There are several artists with this name, including:

1. Jim White, a… Read Full Bio ↴There are several artists with this name, including:

1. Jim White, a drummer in several bands: Xylouris White, a duo with lute player Giorgos Xylouris and Dirty Three; he has also played on records and toured with Marisa Anderson, Cat Power, Smog, P. J. Harvey, and Nina Nastasia (Nina Nastasia And Jim White).

https://www.xylouriswhite.com/

2. Jim White is a Southern Gothic alt-country singer-songwriter. He has released seven albums as a solo artist. While his music is based in Americana, he borrows elements from rock, rhythm and blues, and even electronica, often piecing sounds together in the lo-fi cut-and-paste fashion of artists like Tom Waits. His albums have featured a wide variety of collaborators, such as Victoria Williams, Morcheeba, Aimee Mann, Barenaked Ladies, and Joe Henry. He is signed to David Byrne's Luaka Bop label and appeared in the BBC documentary, Searching for the Wrong-Eyed Jesus, which looks at musicians inspired by the culture of the American South.

http://www.jimwhite.net/
http://www.myspace.com/officialjimwhite

Borrowed Wings
Jim White Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

That night we drank wine from the crazy well. Shot a shotgun out the window of our automobile. We was young, we was wild
And we sure had our fun. Until the sheriff caught up with us and we tried to run. Now we return to Earth on borrowed wings
Lifted from the shoulders of sweet dreaming angels. Now the world beyond the world we never will reach, 'cause you can't
Get to heaven on no... borrowed wings. Now Lucinda here she once ran a fine beauty parlor, 'til her boyfriend got twenty
Years for robbing them liquor stores. She took some pills in a motel room a mile from his prison cell. Then she sank like
A stone to the blue bottom of the swimming pool. Now she returns to Earth on borrowed wings lifted from the shoulders of
Sweet dreaming angels. Now the world beyond the world she never will reach, 'cause you can't get to heaven on no... borrowed
Wings. Between a rock called heaven and a hard place called home, we wander the shadows so restless and lonesome. For in

The fallow field where what's reaped is what's sewn there lies a road to ruin and it's paved with our tombstones. So if
You catch my reflection in a sheet of summer rain, pray tell do remain silent for fear you'll awaken them beautiful owners
Of the wings that we bear for fear they'll reclaim them and send us back there. For we return to Earth on borrowed wings

Lifted from the shoulders of sweet dreaming angels. Now the world beyond the world we never will reach, 'cause you can't
Get to heaven on no... no borrowed wings.

Overall Meaning

The song “Borrowed Wings” by Jim White tells the story of a group of people who engage in reckless behavior and end up paying the price for it. They indulge in drinking wine from a “crazy well” and shooting a shotgun out of a car window. They are young and wild, and they have fun until they get caught by the sheriff and try to run. However, their recklessness leads to their demise as they return to Earth on borrowed wings. These wings are lifted from the shoulders of sweet dreaming angels, but they cannot reach heaven on these wings because they are not truly their own.

The song also introduces the character of Lucinda, who used to run a beauty parlor until her boyfriend got sentenced to twenty years for robbing liquor stores. She takes pills in a motel room one day, a mile from her boyfriend’s prison cell, and drowns in a swimming pool. Like the others, she returns to Earth on borrowed wings, lifted by sweet dreaming angels. However, they cannot reach heaven on these wings because they are not truly theirs. The song suggests that their reckless behavior and poor choices lead them to an afterlife that is less than ideal.

Overall, “Borrowed Wings” is a cautionary tale that suggests people should be careful with how they live their lives. Reckless behavior can have serious consequences that affect not only their lives but also their afterlife.

Line by Line Meaning

That night we drank wine from the crazy well.
We had a crazy night where we drank wine from a well.

Shot a shotgun out the window of our automobile.
We were reckless and fired a shotgun out of our car window.

We was young, we was wild
We were young and carefree.

And we sure had our fun.
We definitely had a good time.

Until the sheriff caught up with us and we tried to run.
Our fun ended abruptly when we were caught by the police and attempted to flee.

Now we return to Earth on borrowed wings
We have died and are now returning to Earth with borrowed wings given to us by angels.

Lifted from the shoulders of sweet dreaming angels.
The angels have helped us return to Earth with their own wings.

Now the world beyond the world we never will reach, 'cause you can't Get to heaven on no... borrowed wings.
We will never reach the afterlife, as borrowed wings cannot take us to heaven.

Now Lucinda here she once ran a fine beauty parlor, 'til her boyfriend got twenty Years for robbing them liquor stores.
Lucinda used to run a successful beauty parlor, but her boyfriend was sent to prison for 20 years for robbing liquor stores.

She took some pills in a motel room a mile from his prison cell.
Lucinda tragically committed suicide by taking pills in a motel room near her boyfriend's prison cell.

Then she sank like A stone to the blue bottom of the swimming pool.
Lucinda's body was found at the bottom of a swimming pool, having sunk like a stone.

Now she returns to Earth on borrowed wings lifted from the shoulders of Sweet dreaming angels.
Lucinda has died and is returning to Earth with wings borrowed from angels.

Now the world beyond the world she never will reach, 'cause you can't get to heaven on no... borrowed Wings.
Lucinda will never reach the afterlife because borrowed wings cannot take her to heaven.

Between a rock called heaven and a hard place called home, we wander the shadows so restless and lonesome.
We are stuck between the desire to go to heaven and the troubles of the world, causing us to feel restless and lonely.

For in The fallow field where what's reaped is what's sewn there lies a road to ruin and it's paved with our tombstones.
In the barren field where what is harvested is what was planted, there is a path to destruction paved with our grave markers.

So if You catch my reflection in a sheet of summer rain, pray tell do remain silent for fear you'll awaken them beautiful owners Of the wings that we bear for fear they'll reclaim them and send us back there.
If you see my reflection in the rain, please remain quiet to avoid alerting the angels who may take back their borrowed wings and send us back to the afterlife.

For we return to Earth on borrowed wings Lifted from the shoulders of sweet dreaming angels.
We are returning to Earth after death using the wings given to us by angels.

Now the world beyond the world we never will reach, 'cause you can't Get to heaven on no... no borrowed wings.
We can never reach heaven with borrowed wings, or any wings at all.

Lyrics © BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC
Written by: MICHAEL PRATT

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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