Over and over the crow cries ...

[JMZ]

... Seriously ?

WTF does that mean ?    

No, really, I was thinking the other day, listening to the MOJO45 version of Cabinessence: how can someone possibly neither like, nor understand a line and sing it so well ?

Mike sings this line so intensely, it gives it a real mystic touch, and the recent remix showcases that performance even more !


I really can't wait to here it on the Box !  

[SMiLE Brian]

Ask Mike Love if he knows the meaning now?

[John Stivaktas]

'Over and over the crow cries uncover the cornfield.
Over and over the thresher and hover the wheat field.'

As you may be aware, SMiLE was originally to consists of two movements....Americana and Elemental. In my opinion the Americana movement was to begin the album starting with Our Prayer signifying the landing of the English pilgrims at Plymouth Rock in 1620. Gee was always going to follow Our Prayer because it bookends the growth of America in cultural terms, after all Gee by The Crows is commonly acknowledged as the first Rock n Roll hit in 1952. The final verse of Cabinessence mirrors the contrasting hymns of the opening track of SMiLE. Where once the crow flew over the Native Indian land of America which was natural, as signified by the cornfield, the white Anglo-Saxon European has introduced machinery, planted new crops and the result of it 'hovers' over the American landscape.

[SloopJohnB]

It may also be a nod to the Crow Nation.

[John Stivaktas]

Absolutely, it may be a reference to that tribe. It's not as if Van Dyke will register on the board and tell us though.

[drbeachboy]

Ask Mike Love if he knows the meaning now?

Right now, I'm thinking he believes it to mean "Ca-Ching!!! $$$$$$$.$$"

[TerryWogan]

I always have a mental image of the sun rising over a corn field as the crows wake up and start doing their thing. So as the sun rises and darkness recedes, their cries can be heard.

That make any sense?

[Mr. Cohen]

Somewhere on the internet an English professor wrote a whole essay about Smile's lyrics. He noticed something really interesting if you switch the end of both lines around:

Over and over the crow cries uncover the cornfield.
Over and over the thresher and hover the wheat field.

BECOMES (IF WE ADD AN S):

Over and over the crow cries and hovers the wheat field.
Over and over the thresher uncovers the cornfield.


So, you see, it's very plausible that Van Dyke cut up the lines for an artistic effect. If anything, it's rather amazing that nobody notices that.

[sidewinder572]

where is this essay?

[Joshilyn Hoisington]

Somewhere on the internet an English professor wrote a whole essay about Smile's lyrics. He noticed something really interesting if you switch the end of both lines around:

Over and over the crow cries uncover the cornfield.
Over and over the thresher and hover the wheat field.

BECOMES (IF WE ADD AN S):

Over and over the crow cries and hovers the wheat field.
Over and over the thresher uncovers the cornfield.


So, you see, it's very plausible that Van Dyke cut up the lines for an artistic effect. If anything, it's rather amazing that nobody notices that.

Right, in my opinion, where many people see genius abstract lyrics, I see calculated effort to be inscrutable.  That's not to say I don't like the effect, but it's less genius than it is editing.

To wit, watch me turn I Get Around into a dense, mind-probing expression of abstract thought.


"I'm gettin' bugged drivin' up and down the kids are hip/
gotta find a new place where the same old street.

my buddies and me are gettin' leave us alone/
yeah the bad guys know us and they're real well known."


Now, I kid, but I feel like there's some truth here.

[OneEar/OneEye]

It's cinematic.  The first time I heard Cabin Essence, the movie it projected in my head was instaneous and clear.  This is nearly true for every other piece of Smile music.  The film in ones head - that's what the lyrics mean.  Apparently ML has never been able to listen visually, which makes me sad for him.

[Mr. Cohen]

where is this essay?

I think I found it through vandykeparks.com, but sadly, it's now dedicated to promoting Bananastan records. All the old stuff is gone.

[Bill Barnyard]

VDP did recall in an interview (not sure when) visiting the Getty Museum with his parents as a child and seeing a Van Gogh painting, probably the Wheatfield with Crows. This work is actually in Amsterdam but may have been at the Getty as part of an exhibition.

Van Dyke didn't offer this up as an explanation for the lyric mind you but he may have remembered it's imagery.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wheatfield_with_Crows

[shelter]

It's cinematic.  The first time I heard Cabin Essence, the movie it projected in my head was instaneous and clear.  This is nearly true for every other piece of Smile music.  The film in ones head - that's what the lyrics mean.

That is exactly how I feel about Van Dyke's lyrics. So who cares if they do or don't mean anything...

[Wrightfan]

VDP did recall in an interview (not sure when) visiting the Getty Museum with his parents as a child and seeing a Van Gogh painting, probably the Wheatfield with Crows. This work is actually in Amsterdam but may have been at the Getty as part of an exhibition.

Van Dyke didn't offer this up as an explanation for the lyric mind you but he may have remembered it's imagery.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wheatfield_with_Crows

Didn't Van Gogh also kill himself in a wheatfield? Maybe the crow is circling for "leftovers" 

See how you can interpret these lyrics in different ways 

[joshferrell]

where is this essay?

He's with his homies..

[John Stivaktas]

VDP did recall in an interview (not sure when) visiting the Getty Museum with his parents as a child and seeing a Van Gogh painting, probably the Wheatfield with Crows. This work is actually in Amsterdam but may have been at the Getty as part of an exhibition.

Van Dyke didn't offer this up as an explanation for the lyric mind you but he may have remembered it's imagery.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wheatfield_with_Crows

Didn't Van Gogh also kill himself in a wheatfield? Maybe the crow is circling for "leftovers"  

See how you can interpret these lyrics in different ways  

There are many double puns in Van Dyke's lyrics on SMiLE. It only makes sense to me now when Brian stated in promotional interviews this month that it was Van Dyke's idea to alter the title of the album from Dumb Angel to SMiLE - the humour is evident in the lyrics. For twenty years I thought the previous line to 'Over and over the crow cries' referred to the grand coulee dam built in 1942 until I realised that Van Dyke is referring to the 19th century derogatory term of a Chinese labourer, 'coolie' working on the railroad.