Multi-instrumentalist singer-songwriter Stan Ridgway was the original lead singer for the band Wall of Voodoo, singing on their debut EP and first two albums, including their only hit song, "Mexican Radio". Wall Of Voodoo's genesis was in a Hollywood company called "Acme Soundtracks", a commercially unsuccessful venture founded in 1977 in Hollywood by Ridgway. Ridgway's intent for the company was to provide soundtrack music for independently produced low-budget horror films; unfortunately, the company found few takers for its services. Instead, Acme Soundtracks evolved into a band that played live shows.
The band was named Wall Of Voodoo by Ridgway before their first gig in reference to a comment made while recording and overdubbing a Kalamazoo Rhythm Ace drum machine, a gift to Ridgway by writer and iconic voice over artist Daws Butler, partner to Stan Freberg, voice of Yogi Bear and many other Hanna-Barbera characters. When someone jokingly compared the multiple drum machine and farfisa organ laden recordings to Phil Spector's Wall of Sound, Ridgway commented it sounded more like a "Wall Of Voodoo", and the name stuck.
Actually, for new listeners, the voodoo reference was a little misleading, as it referred to the music's often spooky quality, as opposed to any Haitian or Caribbean influences. In fact, WoV's music could fairly have been described as a cross between early synthesizer pop (especially that of Devo) and Ennio Morricone's soundtracks for Sergio Leone's "Man with No Name" films. Adding to the music's distinctiveness was Nanini's percussive experimentation, mixing drum machines with unconventional found instruments such as pots, pans and various kitchen utensils, as well as Marc Moreland's twangy spaghetti-western guitar. On top of the mix was Ridgway's unusual vocal style—a nasal Western drawl that combined the stoic ballad-style Sprechgesang of Johnny Cash, the declamatory theatrical delivery of Ethel Merman, and the ironic, clenched-jaw voice of a wisecracking ventriloquist's dummy. One of Ridgway's hobbies since childhood has been ventriloquism and he occasionally assumes the persona of a dummy named Jackie T. Lazar, such as in his cover version of "Behind Closed Doors" from Holiday in Dirt and in the video for "Big Dumb Town" from Black Diamond.
Ridgway embarked on a solo career in 1983, shortly after Wall of Voodoo's appearance and break up at the US Festival that same year. After collaborating on the song "Don't Box Me In" with Stewart Copeland from The Police for the soundtrack to the film Rumble Fish (1983), directed by Francis Ford Coppola starring Mickey Rourke, Matt Dillon, Dennis Hopper and Tom Waits, he released his first proper solo album, The Big Heat (1986), which included the top 5 European hit "Camouflage". This was followed by numerous other solo recordings Mosquitos (1989), Partyball (1991), Black Diamond (1995), Anatomy (1999), The Way I Feel Today a collection of big band standards (2000) and Holiday In Dirt (2001) which also included a DVD of videos. Ridgway's most recent solo outing is Snakebite: Blacktop Ballads and Fugitive Songs (2005) featuring the narrative song, "Talkin' Wall Of Voodoo Blues Pt. 1", a history of his former band in song that was especially poignant, having followed the recent deaths of Marc Moreland and Joe Nanini.
Since the early days of Wall of Voodoo, Ridgway has been interested in music for cinema. A list of films for which Ridgway has written scores and/or original songs is included below. Ridgway's album Holiday in Dirt was a quasi-cinematic project, with the release of the album accompanied by a showing of 14 short films by various independent film makers, each film corresponding to one of the songs on the album. A compilation DVD of the films was released in February 2005.
In 1994, Ridgway began work on a new project in the form of a trio called Drywall, the other members of the trio being Ridgway's wife, keyboardist/vocalist Pietra Wexstun of the band Hecate's Angels (who had previously worked with Ridgway on Mosquitos and Partyball), and former Rain Parade drummer Ivan Knight. In 1995, Drywall released its first album (first of a "trilogy of apocalyptic documents"), titled Work The Dumb Oracle. A short film directed by Carlos Grasso titled The Drywall Incident was released the same year. An extended, instrumental soundtrack album for The Drywall Incident was released in 1996.
Ridgway and Wexstun also collaborated on a suite of mostly instrumental and orchestral pieces to accompany an exhibition of post modern surrealist artist Mark Ryden's paintings, which was released as the album Blood- Miniature Paintings of Sorrow and Fear"in 2003 in a unique 3 panel packaging design by the artist which quickly sold out of its limited pressing of 7,500.
Stan Ridgway and Drywall regrouped in 2006 to release the album Barbeque Babylon, the third "apocalyptic document" with the single "The AARP Is Following Me". The new Drywall lineup features Rick King on guitars and bass and Bruce Zelesnik on drums and percussion.
Ridgway has also contributed to albums and projects by producer Hal Willner, Frank Black and the Catholics, The Flesh Eaters, The Divine Horsemen, The Ray Campi Quartet, The Fibonaccis, and Roger McGuinn.
