PJ Song of the Week Analysis: Brain of JFK
Riverrunner
Posts: 2,419
Here it is! The newly relocated lyric analysis thread.
Brain Of JFK
oh who's got the brain of J.F.K.?
pull it off and on
oh jackie o, how we feel for you now
the whole world will be different then
go to hell if you don't believe it
oh monkey see, monkey do, play the fucking fool
oh give it all, give it back to me now
the whole world will be different then
go to hell if you don't believe it
i get high, then you take from me, so difference aside...
the whole world will be different then
go to hell if you don't believe it
the whole world will be fucking different then
go to fucking hell if you don't believe it...
Brain Of JFK
oh who's got the brain of J.F.K.?
pull it off and on
oh jackie o, how we feel for you now
the whole world will be different then
go to hell if you don't believe it
oh monkey see, monkey do, play the fucking fool
oh give it all, give it back to me now
the whole world will be different then
go to hell if you don't believe it
i get high, then you take from me, so difference aside...
the whole world will be different then
go to hell if you don't believe it
the whole world will be fucking different then
go to fucking hell if you don't believe it...
The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way it treats its animals. Ghandi
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PBM
Wishlist Foundation: http://wishlistfoundation.org
The only version listed in SKIS.
who's got the brain of jfk
what's it mean to us now, yeah
oh, it's sound insurance
but i can tell you, this is no lie
the whole world will be different soon
the whole world will be relieved
the whole world will be different soon
the whole world will be relieved
you, you've been taught
whipped into shape
now they got you in line
stand behind the stripes
there will be order,
so give up your mind, yeah
the whole world will be different soon
the whole world will be relieved
the whole world will be different soon
the whole world will be relieved
and by name
the name they gave me
the name i'm letting go...
the whole world will be different soon
the whole world will be relieved
the whole world will be different soon
the whole world will be relieved
I heard something about his brain being gone when the body was returned after autopsy and wasnt an autoposy of the brain itself not done by the Federal govt?
Hmmm, thanks, I've always been puzzled by this song
Ed's Quote
Excerpt from an article titled "Vedder's word associations" from the Seattle Times:
'We asked Eddie Vedder to play word association with
the titles; his answers follow the song titles.
"Brain of J": Conspiracy theories '
It's totally about conspiracies and I was a big JFK buff thanks to the movie back in 94. Some of it was total BS, other parts were very eye opening.
Any song on YIELD should be praised by all. Carry on...
Very important lyrics here. Do you believe everything you're told or do you question it. I love the phrasing
PBM
Wishlist Foundation: http://wishlistfoundation.org
By the way, what is the story behind the 1995 improvs? After looking at the lyrics I had originally posted from the improvs, it looked interesting.
As to Brain of J lyrics, I've never quite been sure. Will give it some thought, but I am interested on what everyone else's take on this is. I thought I had pretty much dissected Yield until I thought about this one over the weekend.
Great choice.
So, maybe this was the origin for one of the guys, when they were younger, or when the movie came out...
and saying, wait? So something isn't as it seems?
There's something wrong here.
So, as a good intro and opener into this type of thinking.
Plus they were going to take the brain of JFK and put it in a jar and hook it up to a computer and run the country from that. You know, computers were just taking off, we weren't aware of any capabilities at that point really, infinite horizons...that's a part too.
Good song choice, guys.
I agree. Yield to me is a very introspective album. A lot about self. A lot about being alone and thinking about things. Questioning things...not taking them for what they appear to be.
I think the whole world will be different then, go to hell if you don't believe it comes from this Vietnam age, where Johnson kind of fucked up and got sucked in. At a point, he hated what he had done, but knew he couldn't just leave. (Sound familiar?)
I think there was a front (my parents/grandparents) that felt, had Kennedy lived, everything would have been OK, the mess never would have happened. Thus the brain thing...with JFK's brain, the whole world...
Then again, we never would have had "Ohio" and "for what it's worth," and no Neil and no classic rock and then no PJ.
So, I guess in a way, it was a good thing...
I love Brain of J, also nice to see these improv things, no idea they existed!!! Great song from a GREAT album.
I may be boring but at least I'm not Jack fucking Johnson.
TV is such shit; let's go outside and ride bicycles, right now!
Madrid 07/09/06 - Little mofo'ing Wing!!!
Wembley 06/18/07 - Speechless
www.last.fm/user/StNick_
other than what PBM mentioned and the chorus, this is all that stands out to me as strange.
I always heard "and myname"
I always figured it was the Kennedy curse thing...
the name I'm letting go.
But maybe by dying tragically, he's grasping the name even tighter.
