During the 1980s, his reputation was established through frequent touring and recurring performances on A Prairie Home Companion. Subsequently, his work has been nominated for Grammy awards. He also founded his own record label and named it Red House Records after a home he lived in in Iowa. Red House Records is an independent record label specializing in folk music, based in St. Paul, Minnesota. Well known folk artists have signed with Red House Records over the years include Ramblin' Jack Elliot, Tom Paxton and Loudin Wainwright III. A Red House Records compilation, A Nod to Bob, was said to be a tribute from a Minnesota label to a favorite native son - guess who?
On November 21, 2002 he married the singer-songwriter Iris DeMent. His daughters (from a previous marriage) are also musicians.
From: Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greg_Brown_%28folk_musician%29
Sadness
Greg Brown Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
With a stinking bouquet,
Smiled with her thin gray lips
And said, "Honey, I'm home to stay."
[Chorus:]
And I said,
"Go away and leave me alone.
She handed me rotgut whiskey
And a lit cigarette,
Danced all around my room and said,
"Are we having fun yet?"
[Chorus]
She took off her party dress
And her tear stained brassiere,
Came so close I could smell her
And said "Kiss me here and here."
[Chorus]
She lay down on my bed
And open her thin legs,
Raised up her arms and said,
"Honey, I ain't too proud to beg."
[Chorus]
She said, "Don't you remember
What you did to that one, to the other one, too?
Well, I've just come to do exactly
The very same thing to you."
[Chorus]
I said, "I'm gonna get out my shotgun.
I'm gonna get out my Bowie knife -
And if you don't clear on outta here,
I'll kill you within an inch of your life."
[Chorus]
She said, "Honey, I've come to love you.
I'm gonna hook you 'til you burn -
And then I'll go and you will never know
Just when I may return."
[Chorus]
I will go out in the mountains,
Way out in the desert somewhere,
Where the sun shines down on rocks and bushes
And there ain't no Sadness there.
[Chorus]
The song Sadness by Greg Brown conveys the message of fighting against depression and attracting positive energy instead. The lyrics use personification where Sadness is portrayed as a character, that visits the singer’s house with a “stinking bouquet” and greets him as if she is there to stay. The singer asks her to leave him alone as he feels suffocated in her presence. Sadness tries to engage him in a conversation by offering him rotgut whiskey and a lit cigarette, but he still holds his ground and repeats the same request of leaving him be.
Sadness then tries to touch the singer and insists to be kissed, but he refuses and again repeats the same request even more firmly. Sadness then lies down on his bed and makes herself comfortable, but the singer still resists and tells her that he is going to use his shotgun or Bowie knife if she doesn’t leave. Even with this threat, Sadness still refuses to leave and claims that she has come to love him and is not going away anytime soon.
This song carries a powerful message of how Sadness can consume a person and drag them down to their lowest points, but the singer shows that he is not ready to give up and is ready to fight against it. The song highlights the importance of being strong and fighting against depression, choosing to look at things more positively and moving away from the negative energies that surround us.
Line by Line Meaning
Sadness come to my house
The feeling of sadness has invaded the singer's life
With a stinking bouquet,
Sadness brings with her a foul and unpleasant aura
Smiled with her thin gray lips
Sadness presents herself with a sinister smile, a haunting image
And said, "Honey, I'm home to stay."
Sadness announces that she has come to stay and live with the artist
And I said, "Go away and leave me alone. Go away and leave me."
The artist pleads with Sadness to leave and let him be
She handed me rotgut whiskey
Sadness offers the singer cheap, low-quality alcohol
And a lit cigarette,
Sadness also provides the singer with a lit cigarette, a harmful habit
Danced all around my room and said, "Are we having fun yet?"
Sadness mocks the artist, asking him sarcastically if he is enjoying himself
She took off her party dress
Sadness sheds her facade of being a temporary visitor
And her tear stained brassiere,
Sadness reveals her vulnerable and emotional side
Came so close I could smell her
Sadness is so close, it's suffocating the singer
And said "Kiss me here and here."
Sadness demands intimacy from the artist, but it's not genuine affection
She lay down on my bed
Sadness starts to infiltrate the singer's personal space
And open her thin legs,
Sadness becomes explicit and vulgar
Raised up her arms and said, "Honey, I ain't too proud to beg."
Sadness expresses desperation to cling onto the singer
She said, "Don't you remember What you did to that one, to the other one, too?
Sadness is reminding the artist of his past actions that caused sadness before
Well, I've just come to do exactly The very same thing to you."
Sadness promises to inflict the same pain and sadness that he caused before
I said, "I'm gonna get out my shotgun. I'm gonna get out my Bowie knife - And if you don't clear on outta here, I'll kill you within an inch of your life."
The singer is pushed to a point of desperation and threatens to use violent means to get rid of Sadness
She said, "Honey, I've come to love you. I'm gonna hook you 'til you burn - And then I'll go and you will never know Just when I may return."
Sadness acknowledges that she has made a permanent place within the singer's life and promises to leave only when she wants to
I will go out in the mountains, Way out in the desert somewhere, Where the sun shines down on rocks and bushes And there ain't no Sadness there.
The artist dreams of escaping to a place without sadness, a place of peace and solitude
[Chorus:] And I said, "Go away and leave me alone. Go away and leave me."
The artist repeats his plea with Sadness to leave him alone
Contributed by Eva C. Suggest a correction in the comments below.