Southbound
Stan Ridgway Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
But there's a big truck waitin' tonight at the pier
Comin' in on an east-bound boat
Now, don't be late for delivery¨c¨chere, put this in your coat
It's a strange weight from an exotic locale
Don't worry about the cops, 'cause they're in on it, pal
Just pick it up no later than tonight at three o'clock
And bring it to the warehouse¨c¨chere, put this in your sock
No one left to save you
Nobody will return
You run so fast, you catch on fire
You've just gotta burn
Yeah¨c¨c
Chorus:
Goin' southbound
Follow that sound
Long line of cars
Just a-movin' out of town
You've got this job
But you don't know how
And everybody does
What nobody will allow
Full moon shines like a big cue ball
Someone fishin' on the pier, might as well stall
Repaint the car, change your license plate
How ya spell relief? must be somethin' that you ate
All this is a secret
As common as that dirt
We'll rely on your expert eye
Here, put this in your shirt
Yeah¨c¨c
Chorus repeat x2
And we'll all be waiting so long
Wait so long
We'll all be waiting so long
Wait so long, wait so long
Now if you get caught, don't tell 'em about me
The last one who did, well, we tied him to a tree
Out in the high desert, by an ant hill
Haven't been back there since¨c¨cguess he's swingin' there still
All this is a secret
As common as that dirt
We'll rely on your expert eye
Here, put this in your shirt
Yeah¨c¨cyeah! yeah! yeah!
Chorus repeat x2
Goin' southbound...
We're goin' southbound...
We're goin' southbound...
We're goin' southbound...
The song "Goin' Southbound" by Stan Ridgway tells the story of a shady business deal, in which the singer is given instructions to pick up a mysterious package and deliver it to a warehouse. He is warned to keep quiet about the deal and not to get caught, as the consequences could be dire. The singer is caught between the allure of easy money and the fear of being caught by the authorities or the shady characters involved in the deal. The chorus provides a hypnotic rhythm, inciting the feeling of being on the road, following the Southbound, into a dangerous unknown.
The song captures the essence of the criminal underworld where loyalty and silence can sometimes be valued over honesty and trust. The package, which is never revealed, symbolizes many things, but most importantly, the moral dilemma faced by the singer. Will he go through with the job and risk it all for a quick buck, or will he take the high road and back out of the deal? The lyrics leave us with a sense of ambiguity, leaving us to decide the singer’s fate for ourselves.
Line by Line Meaning
Tell not a word that you heard it here
This information is confidential, please keep it to yourself
But there's a big truck waitin' tonight at the pier
A large vehicle is waiting at the pier tonight
Comin' in on an east-bound boat
This vehicle is arriving by boat from the east
Now, don't be late for delivery - here, put this in your coat
Don't miss the deadline for this delivery, please conceal this item in your jacket
It's a strange weight from an exotic locale
This item has an unusual weight and origin
Don't worry about the cops, 'cause they're in on it, pal
The authorities are involved in this operation so don't worry
Just pick it up no later than tonight at three o'clock
Please collect the item by tonight at 3:00 AM
And bring it to the warehouse - here, put this in your sock
Transport the item to the warehouse and please hide this in your sock
No one left to save you
There will be no one to assist you
Nobody will return
No help is available
You run so fast, you catch on fire
You need to move quickly to accomplish this task
You've just gotta burn
You must be willing to make sacrifices to succeed
Goin' southbound, Follow that sound, Long line of cars, Just a-movin' out of town
The operation requires moving southern directions quickly in a convoy of cars
You've got this job
You have been hired for this task
But you don't know how, And everybody does
Even though you are unskilled, numerous people are involved
What nobody will allow
This task is controversial
Full moon shines like a big cue ball
The moon is shining brightly
Someone fishin' on the pier, might as well stall
Someone fishing on the pier might as well be a distraction or a delay tactic
Repaint the car, change your license plate
Alter the car to evade detection
How ya spell relief? must be somethin' that you ate
The singer is jokingly commenting on the feeling of relief
Now if you get caught, don't tell 'em about me
If you get into trouble, don't mention me
The last one who did, well, we tied him to a tree
The singer is giving an example of the consequences of revealing information
Out in the high desert, by an ant hill
The previous offender was left in a remote location in the desert
Haven't been back there since…guess he's swingin' there still
The previous offender is probably still hanging there
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Jeff Wolinski
Great song from such a criminally underrated talent! This album (Mosquitos) is one of my all time top ten, absolutely brilliant.
Mikey Litchfield
Yes and a criminally underrated song about criminality!
Nomen Nudum
Undies!!
Keith
Stan does it again. A truly underrated artist. Love you're stuff, Stan.
Nomen Nudum
Undies!!
Steven Bollinger
Stan Ridgway is a total genius. The whole lyric is like one long list of reasons to turn and run from a job offer. I will offer just one example: Mr "here put this in yr --" says "If you get caught." Fair enough, but just a minute ago he said "Don't worry about the cops." So who's going to catch me? No no no no no. Turn and run. Excellent recording, excellent video, top notch stuff as usual from Mr Ridgway.
John Doe
Great song, haven't heard it in years.
William Beck
Man, this song grooves!!!!
David` Rody
Worked on this video. Stan's a really cool guy.
The old geezer Smith
Stan Rules!!!!!!