The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #138137   Message #3419886
Posted By: GUEST,TAFF
14-Oct-12 - 07:16 PM
Thread Name: Casey's last ride - meaning?
Subject: RE: Casey's last ride - meaning?
I see that Arkie in May 2011 did not care for the Everlys version. Fair enough. There were two, one done in one take in 1968, messing about with it, and one done in 1972 when they had lost it bigtime and were just faffing around looking for something. Sad by then but great in their time. Both versions were never released on any album and I only came upon them when buying the CDs with all the unreleased tracks. I found the song haunting to be honest, never heard it before, but have now listened to the Emmylou version as well. I love her stuff. I am a lifelong fan of The Everlys and to me the first version was one of the best things they ever did. Most of their great work was short and about love and life and all that, apart from Ebony Eyes. They had no idea what they were doing by the end of the 60s they were out of it, fighting all the time and doomed. They just put down a version and left it at that. The second version was practised a lot you could tell but it was naff. In the first one they captured the mood of what Kristofferson was trying to convey. I think it is set in England. The guy has an empty existence although he has a family. He is moving out of the area with his job perhaps, and takes one last ride to see his old flame, mistress, prostitute or whatever and they both independently realise after the last liason that they are alone but should perhaps have made a go of it together. He just has a drink and resigns himself to that fact and goes home. Shrugs his shoulders in short. I don't see any thoughts of suicide. Plenty looking back these days and wondering if life would have been better with another. Not me I might add. But as I get much older I find myself analysing some songs in detail and this is one of them. Sunday Morning Coming Down by Kris is a great one too but done fbetter by other artists. Never liked anything Kris sang apart from Bobby Mc Gee but admire his writing. Hope I have not bored you.