Monday, January 16, 2017

Music: In Hell I'll Be In Good Company

Courtesy of The Dead South:

62 comments:

  1. I have to say that I am astonished at how good this band is. I wish I knew what the lyrics to this song meant.

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    1. So, I don't quite understand all of it...but, I think it's safe to assume that she stabbed him (brass knife sinks into my shoulder) and he shoots her 3 times.

      He's saying that after he gets off these 3 rounds, he's going to be in good company with HER in hell because he still loves her.

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    2. There's a "hang me from a tree" line towards the end, too. So maybe she stabbed him, he shot her, and he expects to hang for it?

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    3. According to the band it's about him killing his wife for cheating, so now in hell he will be in good company.

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    4. I'm listening to it now and wanted to know if I had it right. I thought the same as you all. Thank you

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  2. I'm kind of assuming that it's talking about relationships that didn't work out, and how the singers will be in better company out on their own than with their prospective matches. But that's a general impression, rather than any sort of close reading.

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    1. Naw... Dead South doesn't sing "nice" songs like that... this song is about domestic abuse, he killed his wife after she stabbed him and he expects to hang for it...

      They have another song; Banjo Odyssey which is about a man kidnapping and raping his cousin...

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    2. "Red head, messed bed, tears shed, queen bee,my squeeze..." this is a song about a man who caught his red-headed wife cheating on him and things got ugly. She stabs him and after he shoots them and then himself (three rounds) in hell he'll be in good company

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  3. Killed his wife and was wounded in the struggle. Likely will be hung or die from the bleeding. The good company in hell will be his wife.

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  4. Count off three rounds, onefor cheating wife, one for cheater, one for himself? Brass knife on shoulder, might mean wounded, but where dies one get as brass knife?

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    1. Brass knife?...Possibly a letter opener which could be on a dresser, night stand or table for easy access.

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    2. I agree he caught his wife cheating and he shot both of them then himself.

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  5. Count off three rounds, onefor cheating wife, one for cheater, one for himself? Brass knife on shoulder, might mean wounded, but where dies one get as brass knife?

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    1. If you read all the lyrics in the album the story is clear. Double murder and his suicide. These guys are great a story in each song and when you put them all together the whole album can be summed up in the title track

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    1. These are all great ideas, but here's what I think this song is about.

      I think the cheating part was right. He walks in on/finds out his wife cheating, surprised (proud) and upset (disgusted) (by her) he kills her.
      Soon after he regrets it. He talks about the smell of the stage [be it the stage of the murder or cheating, or both]
      (The stage it smells, tells, hell's bells, miss-spells, Knocks me on my knees) Most likely the cheating. The smell of sex is in the air, tells him everything he needs to know.

      The 3 counts I believe are him counting down before he hangs himself.

      I'm not a lyric analyst, but this is what I've gathered from reading over the lyrics a couple times.

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    2. I was just having this conversation with a friend... I assumed the song was about a man catching his woman (
      I see my red head, messed bed, tear shed, queen bee
      My squeeze) with another man possibly somebody he knew (Brass knife sinks into my shoulder) stabbed in the back - but could also be referring to her... and I think the 3 counts are shots... "dead wife" ... why he's not going home with the lord and also why he'll be in good company in hell. And the "hang me on a tree" bit I thought was him admitting guilt ... a reference to old tyme punishment for such crimes. Hanging til dead. Just my thoughts ...

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  7. Its just random. Come on man, the guys are probably heavily facepalming and having a laugh that people would actually waste their precious lifetime taking apart the lyrics. Its lika every dio song. It just rhymes. They probably wrote it in an hour. Both instruments are barely working hard.... Its a good sounding fluke.

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    1. That's great, starts with an earthquake...

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    2. Go turn Beyonce back on and leave the rest of us alone.

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    3. Notice how no one really listens to dio anymore.. lol saying random stuff cuz it rhymes is the same as this mumble rap garbage. Makes no sense but sometimes has a good rhythm. Also ends up being a phase people grow out of when they realize the artists arent that great. Hope these guys hire a good writer for the future if "random" really was the objective lmfao

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    4. Random wtf?

      “Dead love” is when you are in a damaging relationship but won’t leave.
      “Proud of and disgusted by her” displays the internal conflict of the damaging relationship.
      “Push Shove” physical expression of damaging relation ship
      “Not coming home with you” they had a fight

      “My life’s a bit more colder” when he finds out what happens
      “Dead wife is what I told her” the threat he made when he finds her cheating.
      “Brass knife sinks into my shoulder” Brass is an old term for prostitute, he is insulting her and saying she stabbed him in the back, this may also be literal but I don’t think so.
      “Ohh darling don’t know what I’m gonna do”
      Foreshadowing

      “I see my redhead, messed bed, tear shed queen bee my squeeze” the love he feels for after his anger subsided.
      “The scene it smells, tells misspells knock me on my knees” looking around it’s clear what he’s done and he feels bad.
      “It didn’t hurt, flirt blood squirt, stuffed shirt, hang me from a tree.” Some of his anger is coming back, he’s not hurt by it what he has done and he insults the man she cheated with “stuffed shirt” someone who doesn’t like to have fun.

