The other day George was texting me about a song. This is a very. very rare occurrence. While I get piles of fiddle and fiddle-related video content from him, a text saying, have you heard this song Speed of the Sound of Loneliness caught me by surprise.
Prine! I replied enthusiastically.
The world of music lovers and music players is largely split into two camps, those who live and die by song lyrics, and those for whom the lyrics are merely an optional topping on the main musical burger. These folks, like my husband, can rarely tell you the words to songs that they themselves have ripped solos on and sung harmony with night after night.
There’s not one right way to be, some musicians are more word oriented, while others think only in harmony, and rhythm. These folks can still recognize and appreciate a great singer and a great song performance while having no idea what the song is about. They can feel it through the music and don’t need poetry to complicate the issue.
However, I am always blown away by the power of a truly great song to cut through this divide. What about “Speed of the Sound of Loneliness” caught George’s attention, reached way down into his guts, and made him crave that incredible chorus?
Anyway, this text sent me down a Prine rabbit hole and I noticed this song I hadn’t paid much attention to before called “Lonesome Friends of Science”, from his Tree of Forgiveness album.
The lonesome friends of science say
The world will end most any day
Well, if it does, then that's okay
'Cause I don't live here anyway
I live down deep inside my head
Well, long ago I made my bed
I get my mail in Tennessee
My wife, my dog and my family
Poor old planet Pluto now
He never stood a chance no how
When he got uninvited to
The interplanetary dance
Once a mighty planet there
Now just an ordinary star
Hanging out in Hollywood
In some old funky sushi bar
The Vulcan lives in Birmingham
Sometimes he just don't give a damn
His head is full of bumblebees
His pride hangs down below his knees
Venus left him long ago
For a guy named Mars from Idaho
The Vulcan sent a wedding gift
Three-legged stool and a wheelchair lift
Those bastards in their white lab coats
Who experiment with mountain goats
Should leave the universe alone
It's not their business, not their home
I go to sleep and it never rains
My dog predicts hurricanes
She can smell a storm a mile away
That's all the news we have today
This song has been pulling at me. For a long time, I’ve been having the same debate with my dad, and more recently with my bandmate Steve about the concept of universal, concrete truth. After studying Anthropology in college, I became completely convinced that each person’s experience of the world is entirely subjective. That one person’s beliefs could absolutely inform what was real, and make all of the pieces of the world relate in ways that would directly conflict with another person’s experience. “But what about science?” my dad says to me. “What about the universal truth of science, the scientific method? The collective knowledge of enlightened humanity?”
Yes, of course, I believe in science, and I understand why it’s so terrifying (and dangerous) to question the concept of universal truth, but what if you don’t live in this world? What if you live way down deep inside your head?
There’s no answer in this song, but the question is there.
Speaking of questions and answers… I just wrote to George to ask him if it was OK that I write this about him. He responded “yea, I like your article, but for the record, I like the melody in Speed of the Sound of Loneliness… it does that sustained Lydian thing in the verse”
This post has really come full circle.
Speed of the Sound of Loneliness is a a great song. Common Nation of Sorrow is a great album. This coincidence is great reason to subscribe. I’m grateful for your work.
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/04/opinion/einstein-disinformation.html?unlocked_article_code=W0hVLgA_IJFUtPqWRq0JsScR8WHT-eBi8rUIg6ADXiwc9ocXbW8dLxtOf5xxK05IHuqyEmT0k0pKwc7kxIM0cl-taYonrVWct-O9k_zvU0jSVWGHAmBj5bcVpGerkDRMGm41-KO31wtXiSvqX-XWtcl9HBgTlbPaENv61eIdeiMPLYcYj7SbVYtgK9VFOETlV7MQ5h1TM5r6IrRA3f-ok4OB3v9ykx-eL0otResr4uNLh50BTnAeMCwCxFhHn-qLreqOpd7XqvHQE6r8sLBNAay70Fiv7tmWawPZ_noLyfWWQLCfEiphTh4FSj2ooc8blSLaJ67CCg4oH0-mUHWado4&smid=url-share