Always loved this song and the magnificent guitar licks. I never thought for once it was a Penthouse magazine. And how weird, that once Joe explained, I immediately went back to my childhood, living beside the Great Dividing Range in Australia and finding porno mags in the woods. They happened to be mostly ‘Hustler’, and I think ‘Hustler in the Woods’ conjures up a different narrative altogether.
Nice version Joe. I remember clearly when it dawned on me all those years ago, after several listens to the album, that it was about a porno mag. Made me smile
The first Joe Pernice song I heard (on a one-track Sub-Pop promo CD) and it made me an instant fan, further cemented when the Massachusetts promo arrived soon after. It remains a favourite to this day, despite years of mishearing certain lines.
It just occured to me to check the Japanese lyric sheet and the transcriber did a good job with the following few exceptions...
"How could I wound tight"
"We were ..." (the transcriber gives up)
"Seemed to take my grin away"
"From above the light came a ..." (another defeat)
Credit for catching "Why'd you steal what you saw" however, which I'd never been sure of ("Why'd you still watch yourself" was my best wrong guess).
Like others I never thought of the magazine when listening to this hundreds of times in my mid-20s. And I, too, always heard something different in the "Why'd you steal what you saw?" part, guessing at something like "Oh, I just hear what you saw," which seemed interesting, too. Feel free to use that, Joe.
Fascinating. I never connected the dots. But I recall the day as vividly as it was yesterday when I found a Penthouse in the woods outside my house in Michigan. I think I was 14 or so and it was definitely waterlogged..... Thanks for the story.
Thanks again. One of my fav SMB tracks -also realize I have been getting the lyrics wrong (the why you steal part). Curious when your song write, what comes first, the music or the lyrics?
Thanks so much! As many times as I listened to it back then, steeping in my own melancholy, I never once imagined it could have been a Penthouse magazine, even though I had those same suburban woods experiences (esp at construction sites that were replacing said woods). Fascinating how the song morphed. And such a beautiful progression.
Always loved this song and the magnificent guitar licks. I never thought for once it was a Penthouse magazine. And how weird, that once Joe explained, I immediately went back to my childhood, living beside the Great Dividing Range in Australia and finding porno mags in the woods. They happened to be mostly ‘Hustler’, and I think ‘Hustler in the Woods’ conjures up a different narrative altogether.
*Wonders why girls never found these magazines anywhere!
Nice version Joe. I remember clearly when it dawned on me all those years ago, after several listens to the album, that it was about a porno mag. Made me smile
The first Joe Pernice song I heard (on a one-track Sub-Pop promo CD) and it made me an instant fan, further cemented when the Massachusetts promo arrived soon after. It remains a favourite to this day, despite years of mishearing certain lines.
It just occured to me to check the Japanese lyric sheet and the transcriber did a good job with the following few exceptions...
"How could I wound tight"
"We were ..." (the transcriber gives up)
"Seemed to take my grin away"
"From above the light came a ..." (another defeat)
Credit for catching "Why'd you steal what you saw" however, which I'd never been sure of ("Why'd you still watch yourself" was my best wrong guess).
I’ve always loved the chords on the middle eight. Gorgeous
Like others I never thought of the magazine when listening to this hundreds of times in my mid-20s. And I, too, always heard something different in the "Why'd you steal what you saw?" part, guessing at something like "Oh, I just hear what you saw," which seemed interesting, too. Feel free to use that, Joe.
Fascinating. I never connected the dots. But I recall the day as vividly as it was yesterday when I found a Penthouse in the woods outside my house in Michigan. I think I was 14 or so and it was definitely waterlogged..... Thanks for the story.
Easily one of my favorite songs ever.
Thanks again. One of my fav SMB tracks -also realize I have been getting the lyrics wrong (the why you steal part). Curious when your song write, what comes first, the music or the lyrics?
Thanks so much! As many times as I listened to it back then, steeping in my own melancholy, I never once imagined it could have been a Penthouse magazine, even though I had those same suburban woods experiences (esp at construction sites that were replacing said woods). Fascinating how the song morphed. And such a beautiful progression.