      This song describes the rollercoaster of emotions involved in an awful end to a horrible relationship by using the fewest words possible. Culminating in his realisation that he will hang for this and go to hell.


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  8. Most important part... the wife is a redhead! I've had a husband who probably wanted to kill me (although I didn't cheat on him). lol

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    1. Well, naturally. I mean, ain't nobody going through that for a blonde...

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    2. Except for OJ!

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  9. One interpretation was that the song is from an abusive husband who was killed by his wife and she finally stood up to herself and killed him. He didnt really see it coming, it didnt really hurt, but now hes in hell and soon his wife will be for his murder.

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  10. The song is a retelling of the relationship between Shadow and his "Dead Wife" from the book American Gods by Neil Gaiman. I don't want to spoil it for those who haven't read it. But it fits perfectly. There's also a Starz series based on the book called American Gods. Check it out.

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    1. Huh. That's an interpretation that had never crossed my mind at all. But it does rather fit, doesn't it?

      Incidentally, if you're reading this and you're not already acquainted with American Gods, go give it a look. It's worth the read.

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    2. Haha I was just considering the book because s2 still so far away

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    3. I’ve read the book and watched the series, not much resemblance. Shadow doesn’t kill his wife she dies in a crash.

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  11. When he travels "three times down around hell" (sees his friends and gets to know everyone else that are obviously a lot like himself) he'll be in good company. And my money would be on a murder, likely his wife or her lover - or himself.
    I think one day they will discuss it. I hope so.

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  12. The story I'm seeing here is a "lady" who is in an abusive relationship with her "husband" who's looking for another man, or is being suited by one. "Dead love couldn't go no further." The singers are playing the part of the "guy". One of them is reluctant, "Oh Lord I ain't comin' home with you."

    The next verse may be the "husband." His life is colder as his wife is virtually dead to him. The "guy" stabs and kills him. I wonder if there's any signifigance to the brass?

    The third verse is the "guy" is describing his prize, "My Squeeze." The second two lines are perhaps the murder scene and their lover's bed simultaneously "The stage it smells..." Lines 5 and 6 describe how easy it all was, the flirting, the murder of an idiot, and finally finding himself hanging from a tree. Finally, the 7th line, In Hell I'll be in good company means he's as stupid as the guy he killed for the "lady" and so he'll be in good company.

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    1. Brass is an old term for prostitute, I think this line is figurative. Ie she’s a whore and she stabbed me in the back by cheating, it may be literal too but I think

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  13. I think the brass knife is symbolic of brass bed. So she stabbed him in the back using the big ol brass bed. i.e. she cheated on him. The stuffed shirt is her new fellow, as in just some random guy he did not know.

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  14. Wow! Hadn't dug as far into this as you guys have. Just love the song.

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  15. It's a classic Bluegrass murder ballad. She shoves him, knifes him, he retaliates, figures he'll hang for it, off to hell with both of them.

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  16. Estoy flipando, creo que todos los que habéis respondido sois hombres, muy simpáticos,pero muy inocentes...básicamente lo que cuentan es la historia de una pareja que se llevan fatal, ella(pelirroja) le pone cuernos y el la asesina.Lo de las rodillas es porque además de quedar bien en la canción, es que una vez que la mata se dobla sobre sus rodillas( parece ser que además de cornudo es tonto y se arrepiente, lo siento pero se puede escribir un libro....

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  17. Esto pasa más a menudo de lo que creéis, lo que fastidia es que no sea ella la que canta...

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  18. He catches her cheating. He beats her up. A brass knife digs into his shoulder (A man would more likely have immediate access to a knife rather than a woman) He asks what he should do. He decides one round for him, one round for her and one round for himself Three rounds. By "In good company" he implies that his love and the man she slept with will both go to hell for their sins also. So he'll literally "See them in hell". I take this as the antagonist breaking even. In philosophy it's called "Absurdism". Also I could be totally wrong since it's a song and can be interpreted a million different ways

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    1. You are on point. Everyone keeps asking about a brass knife. What about a WWI 1918 Trench Knife? It would have a brass handle with knuckle guard and pommel. I need to go back over the lyrics, but brass would be easier to rhyme.

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  19. I just really enjoy the song and wondered if it *was* about something more. Glad to know I'm not the only one C:

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  20. He walks in on his wife cheating. The room smells like sex and the bed is messed up— probably with a big wet sex stain.

    The brass knife represents both severing his relationship with her and the end of his ignorance of what she has been doing.

    He decides to kill her—“dead wife is what I told her.”

    But he realizes he will hang for it if he does. So he decides to kill them both and himself—“three rounds and I’ll be in good company”. because all three will be going to Hell.

    I liked the song a lot until I got the meaning of the song. Now it’s too depressing.

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  21. Here is my take, his red head wife that he is so proud of cheats on him so he is disgusted by her. He beats her and threatens to kill her (Dead wife is what I told her). She stabs him in defense (Brass knife sinks into my shoulder). He kills her. He is sentenced to hang and he knows he is condemned to hell (Oh Lord I ain't coming home with you) in three seconds (and will be there in three counts) where he will be with her (1 Corinthians 6:9-10 adultery hall not see the kingdom of heaven) In Hell he will be In Good Company with her.

