Foucault is married to fellow singer/songwriter Kris Delmhorst.
No Depression Magazine describes him as: "the bard of small-town anywhere... his poetry rich with details ... his worn-in voice like an old down jacket... frayed... gritted... plaintive poetry in the troubadour tradition... delivery so raw and real it fairly throbs."
His 2001 debut album, Miles from the Lightning, won much praise from critics and helped to kick-start a career of tours across the United States, Canada, and Europe. MOJO praised Miles as "A striking debut. [Foucault] comes out sounding like the love-child of Chris Whitley and Kelly Joe Phelps... strong songs, a voice and blues guitar that sound wiser than his years." Along the way, he has played with such artists as Guy Clark, Greg Brown, Gillian Welch, Todd Snider, Chris Smither, and Rosanne Cash.
In 2003, Foucault, Delmhorst, and Peter Mulvey released an album entitled Redbird. Foucault's 2004 album, Stripping Cane, was produced by David "Goody" Goodrich, and included collaborations with Redbird's Mulvey and Delmhorst.
In 2006, Foucault released his third solo album, Ghost Repeater. Produced by Bo Ramsey, the album includes guest appearances by Dave Moore on harp and accordion and Son Volt's Eric Heywood on pedal steel.
In 2009 he released his tribute to John Prine: "Shoot the Moon Right Between the Eyes: Jeffrey Foucault Sings the Songs of John Prine"
In 2010 Foucault released "Cold Satellite"; and in 2011 "Horse Latitudes".
www.jeffreyfoucault.com
Horse Latitudes
Jeffrey Foucault Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The language of thirst, a false communion
The iron taste of blood
In your mouth, the wild blue
Dying into God's empty hands
Silver the silhouette of ashes on the land
The bleach white skulls of buffalo face the sun
Where the halogen halos
Shine on the refugees
Banded birds flying
Up above and endless sea
God is the mouth
Of a river going dry
God is a mouthful of rain
A tear in your eye
Singing into the belly of a whale
Leviathan's ribs, a drowning jail
The desert at the bottom of the sea
The devil with his finger on the scale
The lyrics of Jeffrey Foucault's "Horse Latitudes" suggest a journey through a desolate and barren landscape, where the traveler is haunted by thirst, death, and divinity. The "horse latitudes" are regions of the ocean where sailors were often stranded due to the lack of wind for their sails, leading to dehydration, starvation, and death. The metaphor can also apply to a state of limbo, where one is stuck in a place or a mindset with no clear way out. The language of thirst and false communion may refer to the pretense of hope or faith in dire circumstances, as people grasp onto anything that could sustain them.
The image of the iron taste of blood in the mouth could be interpreted in various ways, from a literal wound to a metaphorical loss of innocence or vitality. The wild blue could represent the vastness and uncertainty of the unknown, as well as the beauty and terror of nature. The notion of dying into God's empty hands suggests a surrender to fate or a higher power, but also a sense of abandonment or disillusionment. The silver silhouette of ashes on the land and the bleach white skulls of buffalo facing the sun evoke a sense of desecration and devastation, as if no life could survive in this hostile environment.
The halogen halos shining on the refugees might allude to the harsh lights of a border checkpoint, a refugee camp, or a detention center. The banded birds flying up above an endless sea could be a metaphor for the fleeting freedom or the unattainable dreams of the oppressed. God as the mouth of a river going dry or a mouthful of rain or a tear in your eye suggests a deity that is either absent or fleeting, unable to provide sustenance or solace. Singing into the belly of a whale or the ribs of Leviathan could be a symbol of confronting one's fears or accepting one's mortality. The desert at the bottom of the sea and the devil with his finger on the scale suggest a cosmic indifference or a malevolent force that governs life.
Line by Line Meaning
Drifting into horse latitudes
Slowly being carried into an area without any winds
The language of thirst, a false communion
The desperation for water is so strong that people start believing in things that aren't true, leading to false hope
The iron taste of blood
The feeling of extreme thirst leading to dry mouth and a metallic taste
In your mouth, the wild blue
The moment when thirst is so unbearable that one starts hallucinating and sees things that aren't real
Dying into God's empty hands
Feeling helpless and abandoned by God in the face of impending death
Silver the silhouette of ashes on the land
The aftermath of a wildfire or some other natural disaster leading to devastation
The bleach white skulls of buffalo face the sun
Nature's way of showing the cycle of life and death, where dead animals become part of the landscape
The burning sand
Heat so fierce that it's like walking on hot coals
Where the halogen halos shine on the refugees
The harsh reality of refugees in terrible living conditions, where even artificial light doesn't bring hope
Banded birds flying up above an endless sea
Nature's way of showing freedom, despite the fact that the ocean is vast and the birds have no food or water
God is the mouth of a river going dry
Feeling abandoned by God during drought, where the once-lush river slowly dries up
God is a mouthful of rain, a tear in your eye
The feeling of extreme relief when it finally starts raining, almost like a divine intervention
Singing into the belly of a whale
The feeling of being swallowed up by something bigger and more powerful than oneself
Leviathan's ribs, a drowning jail
The feeling of being trapped in a place that's meant to keep you safe, but could lead to your death
The desert at the bottom of the sea
Feeling lost and alone, like being stranded in a vast, lifeless area
The devil with his finger on the scale
Feeling like the odds are stacked against you, where even the person in charge of weighing things is against you
Contributed by James O. Suggest a correction in the comments below.