I could be convined of a bunch of things here.
Any ideas?
That whole 'the world will be different soon'. It's a challenge, I feel. Ed is asking people if the world will change, and if so, will we make it change for the better, as JFK tried to do?
I may be boring but at least I'm not Jack fucking Johnson.
TV is such shit; let's go outside and ride bicycles, right now!
Madrid 07/09/06 - Little mofo'ing Wing!!!
Wembley 06/18/07 - Speechless
www.last.fm/user/StNick_
That's a little less conspiracy theory but I like that too. I could see that. Makes good, clean sense.
"who's got the brain of jfk
what's it mean to us now, yeah
oh, it's sound insurance "
A reference to JFK's legacy. Even though JFK is dead the things he accomplished, and what he stands for is still here and is "insurance" for a better tomorrow.
"but i can tell you, this is no lie
the whole world will be different soon
the whole world will be relieved
the whole world will be different soon
the whole world will be relieved "
Once again a reference to JFK legacy and that things will continue to change because of what he did and what he stood for.
"you, you've been taught
whipped into shape
now they got you in line
stand behind the stripes
there will be order,
so give up your mind, yeah"
In the past being patriotic meant never questioning, never having an original (or rebellious thought). But things are different after JFK. Now being patriotic can mean something else. Sort of a 60's reference to the anti-war movement of the 60's and the hippie era.
"and by name
the name they gave me
the name i'm letting go... "
I don't know.
Overall, I think this is a tribute to JFK and the change he made to the mindset of this country. It is also a tribute to the 60's and the rebelliousness of that era.
This is more or less how I always interpreted this song. It seems to have a new relevance to the current state of the world now that it didn't have so much when it was written.
'The whole world will be different soon.
The whole world will be relieved'
That sounds almost like a Bush speech. There's certainly a lot of tension in the world today, and a lot of groups who would love to see the world changed, whether that means to widespread democracy, or Islamic theocracy, or whatever.
-C Addison
The identity that defines a person. By questioning, this person outlines a new identity for themself.
PBM
Wishlist Foundation: http://wishlistfoundation.org
Good thought. I like that interpretation. In other words, "breaking tradition." When a person is young their family pretty well creates the identity. Many people stay in the identity, but some don't - as PBM says, "some question." They break free of tradition and accepted principles and develop their own ideas, which creates their new identity. Another reference to the 60's era and the era of JFK - a time of change.
the name they gave me
the name i'm letting go... "
ARE WE SURE ITS NOT...
and MY name
the name they gave me
the name i'm letting go...?
PBM
Wishlist Foundation: http://wishlistfoundation.org
Regardless, after listening to the early version again, I think it's realted to the whole Single Bullet Theory
the inspiration for SVT's title.
This site is gross, so be careful, but it's got all the medical theories about JFK's death.
http://mcadams.posc.mu.edu/medical.htm
Again, the conspiracy theory is that someone stole JFK's brain hoping to hook it up to a computer and save the world.
That site said the brain is missing because he got shot from the front from the gunman on the grassy knoll, and it's a government cover up.
The whole thing why Jack Ruby killed Oswald is kind of the kicker here. If we had any explanation on that, it would make this a lot more clear. I think Ruby died in prison not long after, so we'll never know, probably.
Maybe some intelligent can unwrap all this in terms of the song.
But to me, it's who's got his brain and why? Is it for some noble reason? Saving the world with a computer JFK brain?
Or the dark side of government coverup and lies?
PBM
Wishlist Foundation: http://wishlistfoundation.org
They dropped his body in the Atlantic Ocean? WTF?
thanks for the read.....
I'm just pushing the Kennedy thing for sake of discussion.
Agreed.
PBM
Wishlist Foundation: http://wishlistfoundation.org
first four songs for the abbreviated by rain set in KC, 2003..
Release
Breakerfall
Brain Of J
Get Right
As always, McCready was SMOKIN'
As she slams the door in his drunken face
And now he stands outside
And all the neighbours start to gossip and drool
He cries oh, girl you must be mad,
What happened to the sweet love you and me had?
Against the door he leans and starts a scene,
And his tears fall and burn the garden green
Exactly. Once again I think it reflects change whether socially (as in my JFK/ 60's analysis) or personally or both. In the past, there would have been no Yielding - only pushing ahead on a course deviating for nothing and considering no alternative. However, with time and age also comes wisdom so one learns that change can be good and that change does not necessarily mean compromising what you really are or what you stand for. In the historical context, you can yield to new ideas without becoming communist or whatever people were scared of in the 60's. In the personal context, it means you can give a little, still be you and change at the same time.