Day in the Life," Lennon sings the verses, but McCartney sings the bridge ("Woke up, fell out of bed/Dragged a comb across my head . . . "). Hmm. Did they actually collaborate on this song's composition? Did Lennon throw the bridge to McCartney as a sop? Although I don't know the answer and would like to, my real point is that to attribute this song to "The Beatles" is an odd thing to do. There ARE drums in it, but the song features a heavily orchestrated arrangement--no solo guitar from Harrison--and as for singing, if Harrison and Starr sing on it, they are so buried in the mix as to be inconsequential. The Beatles were a band, but musically, this sure ain't "She Loves You."
So also with TNR: Zampano effectively creates the illusion of the existence of a primary source (the film itself), featuring real people, that has generated a wealth of secondary sources. Yet, as we are told, TNR is largely the product of one man's fertile imagination.

2) The quoted line itself: This, of course, is obvious: a) How can one see a film that doesn't exist?; b) How can Zampano, being blind, see any film?

[John B.]

quote:

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Originally posted by pwhite:
Also p.476 Navy quotes 'Help'.

---

Yup. And look at what follows on p. 477: the opening lines of the turn-of-the-previous-century song, "Daisy." For you
2001: A Space Odyssey fans, you'll remember that as the song that HAL sings as he gradually loses control over the spaceship heading to Jupiter, thanks to Bowman. HAL had full control over the spaceship, and kills one of the astronauts when "he" learns that they plan to disable him. "Help!" indeed. No wonder Navy gets the two songs confused.

Edit: I had overlooked pwhite's mentioning "Daisy" in his post. Sorry about that.

[ June 11, 2003: Message edited by: John B. ]

[Nash]

In this article, MZD says "Chopin, Pearl Jam, the Beatles, Johnny Cash" influenced his novel.

Also Beethoven (Muss es sein ?) and Bach (Hofstadter).

[pwhite]

Pearl Jam and House of Leaves

[John B.]

quote:

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Originally posted by pwhite:
Pearl Jam and House of Leaves

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Yes. But in that case, it seems that the song provides a certain atmosphere (and maybe Johnny's pseudonym) but not words that get played with in the novel. Or am I missing something?

[Agrimorfee]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by John B.:
[QB]1) The rule for the "Lennon/McCartney" songs is, Whoever is the primary singer on the song, actually wrote the song. Yet, on "A Day in the Life," Lennon sings the verses, but McCartney sings the bridge ("Woke up, fell out of bed/Dragged a comb across my head . . . "). Hmm. Did they actually collaborate on this song's composition? Did Lennon throw the bridge to McCartney as a sop? Although I don't know the answer and would like to, my real point is that to attribute this song to "The Beatles" is an odd thing to do.


Well...it has been explained that the song was individual song ideas BOTH John and Paul were fiddling around with ON THEIR OWN that happened to "come together"...right now, over me... [img]images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]

[Stencil]

Karen sings the Beatles:

"We often find her singing quietly to herself, anything from popular tunes, old Slavic lulliabies, to a song about how many ways her life has changed and how she would like to get her feet back on the ground" (p416)

That last bit comes from 'Help!' as well.

[ June 30, 2003: Message edited by: Stencil ]

[Knuzt]

And Beethoven - muss es sein? though that's not really a "song" is it?

[ThereIsNoDarkSky]

And Beethoven - muss es sein? though that's not really a "song" is it?

The String Quartet No. 16. During the slow introduction, he inscribed "Must it be?" beneath the chords, and as the song speeds up, he responds with "It must be!"


Consider that the whole movement is headed with the phrase, "Der schwer gefasste Entschluss." The Difficult Resolution, or, The Heavey Resolution.
I personally like difficult more, because it reminds me of a camera lense...

[John B.]

"Help!" is proving to be a significant subtext in HoL--perhaps not quite the subtext that Borges' works provides, but it's certainly recurring.

[John B.]

