"She's a Jar" Lyrical Analysis

[musicaddict]

This is my favorite Wilco song at the moment (which is, of course, subject to change by tomorrow morning), so I thought I would take the time to formally analyze the lyrics, considering the thematic and emotional meaning behind the song. Enjoy! If you disagree or have an alternative opinion, I would love to hear it!

 

She's a Jar

 

“She's a jar

With a heavy lid

My pop quiz kid

A sleepy kisser

A pretty war

With feelings hid

She begs me not to miss her”

 

This first stanza hits the listener with a lot all at once. The first two lines “She’s a jar/with a heavy lid,” firstly portrays this woman as an introvert, not apt to let people in. At the same time, however, Tweedy plays on the sound “a jar,” with “ajar.” In this case, he intends both phrases, which is emphasized in the next line: “My pop quiz kid.” This woman is an introvert, but she has opened herself up to the singer; she is ‘his.’ “A sleepy kisser” and “A pretty war,” are there to emphasize her unique perfection. Specifically, “a sleepy kisser” portrays a sort of homey feel, a place of comfort; “A pretty war” demonstrates that this girl has flaws, but her whole self--flaws included-–makes her perfect. Finally, the stanza ends with a twist: “With feelings hid/she begs me not to miss her.” Once again, Tweedy emphasizes that the girl is “his,” but then turns around: for some reason, she is leaving him.

 

 

"She says forever

To light a fuse

We could use

A handful of wheel

And a day off

And a bruised road

However, you might feel

Tonight is real"

 

Starting with the second stanza, Tweedy goes to analyze the problems with their relationship-- to, eventually, provide a reason for why she left "him." The first two lines demonstrate that "he" has commitment issues; the following four drive the point home, elaborating on how badly “he” wants to escape. Whether it's driving away (“We could use/a handful of wheel”) or literally a “day off” from the relationship. But the last two lines drive home the inescapable feeling “he” has: “However, you might feel/tonight is real.” This is real. There is no “day off.”

 

 

"When I forget how to talk, I sing

Won't you please

Bring that flash to shine

And turn my eyes red

Unless they close

When you click

And my face gets sick

Stuck, like a question unposed"

 

This stanza is a little trickier. Here, Tweedy is exploring “his” introverted nature. The first line articulates the singer’s preference toward his art over personal interaction. The rest of the verse drives home this insecurity: a picture perfectly captures his disability in such situations. “My face gets sick/stuck, like a question unposed.”

 

 

"Just climb aboard

The tracks of a train's arm

In my fragile family tree

And watch me floating inches above

The people underneath"

 

This stanza is when Tweedy really begins to dig deep. Here, the singer is introducing his lover to his family-- and, depicted as “the tracks of a train’s arm,” it isn’t the smoothest ride. His family is “fragile”: not desirable, and certainly not beneficial to his upbringing. Yet he feels that he has somehow moved past them: “Watch me floating inches above/the people underneath.” This line is both beautiful and significant; it shows that while he has gotten past his family issues, he's still significantly damaged. He is, after all, only “inches above” them. This is the true start of his downfall.

 

 

"Please beware the quiet front yard

I warned you

Before there were water skies

I warned you not to drive

Dry your eyes, you poor devil"

 

These next three stanzas constitute the emotional climax of the piece. In this verse, the singer is blatantly apologizing to his lover for the pain he has caused her. The “quiet front yard” is a reference back to the third stanza and his introverted nature; people see him as a quiet, serene man, but inside the house, he is only “floating inches above” his “fragile family tree”-- and this perfect girl walked right into the trap. Additionally, by inserting the foreboding line “I warned you not to drive,” Tweedy emphasizes the tragic effect of the situation: they all saw this coming, but it was out of “his” control.

 

 

"Are there really ones like these?

The ones I dream

Float like leaves

And freeze to spread skeleton wings

I passed through before I knew you"

 

This stanza is absolutely beautiful. It's a combination both of the singer’s horrid past and gorgeous present. He is speaking of the girl: “Are there really ones like these?” The singer cannot believe there is someone of his dreams, someone better than the family he grew up with (this is emphasized by using the same tree metaphor as the previous verse, where it was used as description of his family). He relies on this girl to look past his previous baggage; and, more importantly, to help him move past it (portrayed beautifully as “skeleton wings/I passed through before I knew you”).

 

 

"I believe it's just because

Daddy's payday is not enough

Oh I believe it's all because

Daddy's payday is not enough"

 

This stanza is the singer’s attempt to understand the origin of his family’s horrendous experiences. The way Tweedy cries it out like a call for help is beautifully tragic, and characterizes the helplessness the singer feels: he realizes he can't keep the girl of his dreams.

