Soul Coughing,was founded by vocalist and guitarist Mike Doughty (who billed himself at the time as 'M. Doughty'), a folk singer, slam poet, and music writer.
Doughty was a doorman at the old Knitting Factory on Houston Street in New York. While working there he met sampler artist Mark De Gli Antoni, upright bass player Sebastian Steinberg, drummer Yuval Gabay, and artist David Linton. Doughty convinced them to join him in forming a new band. They played their first gig, as 'M. Doughty's Soul Coughing' at the Knitting Factory on June 15, 1992, a late-Monday night slot that Doughty cadged from his boss because nobody else wanted it. In 1993, he founded a club night called SLAW at CBGB's 313 Gallery, which was meant to emulate the popular jazz and hip hop club Giant Step, but eventually became a showcase for Soul Coughing. Posters for SLAW were headlined 'Deep Slacker Jazz' (a parody of The Who's slogan 'Maximum R&B'), which became an enduring description of the band's sound.
The band was signed within a year to Warner Brothers subsidiary Slash Records, and released three albums: Ruby Vroom (1994), Irresistible Bliss (1996), and El Oso (1998). They enjoyed minor hit singles with "Circles," "Super Bon Bon," and "Screenwriter's Blues."
The band broke up in 2000, after years of feuding over songwriting credits and publishing money. Doughty continued as a solo artist, and Gabay, Steinberg, and De Gli Antoni have been involved with other projects including a trio disc sans Doughty in 2004.
Mr. Bitterness
Soul Coughing Lyrics
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And she sits and drinks a velvet crush--that's
cool Aid and gin--casing the clientele
Like a relentless cameraman. She is
Elsewhere. She says You keep a-knocking
But you can't come in, and I say
Little Sister, don't you do what your Big Sister does
Well desire looks just like you with an uzi nine
Gundown fifteen bystanders in a roadside driveby
Desire is the grassfire drinking gasoline
And she says Open up your mouth, man, let me come inside
Spiral down down down down down down down
She cracked
Now they call me Mr. Bitterness
She snapped
Now they call me Mr. Bitterness
She's gone,
Gone gone
Ah, leaning up against the wall
I will lash out dancing like a madman when you're gone
I will spit the blue flame and hurl my glass against the wall
And I will hear your name coming out from a boom box
I will hear your name called out from passing cars
Spiral down down down down down down down
She cracked
The lyrics to Soul Coughing's "Mr. Bitterness" explore the toxic nature of desire and its ability to consume and destroy lives. The opening verse sets the scene at a bar called The Bitter Sea, where the singer observes a woman drinking a cocktail of Cool Aid and gin and "casing the clientele" with a cold detachment. The woman is described as being "elsewhere," as if consumed by her own internal world of desire and insatiable cravings. Despite the singer's attempts to connect with her, she rebuffs him with the phrase, "You keep a-knocking but you can't come in." The final line in this verse, "Little Sister, don't you do what your Big Sister does," suggests that the woman's behavior may be inherited or learned, and warns against following in her destructive footsteps.
The second verse takes a darker turn, describing desire as a violent force that can cause destruction and chaos. The imagery of a driveby shooting, with a gunman taking out innocent bystanders, highlights the reckless and thoughtless nature of this destructive force. The lines "Desire is the grassfire drinking gasoline" and "Open up your mouth, man, let me come inside" suggest that the singer is both attracted and repelled by the power of desire, and that it has the ability to consume him if he lets it.
The repeated refrain of "Spiral down down down down down down down" reinforces the idea of a downward spiral, where desire leads to destruction and despair. The final verse describes the aftermath of such a spiral, with the woman having "cracked" and become consumed by bitterness. The shift from "she" to "they" in the line "Now they call me Mr. Bitterness" suggests that the woman has become infamous for her bitter and destructive nature, and that her behavior has become a source of gossip or legend. The singer, meanwhile, lashes out with rage and frustration when confronted with the memory of this woman, spitting flames and hurling his glass in a fit of anger. The final line, "She cracked," implies that the cycle of desire and destruction is ongoing, and that it is only a matter of time before someone else falls victim to its seductive and deadly pull.
Line by Line Meaning
There is a bar they call The Bitter Sea.
The setting of the song is a place called The Bitter Sea.
And she sits and drinks a velvet crush--that's
cool Aid and gin--casing the clientele
Like a relentless cameraman.
A woman is drinking a drink called a velvet crush made of Cool Aid and gin, and watching the people in the bar.
She is
Elsewhere. She says You keep a-knocking
But you can't come in, and I say
Little Sister, don't you do what your Big Sister does
The woman is physically present, but her mind is somewhere else. She tells someone they can't come in, and someone else tells her not to act like her older sister.
Well desire looks just like you with an uzi nine
Gundown fifteen bystanders in a roadside driveby
Desire is the grassfire drinking gasoline
And she says Open up your mouth, man, let me come inside
Desire can be dangerous like a person with a weapon, gundowning innocent bystanders, or like a fire fueled by gasoline. The woman is inviting someone to let her in.
She cracked
Now they call me Mr. Bitterness
She snapped
Now they call me Mr. Bitterness
She's gone,
Gone gone
The woman has lost control and is now known as Mr. Bitterness. She has disappeared completely.
Ah, leaning up against the wall
I will lash out dancing like a madman when you're gone
I will spit the blue flame and hurl my glass against the wall
And I will hear your name coming out from a boom box
I will hear your name called out from passing cars
The singer is angry and will behave erratically when the other person is gone. They will hear the other person's name wherever they go.
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: MARK DEGLIANTONI, MICHAEL DOUGHTY, SEBASTIAN STEINBERG, YUVAL GABAY
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