Some further thoughts about the appropriateness of "A Day in the Life" to chapter 1 of The Navidson Record:

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band was, before and upon its release, the subject of intense and, quite literally, world-wide speculation as to what/whom its songs are about. There was much mystery about it before the official release, fueled by the February 1967 release of "Penny Lane"/"Strawberry Fields Forever" and the (apparently) premature release of a song called "A Day in the Life of." When the album appeared on June 2, 1967, the cover art and lyrics got a thorough going-over by fans--perhaps TOO thorough, and the Beatles themselves actively encouraged that: it was with Sgt. Pepper's that they began to plant clues of various sorts that led many to the conclusion that "Paul is dead." Was "A Day in the Life" about Paul's "death"? Perhaps about Kennedy?
At any rate, it seems to me that there are more than a few parallels between the reception of Sgt.Pepper's and that which Zampano imagines for TNR.

But what really prompted this post was my looking up the lyrics for "A Day in the Life" and thinking that the following verse seems to fit Johnny well--and, perhaps, at least a few members of this forum:

I saw a film today oh boy
The English Army had just won the war
A crowd of people turned away
But I just had to look
Having read the book.

[ July 10, 2003: Message edited by: John B. ]

[Stencil]

The title of Donna Tartt's peice on Karen just before she enters the labyrinth alludes to the Beatles' "Please Please Me."

[DrGizmo]

Unlike John Lennon, I haven't the faintest idea how many holes it takes to fill the Albert Hall...

Anyone?

Z

[Stencil]

quote:

---

Originally posted by DrGizmo:
Unlike John Lennon, I haven't the faintest idea how many holes it takes to fill the Albert Hall...

Anyone?

Z

---

It depends. Are those
holes
dug by little moles?

If so, I wouldn't trust 'em. I hear they're
angry jealous spies.

[DrGizmo]

The holes are rather small...

But never mind, I think I found it.
Royal Albert Hall gives room to 3,901 holes.
(They had to count 'em all)
And that is indeed approximately 4,000.

But how does one move 4,000 holes from Blackburn, Lancashire to the RAH?

In buses?

Z

[modiFIed]

it was with Sgt. Pepper's that they began to plant clues of various sorts that led many to the conclusion that "Paul is dead." Was "A Day in the Life" about Paul's "death"? Perhaps about Kennedy?
At any rate, it seems to me that there are more than a few parallels between the reception of Sgt.Pepper's and that which Zampano imagines for TNR.

But what really prompted this post was my looking up the lyrics for "A Day in the Life" and thinking that the following verse seems to fit Johnny well--and, perhaps, at least a few members of this forum:

I saw a film today oh boy
The English Army had just won the war
A crowd of people turned away
But I just had to look
Having read the book.

Sgt. Pepper is by now shrouded in myth, but there are some interesting facts:

1. Right off - yes, John and Paul never collaborated when writing their own songs (as opposed to songs for Ringo to sing), and "A Day in the Life" is only a partial exception. John wrote the parts he sings, but felt he had nothing to tie it up. Paul wrote the part he sings, but it was just a fragment. John got the idea to "smash" them together with the massive orchestra squall that comes in between. The piano chord that ends the song is sustained (echoes?) for many, many seconds - George Martin was against it, but John insisted????

2. The song itself is reportedly about Brian Epstein - "he blew his mind out in a car" - who had died in a car accident just prior to Sgt. Pepper's creation. He was the Beatles' first manager, discoverer, and a dear friend. "A crowd of people stood and stared - they'd seen his face before, nobody was really sure if he was from the of Lords."

3. "I saw a film today, oh boy - the English army had just won the war" - John had recently starred in the ill-fated movie "How I Won the War," an anti-war black comedy. I've seen it - it's actually pretty good, but very "sixties." This is thought to be his little sarcastic remark about his short-lived acting career. ("A crowd of people turned away")

4. The clues planted by the Beatles on the cover art for Sgt. Pepper are manifold. Yes, by this time they were well aware of the "Paul is Dead" rumor, and were having fun with it:

- the first song introduces "the one and only Billy Sheers" - the supposed look-alike replacement for Paul.

