Around 1985, Chesnutt moved to Athens and joined the band, The La-Di-Da's. After leaving that group he began performing solo on a regular basis at the 40 Watt Club; it was there that he was spotted by Michael Stipe of R.E.M.; Stipe produced Chesnutt's first two albums, Little (1990) and West of Rome (1991).
In 1992 Chesnutt was the subject of a PBS documentary, Speed Racer. He also had a small role in the 1996 Billy Bob Thornton movie Sling Blade which he later described self-mockingly as a poor performance.
In 1996, Chesnutt was exposed to a wider audience with the release of the tribute album Sweet Relief II: Gravity of the Situation, the proceeds from which went to the Sweet Relief Fund. The album consisted of Chesnutt covers by famous musicians including Garbage, The Smashing Pumpkins (with Red Red Meat), Madonna, R.E.M. and Live.
He recorded several times with other groups and artists. Most notably he made two albums with fellow Athens, GA recording artist Widespread Panic, under the name of brute. Chesnutt's album The Salesman and Bernadette (1998) was recorded with alt-country group Lambchop as the backing band. The album Merriment was a collaborative effort between Chesnutt and Kelly and Nikki Keneipp, with Vic writing and singing the songs, and the Keneipps playing the music. The 2005 album Ghetto Bells features famed guitarist Bill Frisell, whom Chesnutt met in 2004 at the renowned Century of Song concert series at the German festival RuhrTriennale. Chesnutt's wife, Tina Chesnutt, frequently plays bass on his albums. His niece, and fellow songwriter, Liz Durrett also appeared on the Ghetto Bells album.
Chesnutt's first four albums were released on the independent Texas Hotel label. He then recorded About to Choke (1996) for Capitol, which was his first and only major record label recording. The Salesman and Bernadette (1998) was on PolyGram; Merriment (2000) was on the Backburner Records label; spinART was the label for the self performed and recorded Left to His Own Devices (2001). Vic then found a new home at the New West Records label, who have released two albums for him so far. In 2004 New West also re-released the early Texas Hotel recordings, including expanded liner notes and extra tracks.
In the winter of 2006, he recorded his newest album, North Star Deserter at the Hotel2Tango in Montreal. It was released on September 11, 2007 by Constellation Records. The record includes contributions from Constellation artists Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra & Tra-La-La Band, members of Godspeed You! Black Emperor, as well as Fugazi’s Guy Picciotto. The album was produced by documentary filmmaker Jem Cohen. He also appeared as a guest musician on Cowboy Junkies' 2007 album Trinity Revisited, a 20th anniversary edition of their classic album The Trinity Session.
On Dec 25th 2009, Vic Chesnutt died after falling into a coma following a suicide attempt.
Official Website: Vic Chesnutt
Marathon
Vic Chesnutt Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Blue windsor knots framed by basic black
Resplendent tables
Great forests of paper plates
Carrying the weight of the world
Saps every ounce of your strength
In training to run a marathon
With your sunday shoes on
In training to run a marathon
Miles and miles and miles
With your dress shoes on
But all the recurring dreams
Will increase and then peter out and cease
Tears do evaporate
But oh so slowly like piss on toilet seat
In training to run a marathon
Miles and miles and miles
With your sunday shoes on
In training to run a marathon
Miles and miles and miles
With your dress shoes on
In the first stanza of Vic Chesnutt's "Marathon", he describes the overwhelming burden of modern life that can leave us feeling drained to the very core. He paints a picture of the endless to-do lists on yellow legal pads, the formal dress wear we adorn in our professional lives, and the unending piles of paperwork and disposable cutlery that accompany us through our days. This imagery evokes a sense of monotony and heaviness, where the world's weight feels like it's bearing down upon us relentlessly, leaving us feeling depleted.
In the second stanza, Chesnutt compares the trials and tribulations of daily life to the physical challenge of running a marathon. The lyrics describe the training process of running mile after mile, in either our everyday shoes or dress shoes. The repetition and persistence required to complete a marathon is akin to the endurance we must muster just to endure the never-ending grind of daily life. But despite our best efforts, our recurring dreams and aspirations may peter out without our ever achieving them. And it seems that even our tears, while eventually evaporating like "piss on toilet seat", do so ever so slowly.
Line by Line Meaning
To-do lists on a long yellow legal pad
Keeping track of tasks on a lengthy notepad
Blue windsor knots framed by basic black
Classic neckties held up by a simple color frame
Resplendent tables
Gorgeous and impressive dining surfaces
Great forests of paper plates
Numerous disposable dishware stacked like tall trees
Carrying the weight of the world
Holding onto immense pressure and responsibilities
Saps every ounce of your strength
Draining all physical and emotional energy
In training to run a marathon
Preparing oneself for a long-distance running event
Miles and miles and miles
Many long stretches of distance covered
With your sunday shoes on
Wearing formal or special footwear during training
With your dress shoes on
Sporting fancy shoes, even during the grueling marathon training
But all the recurring dreams
Continuing visions and thoughts
Will increase and then peter out and cease
Intensify and fade away over time
Tears do evaporate
Crying subsides
But oh so slowly like piss on toilet seat
Still lingering, even as it slowly fades
Contributed by Mateo F. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
linda from ga
Love this song , thank you Vic
Uomopagaia
A part of me have grown up listening to this song. U will never know it, but... Thanks my friend... nothing I can say can be enough now !
Andrea Consonni
un capolavoro questo disco.
Sina Arasteh
2020: Rest in Peace dear Vic
idiom idiomovitczh
So touching.
tropicwave1
Marathon
Vic Chesnutt
Album: Mitte Ende August
To-do lists on a long yellow legal pad
Blue Windsor knots framed by basic black
Resplendent tables
Great forests of paper plates
Carrying the weight of the world
Saps every ounce of your strength
In training to run a marathon
Miles and miles and miles
With your Sunday shoes on
In training to run a marathon
Miles and miles and miles
With your dress shoes on
But all the recurring dreams
Will increase and then peter out and cease
Tears do evaporate
But oh so slowly like piss on toilet seat
In training to run a marathon
Miles and miles and miles
With your Sunday shoes on
In training to run a marathon
Miles and miles and miles
With your dress shoes on
Written by: VIC CHESNUTT
Lyrics © BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC
℗ 2009 City Slang
PhilVlad1
Haunted and wonderful
Shelly Andrews
keeping it on the road still trying to lighten the load
linda from ga
Did he write this song in a Saturday?
linda from ga
2009