These nights have no mercy on me

Connaissez-vous le Tylenol PM, médicament anti-douleur et aide au sommeil ?

Jeffrey Lewis, oui.

I need my Tylenol PM

I can't sleep now without three of them

I don't know how my life has got here

I'd do anything to just be not here

I know it's my fault I can't sleep

My fault I let her cut so deep

If I was smart, I'd be so tough

But since I'm dumb, I need this stuff

I need those Tylenol PM

I can't sleep now without me and them

I loved her more than I knew how

But it's for sure I've lost her now

These days I can take it calmly

But these nights have no mercy on me

Each night I've tried, I've really lost it

And I just can't survive being this exhausted

So give me Tylenol PM

I won't get through now without them

I know too many pills is bad

But it's less safe to feel this sad

So may dark slumbers grab and hold me

Far from what my partner told me

Far from memories and thought

Just close to this small jar I bought

Of sweet, blue Tylenol PM

I hate endorsing brands like them

But, see, depression and debasement

Has got me doing product placement

It's one or two or three or four

And I'll get through the night for sure

No wife, no kids, no life at all

Now all I've got is Tylenol

There's Cowboy Truckers songs for speed

There's Cube for booze, there's Snoop for weed

There's Prodigy with ketamine

There's Cale and Reed with heroin

Hunter S. had ibogaine

There's Reverend Davis' sweet cocaine

But how can I get great like them?

I just take Tylenol PM

I need her golden arms and ears

I need her silver thoughts and tears

I need her diamond laugh and smile

Not cheap crap from the aspirin aisle

I wish I may, I wish I might

I wish upon the candle light

I wish upon a whisky jar

I wish upon a Ringo Starr

And Charlie Watts and Brian Jones

I wish on all the Rolling Stones

I wish on all the Violent Femmes

I wish on Tylenol PMs

God gave Jews a good headstart

Made some Jews hot and some Jews smart

God gave some Jews Jerusalem

But just gave me Tylenol PM

And I need those Tylenol PM

I can't sleep now without me and them

I loved her more than I knew how

But it's for sure I've lost her now

It's one or two or three or four

Then I'll get through the night for sure

No home, no heart, no hope at all

Now all I've got is Tylenol

Jeffrey Lewis - Tylenol PM

The EVEN MORE Freewheelin’ Jeffrey Lewis (2025)

Du lol pour 'music geeks'

En 2012, et jusqu'à présent, quatre albums auront fait vibrer mes oreilles de musicophile biberonné à l'indie rock 90's. (Quatre albums directement dans cette veine, hein). Les albums de PS I Love You, Cloud Nothings, puis - en plus basique - the helio Sequence et - à ma grande surprise - the Cribs.

Surprise, car il me semblait avoir déjà écouté ce groupe et considéré ça quelconque... sans compter que le rock anglais m'ennuie souvent. En tous cas, là, ça sonne carrément US (grâce à Dave Fridmann et Steeve Albini?). Désireux d'en savoir un peu plus sur leur compte, j'apprenais que c'était leur cinquième album, que le coeur du groupe était une fratrie, un temps renforcée par Johnny Marr (sur l'album précédent).

Si je vous parle de the Cribs, c'est qu'en cherchant un visuel de Jeffrey Lewis pour illustrer l'article Is it worth being an artist?, j'ai déniché par hasard deux planches de bandes-dessinées dont le New-Yorkais était l'auteur consacrée au groupe.

Instantané :

[Les deux planches en question ; Quatre autres]

Is it worth being an artist?

Will Bonnie Prince, Palace or whatever, what do you think about it? Is it worth being an artist or an indie-rock star, or are you better off without it? Cause I mean maybe the world would be better if we were all just uncreative drones, no dead child, hood dreams to haunt us, a decent job, a decent home, and if we have some extra time we could do real things to promote peace, become scientists or history teachers or un-corrupt police at least. Come on Will, you gotta tell me!! [...]