 

 

"Just climb aboard

The tracks of a train's arm

In my fragile family tree

And watch me floating inches above

The people underneath"

 

This stanza is repeated so that the previous verse can give a basis for the “fragile family tree,” and can bring the singer’s issues full circle.

 

 

"She's a jar

With a heavy lid

My pop quiz kid

A sleepy kisser

A pretty war

With feelings hid

You know she begs me

Not to hit her"

 

This has to be the greatest repeat of a stanza of all time. The repetition of the line makes it sound desperate-- even tragically hopeless. At last, the final line: “You know she begs me/not to hit her.” At once, the moment when he lost her is revealed. Saving this until the end is absolutely ingenious: the listener leaves the song both questioning the singer’s sanity and feeling his unbearable pain.

 

 

 

All in all, this song is about an introverted man with an unforgettable past. He finally gets the chance to receive the life he deserves through this perfect girl: she can both look through and help him deal with his past. However, he eventually comes to the conclusion that he doesn’t deserve it… when it’s too late. Through the flashback form of the song, the singer slowly begins to understand the tragedy of what's occurred-- and finally ends wishing they could escape his torturous life.

 

 

 

Sorry I couldn’t analyze the musical aspects of this song as well, there was just so much poetic material to work with!

[Chinese Apple]

I'm a little wary of over analyzing things I love. Like vivisection, dissecting something to see what makes it live, and killing it in the process. But I enjoyed reading your analysis of this song, which I also love.

 

I have always interpreted this song to be about a physically abusive relationship. And I think it is clever how the "punch" comes at the very end, in the very last line "she begs me not to hit her."

 

I think in some of the best Wilco songs (which is just about all of them), there is an alchemy that happens with the melody and the lyrics, a WonderTwinPowersActivate, if you will. In this one for instance, the slow and loving way the first person narrative is delivered is poignant to the narrative. I remember listening to it for the first time and being shocked and a little horrified when the last line came that it could be a song about physical abuse. And yet I love the song -- it parallels and illustrates artistically why some women stay with their abusers. I return to the sweet melody again and again despite the initial lyric horror, and now I anticipate and expect the punch to come at the end, without flinching.

 

Some other songs where the melody echoes the theme in the lyrics for me, include More Like the Moon. That song conjures perigees and apogees. I love listening to it on headphones in the dark on continuous repeat because it will cycle seamlessly, and swirl around your head and you will feel like it orbits around you, a satellite of love.

 

Or Pieholden Suite, where the revelation of infidelity is delivered feet-dragging, sweet and slow and so feels like a betrayal, because what the listener expects to be whispered is not what comes. But then with the recollection of happier days (in the beginning we closed our eyes...) the melody changes tempo and key. Well, it is just perfect.

 

Great masterpieces of art have an element of the Rorschach in them, where our interpretations tells us as much (or more) about ourselves as they do about the artist's intention.

[musicaddict]

I apologize, I should have made that more clear; I completely agree, I believe the narrator is an abuser as well. I kind of see that final moment of abuse as the side-effect, if you will, of issues he articulates earier in the song.

 

I've always had a little trouble placing the music, because, like you said, it is so sweet and melodic. A couple things I did notice, however: There are two moments of swell (with excess strings, drum rolls, etc), and they occur during both "Climb aboard..." stanzas, as if that topic is a place of tension for him. Immediately after, however, the music calms right back down, with a gorgeous harmonica solo. The only other moment of musical growth occurs in the "Are there really ones like these..." and "I believe it's just because..." stanzas, where the double tracked vocal is almost yelling behind the lead singer. I personally believe them to be moments of epiphany, or thoughts the narrator had that were important to him. Finally, I was struggling to see the connection between the soft, subdued music coupled with the tragic lyric, because Tweedy is a sheer master of capturing the specific emotion of the story with his music/instrumentation. Then I realized, the music sort of embodies the learned helplessness that the singer is feeling. It has a sort of "oh well" quality to it, a feeling that what is happening cannot be stopped or changed. And that is the lens (I think) Tweedy wants the listener to hear through. Anyway, those are just some thoughts.

 

I'm not as familiar with More Like the Moon, but I completely agree with Pieholden Suite. That is a perfect example of Tweedy's musical capture of emotion. Like you said, every note in that song adds to the story he is telling. And the twist of infidelity is a top Wilco moment (I'd also say Summerteeth as a whole is my favorite, if not second favorite album, so I might be a little biased).

 

And I agree, I think what makes good art into great art is its opened nature. But in turn, it is up to listeners/readers/observers (depending on the art) to do their job and respect, discuss, and understand its elements.

