“There’s a need to keep writing even after you finish a record,” says Jenny about the downtime that followed the occasionally tumultuous recording of More Adventurous, “but it’s taken me some years to feel confident writing alone. Now I realize the privacy behooves my songwriting. I was more relaxed and worked on these songs at my leisure.” Still, even with a bevy of “private” songs cluttering up the corners of her brain (“they were slightly more sedate, more word-focused”), Jenny had no plans to release or even record the lot of them. It took a Bright Eye-d friend to convince her otherwise. “I didn’t even consider making a solo record until Conor [Oberst] asked me a couple of years ago,” she laughs. “He said he was starting a label, Team Love, and he’d love for me to make a record for it.”
In keeping with the loose origins of the project, recording was also a catch-as-catch-can affair, done in between press and performance obligations for Rilo Kiley. After laying down a number of songs with old friend and co-conspirator Mike Mogis in the San Fernando Valley, Los Angeles, Jenny flew herself to Portland to work with M.Ward, a collaboration that bore instant fruit. “When I flew to Portland all I had of “Happy” was a verse,” she explains. “As soon as I got there Matt came over to my hotel room and I played it for him and it just sort of happened – the chorus just came out. The whole process was quick and casual.”
Modeled after the great “white soul” classics of the past – particularly Laura Nyro and Labelle’s seminal Gonna Take a Miracle – Rabbit Fur Coat finds Jenny reaching out to her farflung assortment of wildly talented friends (including co-producer M.Ward, Death Cab for Cutie’s Ben Gibbard, Maroon 5’s James Valentine and Mickey Madden, and label boss Oberst) while simultaneously coming into her own as an individual performer and storyteller. “That album was always in the back of my mind: if I could just make something that captured the feeling of that record.” Enter the Watson Twins, a set of Kentucky-born sisters with an other-wordly gift to harmonize. “I met the girls through Blake in L.A.,” she explains. “I’m just so impressed with their instincts as singers and their relationship to my songs. They were very serious about them.”
On the galloping “Big Guns” and the smoldering “Rise Up With Fists!” the Watson Twins tease out the soulful corners of Jenny’s confessional narratives, steering strong story/songs about religion, forgiveness, and the nature of art into the weedy and dense grounds of a gothic, southern estate. Indeed, this atmosphere of dixie-fried mystery pervades the disc, heightening and haunting Jenny’s nuanced compositions.
The Big Guns
Jenny Lewis with The Watson Twins Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Then you thank him
'Til you reach the by-and-by
And I've won hundreds at the track
But I'm not betting on the afterlife
Then you kiss his lips
He forgives you for it
But not me
I'm still angry
What have I done?
Why am I always missing
The big guns?
First I'll build a sword
Get some words to explain
It's a plan, brother, at least
And I'll pretend that everybody here wants peace
Have mercy, have mercy
Have mercy on me
'Cause we're tired and lonely
And we're bloody
What have we done?
Why are we still running from our own failing bodies?
The big guns
Sing mercy, sing mercy
Sing mercy on me
Let's pretend that everybody here wants peace
What have we done?
Why are we still chasing our own tails?
The big guns.
The lyrics of the song “The Big Guns” by Jenny Lewis and Watson Twins are imbued with philosophical and existential themes that relate to religion, mortality, and human nature. The song starts by contrasting the singer's outlook on life with that of a religious believer who is counting on an afterlife to redeem their earthly life. The singer, who has won hundreds of dollars betting on horse racing, is skeptical of the idea of an afterlife and chooses to live in the present moment rather than investing in something that is uncertain.
The second stanza of the song shifts focus to a personal relationship where the partner is continually forgiven for their misdeeds, but the singer is still angry and unforgiving. The singer is self-aware that they are not perfect, but they cannot understand why they are always missing the "big guns," a phrase that likely refers to the essential moments in life where one should seize an opportunity or take decisive action.
The song explores the theme of forgiveness, mercy and the quest for peace in a chaotic world plagued by war, suffering, and loneliness. The last stanza of the song reiterates the message that life is a constant struggle and that people often get caught up in their daily lives that they forget about what truly matters. It is a call for mercy and forgiveness, a way to bring peace to individuals' troubled hearts.
Line by Line Meaning
Well, you praise him
You speak highly of him
Then you thank him
And thank him for his deeds
‘Til you reach the by-and-by
Until you get to the afterlife
And I've won hundreds at the track
You've bet quite a lot
But I'm not betting on the afterlife
But you're not relying on the promise of a better place in the afterlife
Then you kiss his lips
You offer him a kiss
He forgives you for it
And he forgives you for whatever you've done wrong
He forgives you for all you've done
He's willing to overlook your past actions
But not me
But you won't forgive me
I'm still angry
You're still feeling resentful
What have I done?
You're questioning your own actions
Why am I always missing
Why do you always seem to come up short
The big guns?
When it comes to achieving success
First I'll build a sword
You plan to arm yourself
Get some words to explain
Find the right words to describe your intentions
It's a plan, brother, at least
Even if it's not entirely clear, it's still a plan
And I'll pretend that everybody here wants peace
You'll try to believe that everyone shares the same goal of peace
Have mercy, have mercy
Please show compassion
Have mercy on me
And be compassionate towards me
‘Cause we're tired and lonely
Feeling worn out and alone
And we're bloody
And we're hurt and wounded
Sing mercy, sing mercy
Requesting mercy through song
Sing mercy on me
Please show mercy towards me
Let's pretend that everybody here wants peace
Once again, trying to believe that everyone shares the same desire for peace
What have we done?
Questioning the collective actions of everyone involved
Why are we still running from our own failing bodies?
Why are we avoiding the inevitable decay and decline of our bodies?
The big guns
How can we achieve greatness while our bodies slowly deteriorate?
What have we done?
Asking yet again about the collective actions of everyone involved
Why are we still chasing our own tails?
Why do we continue to pursue things that may be unattainable or never bring us true satisfaction?
The big guns.
Will we ever achieve greatness despite our own flawed efforts?
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA/AMCOS
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