The Jim Carroll Band was a New Wave/punk rock group formed by poet and writ… Read Full Bio ↴The Jim Carroll Band was a New Wave/punk rock group formed by poet and writer Jim Carroll, in 1978, after encouragement from Patti Smith. The band was formerly called Amsterdam, based San Francisco, California. The musicians were: Steve Linsley (bass), Wayne Woods (drums), Brian Linsley and Terrell Winn (guitars). Their biggest commercial success was the single "People Who Died", from their 1980 debut album, Catholic Boy; the album featured contributions from Allen Lanier and Bobby Keys. The song was covered by John Cale on his Antártida soundtrack. Later albums were Dry Dreams (1982) and I Write Your Name (1983), both with contributions from Lenny Kaye. The band split around 1984

He was the author of "The Basketball Diaries" later turned into a movie of the same name. It was an account of his high school years spent hustling and as a part of the hard drug scene of the late 60's New York.

Carroll died on September 13, 2009 in Manhattan.

Voices
The Jim Carroll Band Lyrics

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Bob drives taxis when the meter runs
Bobby hears the music when it's done
He hears the voices
He hears the voices

Wheels on rain, lightning from the storm
Bobby takes the gas
Pedal to the floor

The voices
He hears the voices

Refrain:
Coming from the traffic,
Coming from the cube
Like the cry of babies
Passing through a tube
Voices run inside you

Jill breathes carbon trailing from the bus, it's like
Staring in the eyes of Lazarus
The voices
She hears the voices

Like a starving whisper no one ever heard
Like an epileptic hummingbird
The voices
She hears the voices

Repeat Refrain

Sal and Liz sitting at the Zoo
Sal says "I do . . . but Liz do you
Hear the voices
Do you hear the voices?"

Everything relaxes, everything is gray
Trapped in glass . . . on display
The voices
They hear all the voices

Repeat Refrain

Gwynne is bored with all the rules and names
She wants her life to be a video game
The voices
She hears the voices

Too much control
The have have not
Slide another quarter into the slot
The voices
She hears the voices

Repeat Refrain

Overall Meaning

The Jim Carroll Band's song "Voices" is a vivid portrayal of the overwhelming chaos and noise of modern life. The song is composed of a series of vignettes, featuring four different characters: Bob, Jill, Sal and Liz, and Gwynne. Each character is confronted with their own unique struggles, but they all share a sense of being trapped within a world of noise and confusion.

Bob, who drives a taxi, hears the voices in his head while he’s driving. The sound of rain falling and lightning striking the ground only adds to the noise in his head, as he pushes the gas pedal harder and harder. Jill, on the other hand, breathes in the exhaust fumes from a bus and feels like she’s staring into the eyes of Lazarus. She hears the starving whispers and the hummingbird-like sounds of the voices in her head. The song then moves on to Sal and Liz, who sit at the zoo, trapped in the glass and on display. Finally, Gwynne, who is bored with the rules and names of her life, wants to turn her existence into a video game.

The song's lyrics come together to create a vivid image of the struggles of modern life. Each character in the song is caught in a world of noise and confusion, where voices run inside them like the cry of babies passing through a tube. The song highlights the relentless noise of our technology-saturated world, where everything is a distraction and voices never seem to go away.

Line by Line Meaning

Bob drives taxis when the meter runs
Bob works as a taxi driver and only runs the meter when someone is a passenger.

Bobby hears the music when it's done
Bobby hears notes and echoes even after the music has stopped playing.

He hears the voices He hears the voices
Bobby continously hears voices even when there is no one talking or present.

Wheels on rain, lightning from the storm Bobby takes the gas Pedal to the floor
Bobby drives his car on a rainy day with lightning and accelerates to full speed.

Coming from the traffic, Coming from the cube Like the cry of babies Passing through a tube Voices run inside you
Voices that come from the outside world gradually take over our inner self and reverberate through us.

Jill breathes carbon trailing from the bus, it's like Staring in the eyes of Lazarus The voices She hears the voices
Jill is suffocated by the carbon emitted from a bus and feels like she is staring at the eyes of someone returning from the dead, while hearing multiple voices.

Like a starving whisper no one ever heard Like an epileptic hummingbird The voices She hears the voices
The voices inside Jill's head are comparable to a soft whisper that no one hears or a hummingbird that flaps uncontrollably.

Sal and Liz sitting at the Zoo Sal says "I do . . . but Liz do you Hear the voices Do you hear the voices?"
Sal and Liz are at the zoo, with Sal asking if Liz hears the unexplained voices.

Everything relaxes, everything is gray Trapped in glass . . . on display The voices They hear all the voices
Sal and Liz feel trapped and on display in their own world, hearing voices that come from everywhere.

Gwynne is bored with all the rules and names She wants her life to be a video game The voices She hears the voices
Gwynne is discontented with following rules and wishes to live a life where she can freely dictate her own actions. She can hear the voices in her head.

Too much control The have have not Slide another quarter into the slot The voices She hears the voices
Gwynne feels that the people who have control want to control her, while the poor are left with nothing. She feels compelled to add another quarter to a slot machine while hearing the voices inside her head.

Repeat Refrain
The refrain is repeated again.

Contributed by Alexander T. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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