[Magnetized]

Oh, I just love a thread like this. It's what I wish we did more of on this message board, because I think there are so many layers and density to Jeff's songs and the music, and the songs really hold up to scrutiny.

 

Unfortunately I don't have time right now to jump into the conversation but I really appreciated the analysis. I've always loved that song but have felt the last line to be a little jarring (pun NOT intended) and maybe just added for shock effect, which has always bothered me, because I don't think Jeff generally does that. So it sort of marred the song for me a little bit. Now that I read these interpretations, I think there is a very plausible way to see that shocking last line as integral to the song, and that makes me happy.

[Guest Jules]

Actually, he thinks her head resembles a jar. That's pretty much it.

[caliber66]

It's pretty clear that the song explores the singer's dependence on marijuana. If you can't figure out what

 

Bring that flash to shine

And turn my eyes red

 

means, I don't know what to tell you.

[Atticus]

When I forget how to talk, I sing

 

Jeff has mentioned before that this was an homage to Mel Tillis

[bleedorange]

Jeff has mentioned before that this was an homage to Mel Tillis

 

[Guest Jules]

Jeff's a clever bastard.

[Atticus]

I believe it's just because

Daddy's payday is not enough

Oh I believe it's all because

Daddy's payday is not enough"

 

I took this part to mean that the speaker's father did not earn enough income.

[choo-choo-charlie]

I took this part to mean that the speaker's father did not earn enough income.

 

Me too.

 

If Jeff were writing about his own life, I always thought the line referenced his progression beyond his humble origins in Uncle Tupelo and was tasting success for the first time with Wilco, trying to support a family, and struggling with the balance between family life and devotion to his art.

[Doug C]

I honestly have never given a fuck what songs mean. I put no time into thinking about it. When the lyrics are obvious as to meaning, okay. When the lyrics are not obvious, okay. I just enjoy the song or I don't. I never really think about it. I probably don't enjoy music as much as others. Oh well.

[smells like flowers]

For me, She's A Jar is one of those songs you just let wash over you. The meaning of the lyrics is secondary to the way the whole thing feels -- the perfect marriage of words and music. There is clearly specific intent and meaning to many of Jeff's lyrics; however, it was so interesting to have him reveal that in writing some of the songs on The Whole Love (I Might, in particular) the lyrics grew out of grunts and the words just fit the rhythm of the song ("the sunk soul with the coal clean toe is a mutha!" WTF!!). That's the beauty of many Wilco songs to me -- a particular phrase may jump out at me as utterly gorgeous, but it doesn't necessarily have to tell me a story for it to hit me in all the right places.

[Moss]

It's pretty clear that the song explores the singer's dependence on marijuana. If you can't figure out what

 

 

means, I don't know what to tell you.

 

Yep, a heavy lid is a bit more than an ounce of Marijuana.

[Guest Jules]

I honestly have never given a fuck what songs mean. I put no time into thinking about it. When the lyrics are obvious as to meaning, okay. When the lyrics are not obvious, okay. I just enjoy the song or I don't. I never really think about it. I probably don't enjoy music as much as others. Oh well.

 

Word!

[SarahC]

Me too.

 

If Jeff were writing about his own life, I always thought the line referenced his progression beyond his humble origins in Uncle Tupelo and was tasting success for the first time with Wilco, trying to support a family, and struggling with the balance between family life and devotion to his art.

 

Maybe he rose from the ashes? Eh? Eh?

 

This is a neat thread. Always cool to read other people's theories about songs.

[musicaddict]

It's pretty clear that the song explores the singer's dependence on marijuana. If you can't figure out what

 

 

 

means, I don't know what to tell you.

 

I originally thought so too, but after looking at the lyrics surrounding it, it became obvious to me that he was describing the taking of a picture:

 

Won't you please

Bring that flash to shine

And turn my eyes red

Unless they close

When you click

And my face gets sick

Stuck, like a question unposed

 

I see the flash as the flash of a camera, and in pictures the eyes can turn red. Additionally, "click" I saw as referring to the click of a camera, and "stuck, like a question unposed" seems very much like a still picture to me.

 

I took this part to mean that the speaker's father did not earn enough income.

 

I agree, sorry for being unclear; I thought the speaker was exploring the possible origins of his family's turmoil, and concludes with his father/family's financial instability.

For me, She's A Jar is one of those songs you just let wash over you. The meaning of the lyrics is secondary to the way the whole thing feels -- the perfect marriage of words and music. There is clearly specific intent and meaning to many of Jeff's lyrics; however, it was so interesting to have him reveal that in writing some of the songs on The Whole Love (I Might, in particular) the lyrics grew out of grunts and the words just fit the rhythm of the song ("the sunk soul with the coal clean toe is a mutha!" WTF!!). That's the beauty of many Wilco songs to me -- a particular phrase may jump out at me as utterly gorgeous, but it doesn't necessarily have to tell me a story for it to hit me in all the right places.

