Jimmy Bartlett's Teeth
Life's Crooked Paths: Stories of Stolen Homes and Broken Names
Lyrics
There was this kid I used to know
Introduction to a person from the past.
And he was born with the
Highlighting an unusual or inappropriate name.
Wrong name and I would walk with
Expressing companionship, walking together.
Him to school every day
Establishing a routine of walking to school.
On a cold October morning he
Setting the scene on a cold October morning.
Was jumped by a gang
Narrating an incident where the person is attacked.
Of local highSchool kids with
Describing the attackers as a gang of local high school kids.
Pipes and rusty chains
Detailing the weapons used in the attack.
When the ambulance arrived all his
Outcome of the attack: all teeth broken.
Teeth were broken out
Introduction of Jimmy Bartlett and the impact on him.
And Jimmy Bartlett never walked
Permanent change in Jimmy's walking ability.
Quite the same
Reflection on the lasting effect of the incident.
Turns out the house that he grew
Revelation about the stolen house Jimmy grew up in.
Up in had been stolen
Timely revelation about the theft.
By a man 100 years before
Connecting the thief to a shared last name.
Who shared his last name
Highlighting the historical aspect of the theft.
And while we're talking about houses
Transitioning to a new topic: childhood houses.
We grew up in, lemme
Introducing the speaker's childhood home.
Tell you about mine: it was an
Describing the modesty of the one-story house.
Honest little one story place
Reflecting on the house's honesty or simplicity.
But when my mother died it
Linking the house to the speaker's mother.
Became abandoned for a while, and
Describing the abandonment of the house after the mother's death.
Was quickly repossessed by the bank
Outcome: Repossession of the house by the bank.
But then in 1985 a
Introducing a time reference: 1985.
Couple neighborhood kids broke
Incident of neighborhood kids breaking into the abandoned house.
Into the house through the back door
Details of the break-in through the back door.
When the fire trucks arrived
Introduction of fire trucks, hinting at a fire.
It was burnt to the ground
Outcome: The house is burnt to the ground.
There ain't a sign of that
Observation of the absence of the house.
House there any more
Concluding the house-related narrative.
But that's alright but that's alright
Repetition of the phrase "But that's alright" for emphasis.
But that's alright but that's alright
-But that's alright but that's alright
-But that's alright but that's alright
-That's alright that's alright right
-Right right right
-When I was nine years old I watched
Introducing a personal childhood memory.
A kid get his legs broken
Witnessing a kid's legs being broken due to his last name.
Because of his last name 17 years later
Time jump: 17 years later, linking to the earlier incident.
An arson fire burned down the house
Arson fire destroying the speaker's birthplace.
Where I was born there ain't
Observation of the aftermath with no moral conclusion.
No moral to any of that and
Expressing a lack of blame for the events.
There ain't nobody to blame
Final reflection on the inevitability of such events.
It was just one of those things
Closing with the acceptance that it's one of those things.
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