Listen to "Banjo"

[Tony Crosbie]

Have read somewhere that this song was inspired by Hurricane Katrina. I think it was in a review by Barry Egan in the Irish Sunday Independent.

[BEATRIZ SALLES]

Have read somewhere that this song was inspired by Hurricane Katrina. I think it was in a review by Barry Egan in the Irish Sunday Independent.

I've read this too, Tony

[panjandrum]

Those lyrics don't do much for me. There's no meat there.

Well, it isn't any "light as a breeze", but not all of Leonard's songs require a degree in literature to glean their meaning. I too tend to like his "meatier" works, but I won't dismiss it just because the meaning seems close to the surface in this case...

[howthelightgetsin]

I love Sharon's backing on this one, such a beautiful voice she has

[Evie B]

About "Banjo" - at the Joe's Pub Press conference - Leonard told Rita Houston of NPR -

He's reluctant to say too much about where his inspiration comes from, but reveals that "Banjo" came from Hurricane Katrina. "After Katrina ... I saw that culture dismantled, and I think that the image of a broken banjo floating in the dark came out of that deep discomfort that had been imposed on all our psyches."

http://www.npr.org/blogs/allsongs/2012/ ... n-new-york

I was so busy with the other tracks that I overlooked Banjo somewhat as I didn't really 'get' what it was about so it lost my attention - I thought I would probably get back to it later. But reading this article of how Leonard's inspiration came from the powerful image of the banjo floating on the water in the aftermath of Katrina, I now understand the track a little better and will listen to it with new ears.
I loved the story about the candles in this article, so Leonard, so funny though not for poor Edie Sedgwick of course. Thanks for posting this link Sturgess66.
Evie B

[howthelightgetsin]

They just played it on 6Music on Lauren Laverne's show, it is a beautiful track.

[howthelightgetsin]

For me, the "banjo" is a powerful metaphor that is making a reappearance in Leonard's work. In Boogie Street, he "tidied up the kitchenette and tuned the old banjo" as the "traffic jam" awaited him. He was back on Boogie Street, back in the commotion of the lights, the dance of men and women, sex, the highs and lows, the excitement of the new experience and the loneliness when Boogie Street yields no fruit. Leonard as the minstrel, and the banjo as his lute. He was back tuning it, his beautiful weapon, to once again ply his trade in the landscape of hunger and romance.

Now, in this new song, the banjo is broken and bobbing on a dark infested sea. Boogie Street no more. The minstrel not in that game anymore. His instrument broken. Perhaps that game of romancing and charming, perhaps an artifact of his past life. The song speaks of time...of decay. And mortality. "It is coming for him darling." Is it decay? Is it death? Is it the inevitable? Either way, the tune as it used to be played is no more. The banjo that served him well on boogie street is busted up. But still in his view as a reminder of what was and what will be.

Just my first take...

That is exactly how I interpreted the lyrics...

[lizzytysh]

That's beautiful, yopietro... so well expressed. Eloquently fitting.

[yopietro]

For me, the "banjo" is a powerful metaphor that is making a reappearance in Leonard's work. In Boogie Street, he "tidied up the kitchenette and tuned the old banjo" as the "traffic jam" awaited him. He was back on Boogie Street, back in the commotion of the lights, the dance of men and women, sex, the highs and lows, the excitement of the new experience and the loneliness when Boogie Street yields no fruit. Leonard as the minstrel, and the banjo as his lute. He was back tuning it, his beautiful weapon, to once again ply his trade in the landscape of hunger and romance.

Now, in this new song, the banjo is broken and bobbing on a dark infested sea. Boogie Street no more. The minstrel not in that game anymore. His instrument broken. Perhaps that game of romancing and charming, perhaps an artifact of his past life. The song speaks of time...of decay. And mortality. "It is coming for him darling." Is it decay? Is it death? Is it the inevitable? Either way, the tune as it used to be played is no more. The banjo that served him well on boogie street is busted up. But still in his view as a reminder of what was and what will be.

Just my first take...

That is exactly how I interpreted the lyrics...

I understand that LC mentioned that the idea for the song was inspired by Katrina. Yet there's still a strong part of me that believes that the theme of the banjo in this song is more complex and personal than the hurricane catastrophe. And I wouldn't be surprised if it was working, as much of his work does, on more than one level. The old banjo theme from A Thousand Kisses Deep still resonates powerfully for me in this song...

[yopietro]

That's beautiful, yopietro... so well expressed. Eloquently fitting.

Why thank you Lizzy!

[Steven]

Hi,

Consider "broken banjo" as a metaphor for a broken instrument of art... the artist. Read that into the lines and
the song becomes a deeply personal, troubling statement.