I was blown away with Tweedy's approach to lyrics as well! I personally think that is the coolest thing ever. And I agree, I think Tweedy is a master of lyrical sonic flow, and meanings aside, they are just beautiful to let pass over. However, regardless of their auditory beauty, he is trying to say something. And this song is amazing, in my opinion, because it can offer both a wash of beauty and a deep, insightful theme.

[Chinese Apple]

I honestly have never given a fuck what songs mean. I put no time into thinking about it. When the lyrics are obvious as to meaning, okay. When the lyrics are not obvious, okay. I just enjoy the song or I don't. I never really think about it. I probably don't enjoy music as much as others. Oh well.

 

That is pretty much how I watch porn. I never really listen to the dialogue or pay attention to any sort of narrative or structure unless it is obvious, and I think it quite ENHANCES my enjoyment of the works. There's more than one way to skin a cat.

 

There is clearly specific intent and meaning to many of Jeff's lyrics; however, it was so interesting to have him reveal that in writing some of the songs on The Whole Love (I Might, in particular) the lyrics grew out of grunts and the words just fit the rhythm of the song ("the sunk soul with the coal clean toe is a mutha!" WTF!!). That's the beauty of many Wilco songs to me -- a particular phrase may jump out at me as utterly gorgeous, but it doesn't necessarily have to tell me a story for it to hit me in all the right places.

 

And I read in the Atlantic that he wrote the words for Born Alone this way:

"I wasn't coming up with anything specific, so I opened up a book of American poetry and randomly turned to the Emily Dickinson pages, no one poem in particular. I took a lot of words, most of them verbs, and put them against words that looked appealing to me from Whittier and other 1800s poetry. It's just looking at the words and writing a little poem trying to use as many of them as possible. If I'm lucky it all starts to settle meter-wise on the melody I have in my head, and then a certain amount of tweaking goes on to coax out a little more feeling. It's an exciting way to write, without trying to steer the ship in any one direction."

 

In Greg Kot's tome "Wilco: Learning how to Die", Kot says that most of the songs on Summerteeth were inspired by books Tweedy was reading at the time: Henry Miller, William H. Glass, and John Fante.

 

"I would write tons of stuff in my head, and forget. Some songs on Being There, I don't think I ever wrote any lyrics down ... To fight that, I started writing words on paper and making up melodies to go with them. By writing things down, and putting more words into my head, it put more words in my mouth when I turned on the tape recorder to sing." (Tweedy)

 

Wikipedia references Kot's book that Jeff's relationship with his wife Sue inspired several of the songs on Summerteeth, and that she was portrayed negatively. "Miller was reluctantly willing to give Tweedy the creative license to write songs, but was concerned about lyrics such as 'she begs me not to hit her' from 'She's a Jar'."

 

Obviously, the man has many muses and many approaches to songwriting. Artists in any medium, from Robert Frost to Hemingway to Picasso or Monet, "self-mythologize" about their creative approach. I bet they don't actually have a formula that will guarantee "success." They put their work out there never knowing how or with whom it will find resonance, but they feel a compulsion to put it out there. (It's not unlike Tourettes. Fuck.)

 

Some people are just blessed; they have a gift. Or if you read and believe in Malcolm Gladwell, you just have to clock 10,000 hours and you can become a genius at anything.

[caliber66]

I originally thought so too, but after looking at the lyrics surrounding it, it became obvious to me that he was describing the taking of a picture:

 

Won't you please

Bring that flash to shine

And turn my eyes red

Unless they close

When you click

And my face gets sick

Stuck, like a question unposed

 

I see the flash as the flash of a camera, and in pictures the eyes can turn red. Additionally, "click" I saw as referring to the click of a camera, and "stuck, like a question unposed" seems very much like a still picture to me.

 

Occam's razor, buddy. No need to put yourself through the mental gymnastics. The guy (and I'm referencing the speaker in the song, of course, not JT himself) enjoyed pulling some tubes. I'm surprised he didn't figure out a way to work "grip it and rip it" in there.

 

Certainly no problem here with a song about pot, but I'm a little more concerned with the not-so-subtle reference to recruiting others (climb aboard) to inject drugs (tracks of a train's arm) and float away. Leave the heroin songs to Son Volt, dude.

