Old Man Luedecke left the big old city of Toronto, met a girl in the Yukon, fell in love, bought a banjo and fell in love again. After a couple of years of love and banjo and the makings of a brilliant performing career in sunny Halifax, he returned to the Yukon with his sweethearts. There he woodshedded. He wrote a ton of songs over the next year and a half. He held regular gigs playing banjo in a gambling hall with can-can girls and in a honky tonk called the Snakepit accompanying piano barnacle Bob. Even made an appearance at the Dawson City Music Festival. After a time, he left again for Halifax to renew musical acquaintances and record his debut CD Mole in the Ground. That CD has become a smash on college radio, was featured on CBC's Atlantic Airwaves and is a hot item in stores and at shows. He continues to live in Halifax and perform there and around the country to ever-wider acclaims. His stage show blends hokum and inspiration into powerful and fun entertainment that will delight young and old. He's still sweet on the girl he met up there in Yukon, and the banjo
http://www.oldmanluedecke.ca
Little Stream of Whiskey
Old Man Luedecke Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
A little stream of whiskey to your door
And I stand here a wondering if there's more
And would you make a pallet on your floor
I been down
I been down for nothing at all
I got no kind of nothing at all
Saw a picture of white sand
With a woman and a man
Walking hand in hand
Into the scene
I didn't wanna be that man
Wanted to be that white sand
Burning edge of Eden's land
Be pure geography
Think countable pieces of me
I been down
I been down for nothing at all
I got no kind of nothing at all
And I followed
A little stream of whiskey to your door
The song Little Stream of Whiskey by Old Man Luedecke is a heartbreakingly honest reflection of a man's sense of loneliness and longing. The opening lyrics "I followed a little stream of whiskey to your door" set the stage for a man who seeks solace in the company of his lover after feeling lost and hopeless. He wonders if there is more than just a stream of whiskey to hold onto when he gets to her door. He is hoping that she will allow him to stay with her and wonders if she would make a pallet on her floor for him. The man's desperation to be with her is palpable in the lyrics.
The song then takes a turn towards the singer's life choices. He talks about how he has been down for nothing and how he has nothing at all. He is envious of the people in a picture he has seen of them walking hand in hand on a white sand beach. He wishes he was the beach and that he could be a part of it all, but instead of being there, he is lost in his own thoughts. He wants to be free of the weight of the life that he has come to lead and longs for the possibility of purification in the "edge of Eden's land" and become a "pure geography."
Overall, the song is a sad reminder of the hopelessness that the singer feels, and how the little stream of whiskey is all he has to help him escape from reality. But even in his drunken haze, he still yearns for something more, something greater than the small comforts of a drink and a lover.
Line by Line Meaning
I followed
I traced my steps along the path of a little stream of whiskey that led me straight to your doorstep
A little stream of whiskey to your door
A tiny flow of alcoholic liquid guided me to where you reside
And I stand here a wondering if there's more
Right now, I am standing in front of you, pondering whether there's more to discover about you
And would you make a pallet on your floor
Can I sleep on a makeshift bed on your floor for the night?
I been down
I have been through some tough times
I been down for nothing at all
I went through all that hardship without any reason or justification for it
I got no kind of nothing at all
I don't possess any tangible or non-tangible asset or possession
And nothing ain't nothing at all
There's nothing to gain from having nothing, it's just pointless and meaningless
Saw a picture of white sand
Once, I came across a visual depiction of white, powdery sand
With a woman and a man
The image contained a couple, a male and a female, in it
Walking hand in hand
The two individuals were strolling side by side, holding each other's hands
Into the scene
They were heading towards the landscape depicted in the picture
I didn't wanna be that man
I never aspired to be like that man in the image
Wanted to be that white sand
Instead, I wished to become the white, gorgeous sand shown in the picture
Burning edge of Eden's land
I longed to be the blazing border of the immaculate paradise described in the Bible as 'the Garden of Eden'
Be pure geography
All I desired was to exist as, merely, an inviolable part of nature
Think countable pieces of me
I don't want to be associated with any worldly possessions and materialistic titles
And I followed
I pursued
A little stream of whiskey to your door
A tiny flow of alcoholic liquid led me to your residence's entrance
Contributed by Cameron W. Suggest a correction in the comments below.