Steamboat Willie Bonnie Prince of all this shit, you're like the king of a certain genre, but even you must want to quit like if you hear a record by Bob Dylan or Neil Young or whatever, you must start thinking 'People like me, but i won't be that good ever' and I'm sure the thing is probably Dylan himself too stayed up some nights wishing he was as good as Ginsberg or Camus, and he was like 'Dude, I'm such a faker, I'm just a clown who entertains and these fools who pay for my crap, they just have pathetic punny brains' and Camus probably wished he was Milton too or whatever, you know what i'm saying?!

Je réaffirme ici les talents de parolier de Jeffrey Lewis (la dernière fois, c'était avec sa chanson The Last Time I Did Acid I Went Insane)... Cette fois, c'est par un morceau que j'avais découvert à l'époque en live, et qui avait immédiatement retenu mon attention, puisque mentionnant explicitement Will Oldham (à qui ce blog doit beaucoup...). Une rencontre fortuite, dans le L Train (ligne reliant Manhattan à Brooklyn), alors que Jeffrey Lewis est en route pour faire remasteriser "some dumb old album".

L'évolution parallèle de la situation et des pensées du narrateur est drôle, le récit est vif et rempli d'autodérision, bref, je vous encourage à prendre le temps de lire le texte intégral (puis d'écouter et regarder le clip).

