The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #93461   Message #1799036
Posted By: GUEST,woody
01-Aug-06 - 02:27 PM
Thread Name: Help: Sin City (Gram Parsons) - meaning
Subject: Origins: 'sin city', 'gram parsons'
I am looking for the meaning of Gram Parson's "Sin City" lyrics.

I heard the song in the early seventies. I think Emmy Lou was singing it with Gram, and I thought then - "I like that song - I wonder what it's about." I heard it again last month, realized the chords are simple, and learned it. But I still have no idea what it is about.

One guess is that sin city is Las Vegas, and it's about greed and armageddon. Another guess is that "earthquake" is a metaphor for gambling. Another guess is that the guy in the last verse is JFK or Martin Luther King and sin city is Washington, D.C. But none of these offer a clue to the "recruits" and the "green mohair suits"

So ultimately, I love singing this song, but I still have no idea what I'm singing about.

I have never posted to Mudcat before. I am hoping for enlightenment from the Mudcat Community.
Feel free to point me at an existing thread or a google link, it this has alrady been pounded into the ground.

Thank you in advance