- the cover depicts a funeral, with the yellow flowers arranged in the shape of a left-hand bass guitar (Paul is the only lefty in the group).

- The flowers can be seen to spell out P-a-u-l-?

- On the internal photo, paul is wearing a black patch that says "DOA" - Dead on Arrival

- Paul is the only one facing backward on the back cover art.

- There is a hand above Paul's head on the cover - the hand of death.

And so on.

So Sgt. Pepper ends up being a rich tapestry of innuendo, veiled cultural references (Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds = LSD), in-jokes, and clues - reminds me of a book I read recently.

[Stencil]

So Sgt. Pepper ends up being a rich tapestry of innuendo, veiled cultural references (Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds = LSD), in-jokes, and clues - reminds me of a book I read recently.

Also, Lucy in the Sky with diamonds could've been the inspiration for this little pun.


And when reading Pelafina's letter about the New and Old Directors being one and the same, am I the only one reminded of "here comes the new boss/same as the old boss" from the Who's "Won't get fooled again"?

[the lost pawn]

I've been listening to The Rolling Stone's greatest hits album (40 licks) and Mother's little helper was playing and i couldn't help but think of Johnny's "bright yellow tablets" on 507. "It will help you throught the night help to minimize your flight(RS)." And Johnny says it helps him sleep. Also Paint it Black has alot of color references-"No more will my green sea go turn a deeper blue..." just thought it to be interesting.

[modiFIed]

Just a tidbit on John B.'s idea of the Beatles' "Help" as a subtext for HOL:

It was pointed out in separate posts to this thread, by Raminograbis and Stencil, that the song "Help" is alluded to by Zampano in relation to both Karen and Navidson.

Specifically:

p. 416 - Karen, while staying at the after Navy's disappearance, is working in the garden, "singing quietly to herself...about how many ways her life has changed and how she would like to get her feet back on the ground."

p. 476 - Navidson..."derailed by some tune now wedged in his head, drifting up from out of the blue, one he can remember but cannot quite name...Now I find I changed my mind and opened up the door."

Two things interesting to me here. First, the idea that Karen's absent musings on the song appear to be "drifting up out of the blue" [house?] and into Navidson's mind. She hums the song, he (perhaps simultaneously) "hears" it.

Second is what follows. Navidson gets this song in his head, then thinks of "A Bicycle Built for Two" (the Daisy song), then we have that oft-referred to bar of music on p. 479 which likely is from the war ballad "When Johnny Comes Marching Home."

The popular connection made here is to Johnny Truant. Yet "Help" is of course a Lennon song. And recall that "A Day in the Life" quote: "I saw a film today, oh boy." -- As I noted earlier, the reference is to John Lennon's performance in the film How I Won the War.

Finally, the whole idea of the song "Help" is that of a man who "never needed anybody's help in any way" but "change[s his] mind and opens up the door" - a natural description of Navy in his present extremity and his need for Karen to intervene.

[John B.]

Finally, the whole idea of the song "Help" is that of a man who "never needed anybody's help in any way" but "change[s his] mind and opens up the door" - a natural description of Navy in his present extremity and his need for Karen to intervene.

Yes indeed--but I was thinking just this morning that this song might be akin to something Zampano might be pleading as well. Maybe something that in his own life he didn't have but which, in his fiction, he experiences vicariously through both Navy and Karen (being that they both think about the song). Maybe. In the song, recall, the singer doesn't QUITE have that which he seeks but is speaking to someone who might be able to satisfy his need.

[Stencil]

Page 149 (according to amazon.com):

"A few days later I heard her on KROQ's Love Line, this time drenched in purple rain . ."

"Purple Rain," is a song by and a film starring Prince.