Today I went to Major Matt's to remaster my old album
And on the L train in the morning, I was pretty sure I saw Will Oldham,
He was wearing the same sunglasses he had on stage at the Bowery Ballroom
Had he come to walk among the Williamsburgers of his kingdom
And like the burghers of Calais will a sacrifice be demanded?
To offer up our dreams and beg for mercy empty-handed?
And hapless in our hipness crowded five to an appartment
Relegate our dreams to hobbies and deny our disappointment
Cause The Stones in '65 want total satisfaction, kid
But The Stones in '69 see grace in just getting what you need
But if that's a victory then I'd hate to see what I'd look like defeated
Cause I know there are those among us who seem to get their dreams unimpeded 
Today I went to Major Matt's to remaster my old album
And on the L train in the morning, i was really sure i saw Will Oldham,
He was wearin' the same sunglasses he had on stage at the Bowery Ballroom
Had he come to walk among the Williamsburgers of his kingdom
And you might say now there's a guy who seems to have their world laid out before him 
Or you might say, he's just a rich kid or a fascist or a charlatan
But either way you say it if you look at indie-rock culture you really can't ignore him
And even if at first dismissive, after some listens you'll enjoy him
I was thinking this on the L train, intend on bursting my own bubble
How long should an artist struggle before it isn't worth the hassle?
And admit we aren't fit to be the one inside the castle
This quest for greatness or, at least hipness, just a scam
And too much trouble but then what makes on human being worthy of an easy ride
Born to be a natural artist you love or hate but can't deny
While us minions in our millions tumble into history's chasm
We might have a couple of laughs but we're still wastes of protoplasm
Today I was gonna waste some time and money to remaster some dumb old album 
And on the L train in the morning, i was really sure I saw Will Oldham,
He was wearin' the same big sunglasses he had on stage at the Bowery Ballroom
Had he come to see the strife here in the gutters of his kingdom?
Where us noble starving artists are striving to feed our ego
Our mothers like our music our our friends come to our shows
And if our friends become successful, we'll consider them our foes
Go home to our 4 roomates after payin' big bucks for rockstars shows
What a nightmare! what a horror! i don't want no part of this
Get me off this crazy ride,
I'm gonna puke, I'm gonna piss! I'd rather kill myself,
I'd rather just relax or not exist
But you say you wanna do an e-mail interview? Oh what the heck, I can't resist! 
"Hey, 'ma, guess what today, I did another magazine interview!
Honey, that's great, you're really famous!!" Yeah and I'm 27 too!
I kinda thought I was gonna grow up to do stuff that would benefit humanity
But it's getting harder to tell if this artist's life is even benefitting me
Cause I was gonna waste some time and money today to remaster some dumb old album
And on the L train in the morning, I was totally sure I saw Will Oldham,
He was wearin' the same big sunglasses he had on stage at the bowery ballroom
And since I was feeling in need of answers I just went right up and asked him, I said 
"Will Bonnie Prince, Palace or whatever, what do you think about it?
Is it worth being an artist or an indie-rock star, or are you better off without it?"
Cause I mean maybe the world would be better if we were all just uncreative drones,
No dead child, hood dreams to haunt us, a decent job, a decent home,
And if we have some extra time we could do real things to promote peace,
Become scientists or history teachers or un-corrupt police at least,
"Come on Will, you gotta tell me!!" I grabbed and shook him by the arm,
The L train was leaning Bedford with 10,000 white 20 somethings crowed on
He opened his mouth to speak but it was lost in the rumbling of the wheels
We were thrown together in a corner and I yelled "Tell me, man, for real!"
You're living comfortably, I assume, even if you're not quite a household name
You've reached a pretty high level of success & critical acclaim
The L train got to first avenue and a bunch of people piled out
I was starring into his sunglasses and I was really freakin' out i was like,
"Steamboat Willie Bonnie Prince of all this shit, you're like the king of a certain genre
But even you must want to quit like if you hear a record by Bob Dylan or Neil Young or whatever
You must start thinking 'People like me, but i won't be that good ever'
And I'm sure the thing is probably Dylan himself too stayed up some nights
Wishing he was as good as Ginsberg or Camus
And he was like 'Dude, I'm such a faker, I'm just a clown who entertains
and these fools who pay for my crap, they just have pathetic punny brains '
and Camus probably wished he was Milton too or whatever, you know what i'm saying?!"
So Will, will you be straight with me now that it's just us two on this train?
Cause I was gonna spend some time and money today to remaster some dumb old album 
And I saw you here on the L train
And I was like "Hey, is that Will Oldham?" he must at least , have some perspective 
Cause it's like, living in this town I get so confused and wound up and up tight
And I just don't know up from down
And then we'd reached the last stop and the subway was deserted
There was a long moment of silence and I let go of his shirt
I started to think that maybe I'd made some kind of big mistake
I tried to walk out onto the platform but by then it was too late
His sunglasses seemed to grow darker and still he hadn't even spoke
He just came right up behind me and put his hand around my throat
And threw me down onto the concrete and kicked my face in with his boot
And dragged me down onto the train tracks and tied my hands back with his coat
And I was slipping out of conciousness as he was slipping down my jeans
And he was punching me and humping me and I slipped off into a dream
So it might have just been a delusion
But I thought I heard him say something like "Artists are pussies"
Then he climbed back up and ran away
So I lay there in the darkness on the train tracks cold and broken
The hours passed and I thought,
Well... maybe I won't remaster that old album
And then I started thinking maybe it really hadn't been Will Oldham
Even though he did hold my arms and fucked me just like Will sings in "A sucker's evening" 
But whether it was him or not I couldn't forget the words he'd spoken
"Artists are pussies", like we're wusses or we end up getting fucked
And other kinds of folks are dicks, tall, smart and strong
And born to fuck us up I know,
It sounds really sexist and stupid,
It's a terrible analogy but at that moment on the train tracks,
It made a lot of sense to me maybe it's just some kind of natural balance,
Like 2 types of mental gender that's gone on in all societies,
In one form or another like some dicks were born to conquer,
I probably would if I could but if i'm just a pussy, that's okay
Cause in a few months maybe, I'll put out something good.

Jeffrey and Jack Lewis - Williamsburg Will Oldham Horror

City and Eastern Songs (Rough Trade, 2005)

www.thejeffreylewissite.com

Une autre chanson publiée sur ce blog parlait déjà de l'ami Will (décidément incontournable) :

http://arise-therefore.blogspot.fr/2008/12/downy-bearded-isolation.html

I've just discovered the meaning of life

It was a night in July, I think six years ago

Why did I eat the acid? I don't know

I wasn't thinking and I wasn't scared

Why did I eat the acid? I wasn't prepared

The last time I did acid I went insane

I was hanging with some friends just getting loaded

When all of a sudden my mind exploded

I had a flash that I was gay and I got paranoid

I was sitting on the floor listening to Pink Floyd

The last time I did acid I went insane

And I was drawing crazy pictures and before I was done

The pictures started pulsing like an alien lung

And I said 'oh my god this is just begun'

