Pavement, a band started by Malkmus post-Ectoslavia, pre-New York, at this point began to gain attention. This attention resulted in a record deal and a constant inferiority plague placed upon the 'Joos with Berman totally at the forefront of the group. Misinformed music fans now saw the band as a side-project and, even worse, Berman as being not good enough to play with Pavement, many band members being shared between the two bands.
The connection to Malkmus and the now blossoming Pavement was not all negative, however. Drag City, then not the bastion of American folk music it is today, agreed to release the band's debut EPs which has led to a fruitful relationship (the label continues to release the band's records, right up to album number 7 in 2008, (Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea).
The Silver Jews in their later days primarily consisted of David and Cassie Berman who contributed most of the lyrics, and a changing cast of characters. They had numerous indie stars in a rotating line up, including Willie T. of Lambchop, and Brian Kotzer of Tim Chad and Sherry.
David Berman is also a poet and has been published in numerous poetry magazines and journals. He also has a book of poetry and rants entitled "Actual Air," which was released in 1999 and received favorable reviews from The New Yorker and GQ.
On the 22nd of January, 2009, David Berman announced on the Drag City messageboard that their show on the 31st of January in Tennessee would be their last. "Can't be like all the careerists doncha know. I'm forty two and I know what to do. I'm a writer, see? I always said we would stop before we got bad." After 10 years off, Berman reappeared in 2019 as Purple Mountains.
David Berman died from suicide on August 22, 2019 after a long battle with depression.
The Country Diary of a Subway Conductor
Silver Jews Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
To wake up in the morning? A dollar, ten dollars?
I'd pay it all the way to the poor house. It's not made
If it's made in Roanoke. Night pulling up in front of
The house like a bus. It came at me with shears. Her
Sweater had faces, famouse faces knitted all over it.
The porch swing ticked off Central Daylight time.
"How many hours do you think it'll take me to smoke this
Food came drifting out one of the castle windows.
"Lets go around back" I said "my brother burried some
Stuff back there." We ducked down and walked through
The black bushes. My shoe made a sucking sound in
The turf. "He can afford anything" I said "he's got
Dogs that blow on trumpets." "Priests!" she cussed.
Thunder cracks over Ben Franklin's shop. Who wrapped
My dreams in a blanket and led them outside to the black
Book in the yard? "Hey what indian tribe occupied
Southern california? They were a lucky bunch of fellers!"
Sting Bible, More Sea Bible, Knur & Spell. In moments
Downhill, towards sleep in the stillwater shop. Imagining
Places I was almost sure I'd never been & had taken to
Assuming were the memories of my grandfather somehow
Deposited in my mind. They were there and gone, just before
I could get my bearings, catch any names or find out
Where the hotel was. Just a pile of glass shavings that
Could never be reassembled into the gone order
Of buildings & the shade puring off of them. "WATER!"
The Silver Jews' "The Country Diary of a Subway Conductor" tells a surreal story filled with non-sequiturs and absurdist imagery. The lyrics are a mishmash of disjointed thoughts and events, strung together with little to no narrative structure. The song opens with an exclamation, "O get him out of there!", followed by a series of hypothetical questions regarding the cost of waking up in the morning. The singer seems to be stressed about the idea of financial burden, willing to pay any amount of money to avoid poverty.
The lyrics transition into a scene of a night pulling up in front of a house like a bus, and a woman with a sweater covered in famous faces. The porch swing ticks off Central Daylight Time, and the singer contemplates how long it will take for the woman to smoke a cigarette. The smell of fried food comes drifting out of one of the castle windows, and the two characters decide to walk around the back of the house, where the singer's brother buried something. They walk through black bushes, and the singer comments on how the person they are visiting can afford anything, including dogs that blow on trumpets. The woman reacts with incredulity, cussing at the mention of priests.
The lyrics then take a turn, as thunder cracks over Ben Franklin's shop, and the singer asks a nonsensical question about an Indian tribe that once occupied Southern California. A series of seemingly unrelated words are then listed, including "Sting Bible, More Sea Bible, Knur & Spell." The song ends with a mention of the word "water," abruptly bringing the surreal journey to a close.
Line by Line Meaning
O get him out of there!
The singer wants someone or something to be removed from its current location.
What if it cost 25c to wake up in the morning?
The singer is musing about the worth of waking up each day.
A dollar, ten dollars? I'd pay it all the way to the poor house.
The singer would pay a high price to experience life fully.
It's not made if it's made in Roanoke.
The artist believes things made in a certain place may not be of good quality.
Night pulling up in front of the house like a bus.
The arrival of night is compared to a bus pulling up.
It came at me with shears.
A scary incident occurred and the singer felt threatened.
Her sweater had faces, famous faces knitted all over it.
The singer observes the unique pattern on the person's sweater.
The porch swing ticked off Central Daylight time.
The sound of the swinging porch swing is an indication of passing time.
"How many hours do you think it'll take me to smoke this cigarette?" she said with a smile.
The artist is engaging in a conversation with another person while smoking.
The smell of fried food came drifting out one of the castle windows.
There is a distinct smell of food being cooked that can be smelled through an open window.
"Lets go around back" I said "my brother buried some stuff back there."
The singer suggests going to a specific place at the back of the building where something is hidden.
We ducked down and walked through the black bushes. My shoe made a sucking sound in the turf.
The artist and someone else walked through a dense area of shrubbery and the ground was muddy.
"He can afford anything" I said "he's got dogs that blow on trumpets."
The singer comments on someone's financial situation and makes a ridiculous statement about their pets.
"Priests!" she cussed.
The person in the conversation curses in frustration.
Thunder cracks over Ben Franklin's shop.
The sound of thunder indicates an approaching storm.
Who wrapped my dreams in a blanket and led them outside to the black book in the yard?
The artist is questioning a situation where their dreams were taken outside and left with a mysterious book.
"Hey what Indian tribe occupied Southern California? They were a lucky bunch of fellers!"
The artist asks a question about a historical topic and provides their opinion.
Sting Bible, More Sea Bible, Knur & Spell.
These phrases are nonsensical and don't contribute to the meaning of the song.
In moments downhill towards sleep in the stillwater shop.
The singer is becoming tired and falling asleep.
Imagining places I was almost sure I'd never been & had taken to assuming were the memories of my grandfather somehow deposited in my mind.
The artist is imagining unfamiliar places and believes they are the memories of their grandfather.
They were there and gone, just before I could get my bearings, catch any names or find out where the hotel was.
The artist believes their memories are fleeting and they can't remember specific details.
Just a pile of glass shavings that could never be reassembled into the gone order of buildings & the shade pouring off of them.
The artist describes a scene where buildings were destroyed and cannot be put back together.
"WATER!"
The singer calls out for water, possibly indicating thirst or discomfort.
Lyrics © ROUGH TRADE PUBLISHING
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