Raised in New York City, Carroll who attended several Catholic Grammar Schools from 1955 to 1963. In fall 1963, he entered public school, but was soon awarded a scholarship to the elite Trinity High School (a private school). He entered Trinity High School in 1964.
Apart from being interested in writing, Carroll was a passionate basketball player throughout his grade school and middle school career. He entered the "Biddy League" at age 13 and participated in the National High School All Star Game in 1966, hence the title of his most famous book.
As a teenager, Carroll was a heroin addict who sometimes prostituted himself to afford his habit. The novel The Basketball Diaries concerns his life in New York City's hard drug culture and his struggle to rid himself of his addiction.
Carroll published his first book, Organic Trains, at age 17. Several of his poems have been published in such magazines as Paris Review and Poetry. In 1970, his second collection of poems, 4 Ups and 1 Down was published. That same year, Carroll started working for Andy Warhol. At first, he was writing film dialogue and inventing character names; later on, Carroll worked as the co-manager of Warhol's Theater. Carroll's first above-ground publication, the collection Living At The Movies was published in 1973.
He formed The Jim Carroll Band, a New Wave/punk rock group, in 1980. Their biggest commercial success was the single "People Who Died," from their debut album, Catholic Boy. He has also collaborated with many influential punk and hard rock musicians, including Lou Reed, Blue Öyster Cult, Boz Scaggs and Rancid.
Carroll died on September 11, 2009 of a heart attack. He was 60.
Desert Town
Jim Carroll Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
(I never planned this trip)
I saw my past in the sun like a tongue
(that slowly dripped)
People faced me with lazarus eyes
They were red and dazed like fat horse flies
I was lost in twelve directions
I was searching for my own reflection
In a desert town I found
A future old and broke like roman ruins
I been turned around it's true
The postage past is due
This heat is twisted like a knife
I got the picture but I lost the frame
(where did it begin)
Thought I was holy but that's not the case
I'm just too tired to sin
Sun glistening like a frightened fist
This latitude doesn't exist
In a desert town I found
Nothing is going to be the way it should
What I thought I lost I could get back
Take the blade and hack my way back to another day
Instant that, instant this, instant that, instant this . . .
In a desert town I found
A future old and broke like roman ruins
I been turned around it's true
The postage past is due
This heat is twisting like a knife
In a desert town the sound
Whispers like like the women at the well
In this dry high wind I bend
Like a cactus in the sand
I'm waiting, waiting for your hand
The song "Desert Town" by Jim Carroll describes a journey to a desolate place, where the singer encounters a disorienting mix of his past and potential future. The singer is not prepared for the unexpected twists and turns of this journey and is continuously searching for his own reflection. He encounters strange people whose eyes are described as "lazarus eyes" which are red and dazed like fat horse flies. The singer is confronted with the harsh reality that everything around him is broken just like the ruins of ancient Rome, and he is lost in a town where nothing is as it should be.
The lyrics describe a sense of isolation and disconnection. The singer finds that his past is behind him, and he is unsure about the path to the future. The heat twists like a knife, and the singer is disoriented by a sense of emptiness and lostness. The desert town represents the singer's personal state of mind, reflecting the chaos and unpredictability of his inner world.
In the chorus, he repeats the phrase "In a desert town I found," to emphasize the irony that while he has found a new place, he still feels lost in his own life. The use of the simile "like a cactus in the sand" shows that the singer is waiting for something to happen. In this case, he is waiting for someone to help him find his way.
Line by Line Meaning
I hitched a ride to a desert town
I didn't plan on going here, but I ended up in this place.
I saw my past in the sun like a tongue
My past memories came flooding back as I walked around in this sunburnt place.
People faced me with lazarus eyes
The people here looked exhausted and dazed, like undead creatures.
They were red and dazed like fat horse flies
The people I met were drowsy and red-eyed, like large horseflies.
I was lost in twelve directions
I was disoriented and didn't know which way was which.
I was searching for my own reflection
I was looking for a sense of self and identity in this unfamiliar place.
In a desert town I found
A future old and broke like roman ruins
This town's future was bleak and reminiscent of ancient, crumbling ruins.
I been turned around it's true
The postage past is due
I am lost and disoriented, and my past debts are catching up to me.
This heat is twisted like a knife
The heat is oppressive and painful, adding to my discomfort and misery.
I got the picture but I lost the frame
(where did it begin)
I understood what was going on, but I didn't know how it all first started.
Thought I was holy but that's not the case
I'm just too tired to sin
I used to think I was good, but I am too weary to do anything right or wrong anymore.
Sun glistening like a frightened fist
This latitude doesn't exist
The sun was intense and harsh, and I felt like I was in a place that shouldn't really exist on the earth.
Nothing is going to be the way it should
What I thought I lost I could get back
Take the blade and hack my way back to another day
Things are not going to turn out how I expected, but I can still fight to reclaim what I've lost and return to a time that was better.
In a desert town the sound
Whispers like like the women at the well
The sound of the desert town is a faint whisper, akin to the hushed whispers of women at the well.
In this dry high wind I bend
Like a cactus in the sand
The dry, harsh wind of the desert town is making me stoop and bend, much like a cactus trying to withstand the elements.
I'm waiting, waiting for your hand
I am waiting for someone, anyone, to help me in this lonely and desolate place.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Yarbloco
excelent song, thanks for it
MrLuke814
great song!!!! thanks for sharing...
DarrellLEE 1980
👻