Blue Wing
Blue Wing's Flight: A Tale of Dreams, Despair, and Redemption
Lyrics
He had a blue wing tattooed on his shoulder
Describing a blue wing tattoo on the person's shoulder.
Well, it might have been a bluebird, I don't know
Uncertain whether it's a bluebird, expressing ambiguity.
but he'd get stone drunk and talk about Alaska
Recalling moments of intoxication and discussions about Alaska.
The salmon boats and 45 below
Mentioning experiences with salmon boats in extremely cold weather.
Well, he got that blue wing up in Walla Walla
Getting the blue wing tattoo in Walla Walla.
and his cellmate there was a Little Willy John
Having a cellmate named Little Willy John in prison.
and Willie, he was once a great blues singer
Little Willy John, a former blues singer.
so Wing & Willie wrote him up a song
Collaboration between Wing, Willie, and Willy to create a song.
(CHORUS)
< em > CHORUS : Introduction to the recurring theme of darkness and the blue wing.
They sang, it's dark in here, can't see the light
Expressing the darkness and inability to see the light.
but I look at this blue wing when I close my eyes
Connecting the blue wing to a source of comfort and escape.
and I fly away, beyond these walls
Imagining flying away beyond confinement.
up above the clouds, where the rain don't fall
Describing a liberated place above the clouds.
on a poor man's dreams
Referencing dreams belonging to a poor man.
They paroled blue wing in August of 1963
Blue Wing's parole in August 1963.
He moved north, picking apples in the town of Wenatchee
Blue Wing moves north and works in Wenatchee.
And then winter finally caught him in a rundown trailer park
Winter catches up with him in a trailer park in Seattle.
on the south side of Seattle where the days grow grey and dark
Depicting the grey and dark days in Seattle.
And he drank and he dreamt a vision of when the seven still ran free
Drinking and dreaming of a time when the land was free.
and his father's fathers crossed that wide old Bering sea
Reflecting on ancestral journeys across the Bering Sea.
and the land belonged to everyone, and there were old songs yet to sing
Highlighting a shared land and unexplored songs.
now, it's broken down to a cheap hotel and a tattooed prison wing
Contrasting the past with a current reality of a cheap hotel and a tattooed prison wing.
Now, it's dark in here... (repeat chorus)
< em > Repeat CHORUS : Reiteration of the theme of darkness and the blue wing.
Well, he drank his way to L.A., and that's where he died
Blue Wing's journey to Los Angeles and eventual death.
and no one knew his Christian name, and there was no one there to cry
Narrating the anonymity of Blue Wing's death.
but I dreamt there was a funeral; a preacher and a cheap pine box
Imagining a funeral with a simple casket.
and halfway through the sermon blue wing began to talk
During the funeral, Blue Wing begins to speak.
He said, it's dark in here... (repeat chorus)
< em > Repeat CHORUS : Final repetition emphasizing the enduring theme of darkness and escape.
Comment