And it was twelve more hours before I was done

We were up on the rooftop and I'll tell you the truth

I was convinced I'd already fallen off of the roof

And these weird metal things rolling around in outta space

Were teleporting me from place to place

The last time I did acid I went insane

So we ran back downstairs where it was better to be

But I was trapped in spiral staircase infinity

And when we got to the door I couldn't go inside

Cos it was the gates of heaven and I had died

The last time I did acid Iwent insane

And this kid named Graham he punched a cat in the head

He could read my thoughts, that's what he said

And he described what it was like but I didn't believe it

Like lifting a rug and seeing stars beneath it

Ooo-ooo

And the first rule of tripping was

Don't be with people you don't trust

The second rule of LSD

The rooftop is not a good place to be

The third rule is to be prepared

The fourth rule is to not get scared

The fifth rule is to stay serene

Turn off your mind and float downstream

The sixth rule's to have a good friend at hand

The seventh, I hope that you understand

Is not to look to deep into your soul

Or you might find a hideous, hopeless hole

Of hatred, hunger, infinite, idiot

Mindless, meaningless, nothingness, nothingness

Nothingness, nothingness, nothingness, nothingness

Nothingness, nothingness, nothingness, nothingness

Nothingness

And that's what I did

And every aspect of life that I selected

Was instantly and brutally dissected

I saw the horrible emptiness within

The reasons behind everything

And it was at that moment that I went insane

Cos I figured why bother doing anything again

I didn't understand my thoughts revealing themselves to be

The truth behind everything I'd ever wanted and believed

Revealed itself to be

Unwinding

I Stood up

I brushed

My head

I turned

To my right

All in my eye

And I said

There are things which we feel to be so terrifically true

That what were all but madness

For any good man in his own proper character

To utter or even hint of them

I've just discovered the meaning of life

I've just discovered the meaning of life

I've just discovered the meaning of life

I've just discovered the meaning of life

Jeffrey Lewis - The Last Time I Did Acid I Went Insane

The Last Time I Did Acid I Went Insane and Other Favorites (Rough Trade, 2001)

www.thejeffreylewissite.com

Time's price

Jeffrey Lewis sait être pragmatique face au temps qui passe...

Des paroles pas si triviales.

Time is gonna take so much away

But there's a way that time can offer you a trade

You've gotta do something that you can get nicer at,

You've gotta do something that you can get wiser at,

You'd better do something that you can get better at

'Cause that's the only thing that time will leave you with

'Cause time is gonna take so much away

But there's a way that time can offer you a trade :

It might be cabaret, it could be poetry,

It might be trying to make a new happy family,

It could be violin repair or chemistry,

But if it's something that takes lots of time, that's good

'Cause time is gonna take so much away,

But there's a way that time can offer you a trade.

Because your looks are gonna leave you

And your city's gonna change too

And your shoes are gonna wear through

Yeah time is gonna take so much away,

But there's a way that time can offer you a trade :

You gotta do something that you can get smarter at,

You gotta do something you might just be a starter at,

You better do something that you can get better at

'Cause that's the thing that time will leave you with.

And maybe that's why they call a trade a trade,

Like when they say you should go and learn a trade;

The thing you do don't have to be to learn a trade,

Just get something back from time for all it takes away.

It could be many things, it could be anything,

It could be expertise in Middle Eastern traveling,

Something to slowly sorta balance life's unraveling

You have no choice you have to pay time's price

But you can use the price to buy you something nice

Something you can only buy with lots of time

So when you're old you blow some whippersnapper's mind.

It might be a book that takes researching seven years

A book that helps to make the path we take to freedom clear

And when you're done you see it started with a good idea

One good idea could cost you thousands of your days

But it's just time that you'd be spending anyway

You have no choice you have to pay time's price

But you can use the price to buy you something nice

So I've decided recently

To try to trade more decently…

Jeffrey Lewis - Time trades

A Turn In The Dream-Songs (Beggars Banquet, 2011)