He regularly does solo work, and returns again and again to bands he has formed like The Soft Boys and The Egyptians. Hitchcock is an avid and able collaborator with people like director Jonathan Demme, actor Alan Rickman, country/folk duo (and longtime Hitchcock fans) Gillian Welch and David Rawlings, The Venus 3, R.E.M.'s Peter Buck, Young Fresh Fellows' frontman Scott McCaughey, Andy Partridge of XTC, Nick Lowe, former Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones, Jon Brion, and Grant-Lee Phillips, as well as Ministry's Bill Rieflin.
Hitchcock's musical and lyrical styles have been influenced by his appreciation of Bob Dylan, Gregory Corso, The Byrds, Country Joe & The Fish, and Syd Barrett.
Hitchcock's lyrics are an essential component of his work, and tend to include surrealism, comedic songs, characterisations of English eccentrics, plant roots, insects, trains, dreams, and melancholy depictions of everyday life. His themes include what many psychologists view as the roots of modern neurosis - namely, death, sex, and eating. (As if in recognition of these themes, he released an EP in 2007 called "Sex, Food, Death and Tarantulas".)
Visions of Johanna
Robyn Hitchcock Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
We sit here stranded, though we're all doin' our best to deny it
And Louise holds a handful of rain, temptin' you to defy it
Lights flicker from the opposite loft
In this room the heat pipes just cough
The country music station plays soft
But there's nothing, really nothing to turn off
Just Louise and her lover so entwined
And these visions of Johanna that conquer my mind
In the empty lot where the ladies play blindman's bluff with the key chain
And the all-night girls they whisper of escapades out on the "D" train
We can hear the night watchman click his flashlight
Ask himself if it's him or them that's really insane
Louise, she's all right, she's just near
She's delicate and seems like the mirror
But she just makes it all too concise and too clear
That Johanna's not here
The ghost of 'lectricity howls in the bones of her face
Where these visions of Johanna have now taken my place
Now, little boy lost, he takes himself so seriously
He brags of his misery, he likes to live dangerously
And when bringing her name up
He speaks of a farewell kiss to me
He's sure got a lotta gall to be so useless and all
Muttering small talk at the wall while I'm in the hall
How can I explain?
Oh, it's so hard to get on
And these visions of Johanna, they kept me up past the dawn
Inside the museums, Infinity goes up on trial
Voices echo this is what salvation must be like after a while
But Mona Lisa musta had the highway blues
You can tell by the way she smiles
See the primitive wallflower freeze
When the jelly-faced women all sneeze
Hear the one with the mustache say, "Jeez
I can't find my knees."
Oh, jewels and binoculars hang from the head of the mule
But these visions of Johanna, they make it all seem so cruel
The peddler now speaks to the countess who's pretending to care for him
Sayin', "Name me someone that's not a parasite and I'll go out and say a prayer for him."
But like Louise always says
"Ya can't look at much, can ya man?"
As she, herself, prepares for him
And Madonna, she still has not showed
We see this empty cage now corrode
Where her cape of the stage once had flowed
The fiddler, he now steps to the road
He writes ev'rything's been returned which was owed
On the back of the fish truck that loads
While my conscience explodes
The harmonicas play the skeleton keys and the rain
And these visions of Johanna are now all that remain
The song Visions of Johanna by Robyn Hitchcock is a cover of the original song by Bob Dylan. The lyrics of the song paint a surreal picture of a night full of strange events, where the singer seems to be lost in his thoughts about a woman named Johanna. The first verse describes the eerie atmosphere of the room, where the heat pipes cough, and the country music station plays softly. Louise and her lover are entwined, while the singer is struggling with visions of Johanna taking over his mind. The second verse describes an empty lot where the ladies play blindman's bluff and the all-night girls whisper about their escapades on the "D" train. The night watchman clicks his flashlight, questioning his own sanity, while the singer is lost in his own thoughts about Johanna.
The third verse deals with the little boy who is lost and takes himself so seriously. He speaks of a farewell kiss to the singer while bragging about his own misery. He seems useless, muttering small talk at the wall while the singer is trying to explain something to him. The final verse sees the peddler speaking to the countess, asking her to name someone who's not a parasite. But, like Louise always says, "ya can't look at much, can ya man?". The fiddler steps to the road, writing everything that was owed on the back of the fish truck that loads, while the harmonicas play the skeleton keys and the rain. The visions of Johanna are now all that remain.
Line by Line Meaning
Ain't it just like the night to play tricks when you're tryin' to be so quiet?
The night is deceivingly quiet and peaceful, but can still disrupt our senses.
We sit here stranded, though we're all doin' our best to deny it
We are stuck in a situation we do not want to be in, but we try to ignore it.