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  22. I feel like the relationship stalled, so he was disgusted by his wife so he cheated on her (he told the other girl that his wife was dead) then one day he comes back to his house to find that she cheated on him too with a friend (catched them on the act and stabbed on the back cause of the friend) he kills them both and suicides because it's an easier death than being hanged, since he suicided and commited murder he's not going to heaven he will go to hell, and maybe he will find better friends there than the two cheaters he slugged (in hell i'll be in good company)

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    1. Exactly what I thought as well, and in much fewer words than what I wrote out; a great interpretation for sure!

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  23. "Dead wife is what I told her"

    He told her, long ago, if he ever found out she cheated, he would kill her.

    "Dead love couldn't go no further"

    If they are dead, their love can't continue. (Imagine there's a comma after the word 'dead')

    He suspected the cheating as the evidence presents. Hes proud because she was clever about it , getting away with it right under his nose, but disgusted because cheating.
    He kills them both, his world gets colder. So, he kills himself, too, rather than get caught and hang. And will thus be in good company in hell with them both. Because hes not going home to heaven with the lord. But, it serves also, as a suggestion to imply loyalty to his wife, both in life and in death and refusing something good to be with his wife even if is hell.

    ....although I love the song, it's really good... toxic relationships are romanticized far too often.

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  24. His marriage went stale. Him and his wife fought it got physical and he threatened to kill her. He went to jail, came back found his wife with another guy and is now contemplating suicide.

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  25. It's about a man who murdered his cheating wife and is happy to go to hell with her.

    At least according to the bass...

    https://youtu.be/aAbQAA1viqQ

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  26. Here's our take.... It's 2 men describing how they met their end at the hands of obe woman.

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  27. Simple, read the lyrics. He caught her cheating, killed her, him and himself. It states it plainly in the song...
    "The stage it smells, tells, hell's bells, miss-spells, knocks me on my knees.
    It didn't hurt, flirt, blood squirt, stuffed shirt, hang me on a tree
    After I count down, three rounds, in hell I'll be in good company."

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    1. Ok guys I appreciate all your comments; here's what it's all about. Although a movie would help All to see the real meaning, we cant afford that yet, but if you all can think of losing a girlfriend or wife, then you'll see it.
      This song is a bout a guy Deeply in love with his wife. She has fallen out of love with him, he cant stand the thought of losing her. His stress is like a knife stabbing him in his shoulder, some of us know what stress feels like.They fight and he slaps her around and she bleeds and cries in her bed and still doesn't show him love, he doesn't know what to do. After beating her three times, he thinks of her as being dead and wont return to him. He prays on his knees and knows his done wrong and he will go to hell and be with others like him. Because his a god fearing man and he did wrong, he's going to hell with good company. Thanks for all your thoughts but it's not about murder or cheating, it's just about falling out of love and the impact it can have on the other mate.
      Thanks for liking the song, now go and listen to it again, it'll make more sense and hopefully work harder at your relationship.

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  28. Here's what I think it could be: rather than catching his wife cheating, his wife was the one who caught him cheating. He told his lover that his wife was dead, so when the wife bursts in on them both, it's a surprise not only for the wife, but for the lover, too. He's proud of his wife for finding out, on some level, because he knew what he was doing was wrong and felt guilty for it (or perhaps he still admires her on some level and is proud she's his wife), but he's disgusted with her and their relationship, which is what the 'Dead Love' refers to- the dead love between them, which has turned his life colder.

    They get into a big fight, push and shove each other, leaving them both bruised and battered, and the wife gets so angry with him that she attacks him with a knife, which is when he shoots her dead, then shoots his lover dead (perhaps because she's a witness and refused to conceal his crime, but there seems to be no provided reason), then finally shoots himself. The 'good company' part could refer to his wife, his lover, or both, or it could just be his way of saying he belongs there for what he's done, and he'll find people like himself there (cheaters and murderers).

    ...But that's just a theory... a MUSIC theory!

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  29. There is a tradition in Blue Grass of singing folk songs that explain why a person is being hanged or imprisoned. It's a tradition that stretches back to England when troubadours would go from town to town selling sheet music at hangings; An example of this can be found in how one of these songs "The Bloody Miller" found it's way from 1680s England all the way to the Appalachians in the form of Knoxville Girl. The idea of these songs is that you get to see into the reasoning behind something as gruesome as a murder but you also get the justice of a hanging or imprisonment for life.

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  30. This post has gotten the most interesting responses from the most unexpected places... Thanks to everybody who responded!

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  31. It doesn't really matter what the song is about. It's a simple little ditty with a bouncy, uplifting rhythm and blue grass, old timey type of sound. The video, which is humerous but simple, like the song, is fun to watch as they have taken a light hearted approach and they appear to be having a good time with it.Just a feel good song and video and interesting enough to make me listen to the whole album.

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  32. Their period outfits are pretty cool too.

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