Califone is the musical project of former Red Red Meat frontman Tim Rutili. Its regular and rotating contributors include many former members of Red Red Meat and some members of other Chicago bands, such as Tortoise. Their music is less rooted in blues-rock than Red Red Meat and is more directly inspired by experimental music and early American folk music as can be found on Harry Smith's Anthology of American Folk Music.
Califone's current lineup includes Joe Adamik (drums), Jim Becker (banjo, violin), Ben Massarella (percussion), and Tim Rutili (vocals, guitar, keyboards). Each member is a multi-instrumentalist.
Tim Rutili has collaborated with a number of other artists as well. He joined up with Modest Mouse frontman Isaac Brock and others in 2002 to release the album Sharpen Your Teeth under the band name Ugly Casanova. Some members also toured with Freakwater and served as a backing band to record the album Thinking of You in 2005. In 2006, Tim Rutili teamed up with Wil Hendricks and Michael Krassner under the name The Unseen Hand to record the soundtrack for Rank, a documentary about bullriding. In the same year Califone worked with animator/musician Brent Green on a series of performance art pieces featuring animation, live music, and spoken word. They are also featured on the soundtrack for the movie Stranger than Fiction.
Sawtooth Sung a Cheater's Song
Califone Lyrics
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Tried and 26 missed old names losing speed
This city is wrecked a fistful of shake nowhere to collapse let it
Pass it sings itself sick and sweet florida walls
Locked into it a painted fake old medicine seven lean kine
Finely get bron old names are peeling away
Hung sick and sweet florida walls wait at the bottom under
Glass not mine to collapse in locked into your pull choke on your
Protection not mine to collapse in
The lyrics of Califone's song "Sawtooth Sung a Cheater's Song" appear to evoke a sense of disillusionment and desperation. The verses are fragmented and disjointed, with images and phrases that suggest a feeling of being lost, stuck, or suffocated. The opening line, "Sawtooth sung a cheater's song," implies that the singer is surrounded by deception and betrayal, perhaps even participating in it themselves. The use of the telephone as a symbol of communication further emphasizes the theme of disconnection and estrangement.
The second line, "telephone a morning lush 26," seems to create a sense of urgency or importance, but the meaning is unclear. The repetition of "26" in the third line, "Tried and 26 missed old names losing speed," suggests a cyclical pattern of failure and repetition. The phrase "old names" could refer to people or memories that are fading away, while "losing speed" implies a slowing down or stagnation.
The chorus of the song, "This city is wrecked a fistful of shake nowhere to collapse let it / Pass it sings itself sick and sweet florida walls," suggests a sense of resignation or hopelessness. The city is portrayed as a ruined and unstable place, and the idea of letting it pass implies a surrender to a situation that is beyond one's control. The mention of "Florida walls" further emphasizes the feeling of being trapped or confined.
The remaining verses continue to explore these themes of disillusionment and desperation, with images and phrases that suggest a sense of suffocation and entrapment. The phrase "locked into it a painted fake" implies a lack of authenticity or genuineness, while "slept against an angel's neck" creates a sense of vulnerability or intimacy. The song ends with the repeated refrain of "not mine to collapse in," suggesting a desire to avoid responsibility or accountability.
Line by Line Meaning
Sawtooth sung a cheater's song telephone a morning lush 26
Sawtooth, a deceitful person, sang a song about cheating while drinking heavily early in the morning at age 26
Tried and 26 missed old names losing speed
Attempted and failed 26 times to regain past successes, losing momentum and slowing down
This city is wrecked a fistful of shake nowhere to collapse let it
The city is ruined and unstable, ready to crumble at any moment. Let it fall apart
Pass it sings itself sick and sweet florida walls
As time goes on, the situation becomes more and more unbearable. The walls of Florida seem to express this feeling perfectly
Locked into it a painted fake old medicine seven lean kine
Trapped in a fake world where everything seems to be going wrong. Like the seven skinny cows in the Bible, it's a sign of future disaster
Slept against an angel's neck sawtooth sung finely get rain and
Getting close to a perfect, untouched world, but Sawtooth is still singing his deceitful song. Need to cleanse the world of impurities
Finely get bron old names are peeling away
Finally achieving clarity and purity, but the old deceitful ways are no longer effective and are disappearing
Hung sick and sweet florida walls wait at the bottom under
Stuck in the unbearable and sweet world of Florida, waiting for the inevitable collapse at the bottom
Glass not mine to collapse in locked into your pull choke on your protection not mine to collapse in
Trying to resist the temptation of an alluring, yet destructive force that is not under my control. Suffocating under the guise of protection, unable to let go
Writer(s): Temistoclas Rutili
Contributed by Isabelle Y. Suggest a correction in the comments below.