"From high in the rafters I watched myself fall"
what does it mean ? is it a rigged match a la Ali-Liston ?
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no disrespect but why do you people analyze every little word that is written and try and find a meaning like its a clue to a puzzle of life? could never figure that out
I simply wanted to know if that is an idiomatic expression meaning something in the boxing world.Thanks
I'm assuming one of two things:
First, the hit is so hard that he leaves his body momentarily. Much like when someone dies and is brought back to life (ie an out-of-body experience).
Secondly, and imo more likely, he just isn't at the fight (figuratively speaking) as it is fixed. He's never going to win it so he would just as well be watching it from the rafters (ie the cheap seats). The previous line shows that the fight was indeed fixed:
I took the fix at the state armory with big John McDowell
From high in the rafters I watched myself fall
First, the hit is so hard that he leaves his body momentarily. Much like when someone dies and is brought back to life (ie an out-of-body experience).
Secondly, and imo more likely, he just isn't at the fight (figuratively speaking) as it is fixed. He's never going to win it so he would just as well be watching it from the rafters (ie the cheap seats). The previous line shows that the fight was indeed fixed:
I took the fix at the state armory with big John McDowell
From high in the rafters I watched myself fall
I forgot how great this song is.
Great song, the only problem is that I can't help thinking about Tom Cruise when I listen to it.
I can't thinking about a stage rush as the song finishes.
Originally Posted By: elmer the pea
I'm assuming one of two things:
First, the hit is so hard that he leaves his body momentarily. Much like when someone dies and is brought back to life (ie an out-of-body experience).
Secondly, and imo more likely, he just isn't at the fight (figuratively speaking) as it is fixed. He's never going to win it so he would just as well be watching it from the rafters (ie the cheap seats). The previous line shows that the fight was indeed fixed:
I took the fix at the state armory with big John McDowell
From high in the rafters I watched myself fall
First, the hit is so hard that he leaves his body momentarily. Much like when someone dies and is brought back to life (ie an out-of-body experience).
Secondly, and imo more likely, he just isn't at the fight (figuratively speaking) as it is fixed. He's never going to win it so he would just as well be watching it from the rafters (ie the cheap seats). The previous line shows that the fight was indeed fixed:
I took the fix at the state armory with big John McDowell
From high in the rafters I watched myself fall
How about he is remembering how he felt having been in on the fix that he can imagine how it looked as he was going down. The song is told from the perspective of the hitter's narrating memories of his life and ends in the present.
Originally Posted By: marleys_ghost
no disrespect but why do you people analyze every little word that is written and try and find a meaning like its a clue to a puzzle of life? could never figure that out
No disrespect, but this is the forum where you can ask a question like this guy did without being asked why you asked it. If you like to go to the concerts to listen to the cool sounds and you don't care about the subtlety of the songwriting, that's your prerogative. But Springsteen himself did write an entire book about JUST his lyrics and as far as I remember it didn't come with a soundtrack, so I'd guess he'd invite critical discussion.
For my two cents, I think the protagonist is distancing himself from the act he's committing. He sees the act from almost a cinematic, long-shot distance, because to see it up close is to see his own failing, his own moral decline, his own moment of spiritual demise. The memory is too painful to face up close, so Springsteen has him remember it from the farthest reaches of the arena.
I think this song is one of the most brilliant he's ever written, and it's a shame he doesn't write more "story songs" like it.