[Chinese Apple]

Occam's razor, buddy. No need to put yourself through the mental gymnastics. The guy (and I'm referencing the speaker in the song, of course, not JT himself) enjoyed pulling some tubes. I'm surprised he didn't figure out a way to work "grip it and rip it" in there.

 

Certainly no problem here with a song about pot, but I'm a little more concerned with the not-so-subtle reference to recruiting others (climb aboard) to inject drugs (tracks of a train's arm) and float away. Leave the heroin songs to Son Volt, dude.

 

So maybe the "hit" in the last line could be a different kind of hit than I'd originally imagined.

 

Dammit. This sort of makes me want to listen to the song backwards for hidden meaning...

[choo-choo-charlie]

 

Maybe he rose from the ashes? Eh? Eh?

 

 

*facepalm*

[Magnetized]

Oh good lord, what a song. Reading that first analysis I was sure the person had it about 90% "correct" and I thought everyone saying it was just about pot were just being snarky. But now that I read it from that perspective it makes total sense that way too. Could Jeff possibly have intentionally written the song in such a multi-layered way that it could justify that many valid interpretations?

 

I don't minimize the music's contribution to the feel and meaning of the song--it's obviously gorgeous and haunting --but it just blows me away to think how well it works no matter which lyrical meaning you're thinking of.

 

And I certainly think that Jeff writes songs in different ways at different times in his life. They don't all all have this much to chew on. But this one sure does.

[lamradio]

The best song lyrics are the one's that leave a lot open for personal interpretation. I would bet that if you asked Jeff what the song was about, he was reply "what do you think it is about?"

[Atticus]

I have always seen this tune as Jeff's nod to carnal and lascivious artists like Nine Inch Nails. It is downright lurid in some its shocking sexual imagery. Since this is a family board I'll try and keep my commentary sanitary, but some parts of the song defy discretion.

 

She's a jar

With a heavy lid

 

we start with an endowed female

 

A sleepy kisser

 

on sedatives

 

A pretty war

With feelings hid

 

with turbulent, sado-masochistic behavioral tendencies and repressed emotions

 

She begs me not to miss her

 

who engages in role-playing with servile overtones, (This repeats the stoic theme of detachment of the previous lines)

 

She says forever

To light a fuse

 

and uses anchored keywords in order to trigger sexual arousal.

 

We could use

A handful of wheel

And a day off

And a bruised road

 

This is clearly a reference to the street term for amphetamines. This passage reflects the narrator’s penchant for day(s?)-long drugged-out sexual escapades hidden from the din of every day life but still craving turbulence (“bruised road”)

 

However, you might feel

Tonight is real

 

the narrator is referring to the uncertainty caused by the drug-induced haze. Will he and his partner forget the tryst as a result of the side effects of the meth-induced delirium, or will they have fleeting tinges of memory, causing them to question the nature of “their” reality?

 

When I forget how to talk, I sing

 

Refers to the narrator’s need to resort to a child-like sing-song state when overwhelmed by chemicals

 

Won't you please

Bring that flash to shine

And turn my eyes red

Unless they close

When you click

 

as Caliber has already made clear, this refers to the actors’ use of marijuana to temper the effects of the speed and perhaps take a respite from their “activities”

 

And my face gets sick

Stuck, like a question unposed

 

further side effects from the drugs

 

Just climb aboard

The tracks of a train's arm

In my fragile family tree

 

The narrator’s invitation to add additional sexual partners to the mix–behavior evidently adopted from the boundary-less incestuous nature of his nuclear family.

 

And watch me floating inches above

The people underneath

 

An allusion to the voyeuristic and exhibitionistic characteristics of our narrator. He wants to be watched, but he also wants people “underneath” whom he may view as well. Also exhibits the speaker’s dominating tendencies

 

Please beware the quiet front yard

 

establishment of “front yard” as a safe word for the couple/group

 

I warned you

Before there were water skies

I warned you not to drive

Dry your eyes, you poor devil

 

this is so depraved I’m not going to go into it here, but feel free to PM me.

 

Are there really ones like these?

The ones I dream

Float like leaves

 

The narrator is reflecting upon the “heavy lid,” again.

 

I passed through before I knew you

 

An acknowledgment of the lack of emotional intimacy prior to physical penetration in the narrator’s relationship with his partner(s).

 

I believe it's just because

Daddy's payday is not enough

 

Here the narrator is placing blame for the vacant, detached nature of his sexual relationships and pedestrian (street) drugs of choice on his socio-economic status.

 

You know she begs me

Not to hit her

 

a final reference to the sado-masochistic role play. This delivers a chilling, sobering punch at the end of the song that leaves the listener shocked.

[Chinese Apple]

Like I said -- all art is Rorschach... It's not about the song, it's all about you.