Interpretation:Darryl: I normally wouldn't have addressed another Wallflowers song so soon, but this song is so poignant and so often misinterpreted that I felt I needed to bring it to the forefront. "One Headlight" tells the story of a man who cared enough for a woman to help her end her life. She suffered terribly from breast cancer - thus the title - and decided she didn't want to endure the terrible pain of a slow death. Her friend, the singer, helped her end it and now has to face the law, the lawyers, and the media. It makes me ask the question, who should I pity more?Jerry: Oh dear GOD! First of all you have to bring up another Dylan song! Not only that, you had to go all "Nancy Reagan" on it! Breast cancer indeed... This song is all about the effects, the questions, and the rebound from one of the most heinous attacks on the US (pre 9/11), Pearl Harbor. The friend he lost was not a person but the entire US. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, the US had changed. We were still free and alive, but we were hurt, broken, pissed as hell, and dedicated to making things right again. The phrase "We can drive it home with one headlight" symbolizes the feeling of us being hurt, but still having the drive to make it. The tip-offs here are "sun comin' up" and "the funeral at dawn." The rising sun is an obvious depiction of the Japanese flag. The attack on Pearl Harbor happened in the early morning about dawn where many people lost their lives in their final resting places. Within a few hours, the damage had been done and the US had joined the war, thus changing our country for forever. Darryl: DUDE! Are you smoking crack?! Jerry: Hey, I'm not that far off! Darryl: You don't have to go all Ultra-Patriotic on me just to try to convince me you're not a communist. I'm afraid to hear your interpretation of the last verse. Or is this from the perspective of a patriotic American communist? I think anyone that listens to this song while sober will recognize that the death is personal, not national. The "maze of ugliness and greed" is not an attack on American capitalism, but an attack on the scavengers surrounding the judicial process. The final verse is not about burning a flag but about the misery of prison life. Jerry: Does that mean you've finished my interpretation for me? Darryl: I would like to hear why the US is on the window ledge and just why you think America smells of cheap wine and cigarettes. Jerry: Oh, well, I was just pulling your leg earlier. This song is actually about a guy who lost a testicle due to medical malpractice from an extremely hot female doctor. The only strange thing is he uses a female title for his testicle. Eeeewe. Darryl: Okay, it's official. You've lost it. You've gone completely mental. I have some friends that have a lovely white, wrap-around vest for you. Jerry: I HAVE LOST IT!?! I'm not the one making sense of a f#@^ing Dylan song!!! Seriously man, you need to take a step back and look at this. Ok. I want to see how on the ball you are.
Darryl: Okay, I'll take the bait.
Jerry: Jesus, you've just depressed the hell out of me. I see what you mean about this song. I can see plenty of validity of my Pearl Harbor interpretation, but I'll settle for yours. At least you proved yourself to be a communist pig, quick to point the finger to keep the spotlight off of you. Out of the two of us, I seem to be the only patriotic one. You can thank me later for helping you out with your interpretation. I know you couldn't have done it without my extremely unorthodox methods. Darryl: You're a peach. Jerry - Summary: Normally after a comment like that, I'd end up making some inappropriate comment about "fuzzy and pink." However, I'll try to hold off this time and close this by saying that I'll have to go with Darryl's interpretation since I, for the life of me, couldn't come up with my own. |
The Wallflowers - One HeadlightSo long ago, I don't remember when That's when they say I lost my only friend Well they said she died easy of a broken heart disease As I listened through the cemetery trees I seen the sun comin' up at the funeral at dawn The long broken arm of human law Now it always seemed such a waste She always had a pretty face So I wondered how she hung around this place [Chorus:] Hey, come on try a little Nothing is forever There's got to be something better than In the middle But me & Cinderella We put it all together We can drive it home With one headlight She said it's cold It feels like Independence Day And I can't break away from this parade But there's got to be an opening Somewhere here in front of me Through this maze of ugliness and greed And I seen the sun up ahead At the county line bridge Sayin' all there's good and nothingness is dead We'll run until she's out of breath She ran until there's nothin' left She hit the end-it's just her window ledge [chorus] Well this place is old It feels just like a beat up truck I turn the engine, but the engine doesn't turn Well it smells of cheap wine & cigarettes This place is always such a mess Sometimes I think I'd like to watch it burn I'm so alone, and I feel just like somebody else Man, I ain't changed, but I know I ain't the same But somewhere here in between the city walls of dyin' dreams I think her death it must be killin' me [chorus] |