Among the hundreds of artists he's worked with include Phil Ochs, Tim Buckley, Haruomi Hosono, The Byrds, Rufus Wainwright, Harry Nilsson, Randy Newman, Ry Cooder, U2, Joanna Newsom, Inara George, Keith Moon, Frank Zappa, Harpers Bizarre, Little Feat, Ringo Starr, Silverchair, and Skrillex.
In addition to producing, Parks has released seven studio albums of his own recordings: Song Cycle, Discover America, Clang of the Yankee Reaper, Jump!, Tokyo Rose, Songs Cycled, and with Brian Wilson, Orange Crate Art. He has also released a live album, Moonlighting: Live at the Ash Grove. His first official release was the 1966 single Number Nine, a modernized version of Beethoven's 9th backed with Do What You Wanta.
Parks has also established himself in film scores, and over the years has directed, arranged, produced, and composed soundtracks for a great number of motion pictures and television shows.
During his childhood, Parks became extremely fond of old-style American music, most notably the sounds of Tin Pan Alley. This interest in Depression-era songwriting would correlate heavily with his artistic goals and interests during the 1960s and beyond. He was also deeply affected by musicians Spike Jones and Les Paul, which led him to develop an interest with studio experimentation in the form of pop music.
Pot Pourri
Van Dyke Parks Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
with the garden and camped in concentration
of a tall lilac to peel the rust off purple arbor.
Time is not the main thought from under the rain wrought from roots that brought us coots
to hoot and haul us all back to the prime ordeal. Dust off Pearl Harbor time.
The lyrics of Van Dyke Parks's song Pot Pourri are quite abstract and open-ended. In the first line, he mentions a Southwester, which refers to someone from the American Southwest. This person is invested in the garden and is focused on peeling the rust off a tall lilac bush. The lilac bush is purple, which could be symbolic of royalty or a sense of regalness. The second line talks about concentration, but it is unclear what the focus is on — it could be the lilac bush or something else entirely.
In the third line, Parks mentions time, which is not the main thought. This is an interesting line because it implies that something else is more important than time in this situation. He then references rain and roots, which suggests that this is a natural setting. The line "that brought us coots to hoot and haul us all back to the prime ordeal" is quite cryptic. It could mean that these individuals are returning to a time when things were simpler, or it could simply be nonsense. The final line, "Dust off Pearl Harbor time," is perhaps the most striking. This may be a reference to the Pearl Harbor attack in 1941, and could signify a desire to return to a time before that event happened.
Overall, it is difficult to pin down exactly what the lyrics of Pot Pourri mean. The song is filled with poetic language that is open to interpretation. However, it is clear that Parks is exploring themes of nature, time, and nostalgia.
Line by Line Meaning
A Southwester in the yard invested
A person wearing a Southwestern-style hat was focused on a task in the yard.
with the garden and camped in concentration
This person was working in the garden and doing so with intense concentration.
of a tall lilac to peel the rust off purple arbor.
The person's focus was on a tall lilac tree, specifically on removing the rust from a purple arbor attached to it.
Time is not the main thought
Despite the passing of time (as suggested by the rust), the person is not concerned with it at the moment.
from under the rain wrought from roots
Instead, their focus is on the rain that is nurturing the roots of the plants in the garden.
that brought us coots to hoot and haul us all back to the prime ordeal.
The rain has brought animals (coots) to the garden, and these creatures are making noises (hooting) that transport us back to a primal, natural state of being.
Dust off Pearl Harbor time.
The final line is a command to remember the past (specifically the attack on Pearl Harbor), but it is unclear how this relates to the rest of the song.
Lyrics © BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC
Written by: VAN DYKE PARKS
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