And Louise holds a handful of rain, temptin' you to defy it
Louise holds something that is impossible to grasp, tempting you to challenge it.
Lights flicker from the opposite loft
Lights from another building flicker and catch our attention.
In this room the heat pipes just cough
There are audible sounds coming from the pipes, possibly indicating the presence of something wrong.
The country music station plays soft
There is a radio nearby playing soft country music.
But there's nothing, really nothing to turn off
There is no way to get rid of the sounds, lights and music in the room.
Just Louise and her lover so entwined
Only Louise and her lover are entwined in a romantic relationship.
And these visions of Johanna that conquer my mind
The artist's thoughts about Johanna are overpowering and he cannot stop thinking about her.
In the empty lot where the ladies play blindman's bluff with the key chain
In an empty lot, ladies are playing a game of blindman's bluff using a key chain.
And the all-night girls they whisper of escapades out on the "D" train
Girls who work in the night time suggest they have had exciting experiences on the train.
We can hear the night watchman click his flashlight
They can hear the sounds of the night watchman's flashlight clicking.
Ask himself if it's him or them that's really insane
The night watchman questions whether he is sane or it's the people around him.
Louise, she's all right, she's just near
Louise is okay, but not too far away.
She's delicate and seems like the mirror
Louise is fragile and reflective, like a mirror.
But she just makes it all too concise and too clear
Louise is straightforward and concise, making it difficult to hide anything from her.
That Johanna's not here
Johanna is not around.
The ghost of 'lectricity howls in the bones of her face
The singer imagines that the electricity in Johanna's face is screaming.
Where these visions of Johanna have now taken my place
The singer is consumed by his thoughts of Johanna.
Now, little boy lost, he takes himself so seriously
The artist observes someone who is lost and serious about it.
He brags of his misery, he likes to live dangerously
The little boy takes pride in his pain and enjoys living a risky lifestyle.
And when bringing her name up
When the little boy brings up Johanna's name,
He speaks of a farewell kiss to me
He tells the singer about a goodbye kiss he had shared with Johanna.
He's sure got a lotta gall to be so useless and all
The little boy is quite cheeky to act helpless but also daring.
Muttering small talk at the wall while I'm in the hall
While the singer walks down the hallway, the little boy is chattering against the wall to himself.
How can I explain?
The singer is having trouble putting into words how he feels.
Oh, it's so hard to get on
Life is not easy to deal with.
And these visions of Johanna, they kept me up past the dawn
The artist is consumed with thoughts of Johanna, keeping him awake until dawn.
Inside the museums, Infinity goes up on trial
In museums, the concept of infinity is being tested and challenged.
Voices echo this is what salvation must be like after a while
People speculate that after a long time, salvation could feel like this.
But Mona Lisa musta had the highway blues
Even the Mona Lisa likely had moments of sadness or discomfort.
You can tell by the way she smiles
By the way her face is, it's possible to tell she's had a rough time on the road.
See the primitive wallflower freeze
A shy, timid person stops and becomes frozen before the others.
When the jelly-faced women all sneeze
When the wimpy women sneeze,
Hear the one with the mustache say, "Jeez
A woman with a mustache says, "Jeez.
I can't find my knees."
She feels like she is going to fall and seems unsure of what to do.
Oh, jewels and binoculars hang from the head of the mule
On the mule's head, there are jewels and binoculars hanging.
But these visions of Johanna, they make it all seem so cruel
The singer's thoughts about Johanna make everything around him seem harsh and painful.
The peddler now speaks to the countess who's pretending to care for him
The peddler talks to a countess who only pretends to care for him.
Sayin', "Name me someone that's not a parasite and I'll go out and say a prayer for him."
Asking for someone who is not a leech, and will pray for them.
But like Louise always says
As Louise often comments,
"Ya can't look at much, can ya man?"
You cannot see much, can you man?
As she, herself, prepares for him
While preparing for him, she criticizes his abilities.
And Madonna, she still has not showed
Madonna has not arrived yet.
We see this empty cage now corrode
They see an empty cage begin to rust away.
Where her cape of the stage once had flowed
Where her stage costume once dropped to the floor.
The fiddler, he now steps to the road
The fiddler leaves and goes down the road.
He writes ev'rything's been returned which was owed
The fiddler writes that everything has been repaid that was owed.
On the back of the fish truck that loads
On the back of the truck that is transporting fish.
While my conscience explodes
The singer's conscience seems to be breaking apart.
The harmonicas play the skeleton keys and the rain
Harmonicas are playing along with the sound of the rain and keys.
And these visions of Johanna are now all that remain
The only thing left in the artist's thoughts are the visions of Johanna.
Contributed by Jack D. Suggest a correction in the comments below.