[sutrix]

The lyrics to Purple Rain (not word to word; I've deleted the repeated chorus lines):

I never meant to cause you any sorrow
I never meant to cause you any pain
I only wanted to one time see you laughing
I only wanted to see you laughing in the purple rain (Comment: Who's you?)

Purple rain, purple rain

I never wanted to be your weekend lover
I only wanted to be some kind of friend
Baby I could never steal you from another
It’s such a shame our friendship had to end

Purple rain, purple rain

I only wanted to see you underneath the purple rain

Honey I know, I know, I know times are changing
It’s time we all reach out for something new
That means you too
You say you want a leader
But you can't seem to make up your mind
I think you better close it (Comment: Close what? The book?)
And let me guide you to the purple rain

Purple rain, purple rain

If you know what I’m singing about up here (Comment: Where?)
Come on raise your hand

Purple rain, purple rain

I've boldfaced phrases I felt could have connections to the book. Mostly Zampano.

And of course, there's also that purple passage in the book to ponder on.

[fearful_syzygy]

If you know what I’m singing about up here (Comment: Where?)
Come on raise your hand

Up on stage, presumably...

[Variable]

I don't have my book with me... who is drenched in purple rain?

[fearful_syzygy]

Hailey.

Thoughts blazing through my mind while I was walking the aisles at the Virgin Megastore, trying to remember a tune to some words, changing my mind to open the door instead, some door, I don’t know which one either except maybe one of the ones inside me, which was when I found Hailey, disturbed face, incredible body, only eighteen, smoking like a steel mill, breath like the homeless but eyes bright and pure and she had an incredible body and I said hello and on a whim invited her over to my place to listen to some of the CD’s I’d just bought, convinced she’d decline, surprised when she accepted, so over she came, and we put on the music and smoked a bowl and called Pink Dot though they didn’t arrive with our sandwiches and beer until we were already out of our clothes and under the covers and coming like judgement day (i.e. for the second time) and then we ate and drank and Hailey smiled and her face seemed less disturbed and her smile was naked and gentle and peaceful and as I felt myself drift off next to her, I wanted her to fall asleep next to me, but Hailey didn’t understand and for some reason when I woke up a little later, she was already gone, leaving neither a note nor a number.
A few days later, I heard her on KROQ’s Love Line, this time drenched in purple rain, describing to Doctor Drew and Adam Corolla how I—"this guy in a real stale studio with books and writing everywhere, everywhere! and weird drawings all over his walls too, all in black. I couldn’t understand any of it."—had dozed off only to start screaming and yelling terrible things in his sleep, about blood and mutilations and other crazy %&#@, which had scared her and had it been wrong of her to leave even though when he’d been awake he’d seemed alright?

So when Johnny says 'this time drenched in purple rain', the other time, presumably, she was drenched in 'Help!' by the Beatles. In other words he was trying to reach out to someone, but failed because his night terrors drove her away (or because Doorways ...DNE), this Virgin of his, even though he never meant to cause her any sorrow or pain, and only wanted to see her laughing once; which indeed he did, or at least smiling...

[Stencil]

Hailey.

Any connection to comets?

So when Johnny says 'this time drenched in purple rain', the other time, presumably, she was drenched in 'Help!' by the Beatles.

Yes, she was. I think this is what you're getting at:

Thoughts blazing through my mind while I was walking the aisles at the Virgin Megastore, trying to remember a tune to some words, changing my mind to open the door instead, some door, I don’t know which one either except maybe one of the ones inside me, which was when I found Hailey. . .

[fearful_syzygy]

Exactly.

Edit:

Any connection to comets?

Eighty some years and then the inevitable kerplunk?

Plus, a comet's tail (tale?) is relative to the sun (son?). Sometimes it has more than one.

Um... cHrIStmas present, anyone? Some people have suggested that Halley's Comet was in fact the star of Bethlehem. Science debunking Myth, once again. Plus, if it heralded the birth of Christ, might it not also herald his Second Coming at judgement day?