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
Wallace Stevens
Vic Chesnutt Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Thirteen ways
Then strew a fist many
Mountains away
My evangelism felled
Brutally taken
By breezes that rubbed me
And lifted light raven
I stretched to borrow
Fine antebelleum
To encase all the scrapings
Of us civilised fellow
I wanted to stash them
To secretive cages
With that fabulous blackbird
Of thirteen stages
The lyrics of Vic Chesnutt's "Wallace Stevens" reflect an appreciation for the complexities and nuances of language and meaning. The title of the song refers to the American poet Wallace Stevens, known for his philosophical and often abstract approach to poetry. The opening line, "I saw a blackbird / Thirteen ways," is a direct nod to Stevens' most famous poem, "Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird." This poem contains thirteen different perspectives on the same blackbird, highlighting the many possibilities for interpretation and meaning that exist in language.
Chesnutt's lyrics continue with references to the fragility of belief and the difficulty of articulating one's ideas. The line "My evangelism felled / Brutally taken" suggests a loss of faith or conviction through some traumatic experience. In a similar vein, the lines "I wanted to stash them / To secretive cages" convey a desire to control and contain one's thoughts and ideas, perhaps out of fear of them being misunderstood or rejected.
Overall, the lyrics of "Wallace Stevens" showcase Chesnutt's skill as a wordsmith and his appreciation for the complexities of language and meaning. The song invites the listener to dive deeper into the intricacies of language and the human experience.
Line by Line Meaning
I saw a blackbird
I observed a blackbird.
Thirteen ways
The blackbird was perceived in thirteen different ways.
Then strew a fist many
The blackbird scattered multiple objects by flapping its wings.
Mountains away
The scattered objects flew very far.
My evangelism felled
My religious zealotry or ideological passion was defeated or destroyed.
Brutally taken
My zealotry was taken from me in a harsh manner.
By breezes that rubbed me
The destruction was caused by gentle air movements that touched me.
And lifted light raven
The air movements also caused a light bird to be lifted off the ground.
I stretched to borrow
I reached out to obtain something, likely money or power.
Fine antebelleum
Something old-fashioned or nostalgic.
To encase all the scrapings
To preserve all that is considered valuable or useful, even if it is in a disordered state.
Of us civilised fellow
Of the general population that is living in a civilized society.
I wanted to stash them
I desired to save these valuable things by hiding or hoarding them.
To secretive cages
To hiding places, where the valuable things would be kept safely from discovery.
With that fabulous blackbird
Together with the magnificent and versatile blackbird from before.
Of thirteen stages
Of the same bird that was perceived in thirteen different ways.
Contributed by Nora D. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Liam Cooper
Two great poets. Vic had pretty great taste.