Steal My Body Home

Steal My Body Home

Put me in a hole in the ground
With the money and the towel
And the women all runnin' around

Can't complain about the mess
Momma killed the only dress
Now she's longin' for the pines

Watch my troubles all unwind
Drinkin' gasoline and wine
Catch a chill off the stove

On the train they cannot feel
Lost my head beneath the wheel
Now she steals my body home

The trees are fake, the air is dead
The birds are stuffed with poison lead
And the ground is much too clean

And if it's only me who's scared
Strap 'em to the electric chairs
Ring the moon like a broken bell

When she drags you from the hill
Daddy's gonna burn down the still
We can watch it from the rooftop

Lay in to the fryin' pan
Now she kisses her own hand
With the fiddle on the fire

I took a leap into the fog
Sleepin' on a hollow log
Now I'm coughin' with no mouth

You can keep yourself inside
But you know you cannot lie
When the devil's your only friend

Analysis: The first stanza of this poem speaks of the poet dying; being put in the ground. He wishes to be buried with his money and towel. Perhaps he means he has given up; “throw in the towel.” Women are running from man to man; perhaps he feels dead after losing someone. The poem goes on to say he can’t complain about the mess his mother has made, since he is dead. His troubles are slowly unwinding; not as complicated as they used to be. As they would when he would drink. Catching a chill from a stove is impossible, unless he thinks he can when he’s drunk. The next stanza makes it sound like he died under the wheels of a train and now “she” is stealing his body to take it home. Everything (the trees, the air, the birds, the ground) seems fake or dead. He is not the only one who feels scared and he could probably convince others by scaring them, with electric chairs and loud noises. He goes back to talk about the girl dragging him home, as this happens the still is going to be burned down. Perhaps this is to prevent people from consuming alcohol. He leaps into a place he cannot see, because of fog. He coughs with no mouth. This could mean he is now dying or dead and trying to cough or get out what he feels. Things can be kept to yourself, he goes on to say, but evil and guilt cannot be hidden. This poem is about feeling sorry for oneself, and living life an unnatural way; "the trees are fake, the air is dead."

Mellowgold

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