Townes Van Zandt - Kathleen

[kathleenpivot]

A new Favorite many thanks for this haunting 

[MeLikeGtaIv]

I love this girl named kathleen but she does not :(

[TRoseist]

Am I the only one who hates all the strings that keep getting slopped all over the purest songwriting ever?

[shovingwords]

@TRoseist you're not the only one... Townes had the best producers... Jack Clements was one of them!!! But none of them seemed to get it... that's why Townes recorded live show records are so important. One man, one song, one guitar. All his records should have been like that. But, regardless, the songs shine through.

[seaperu1]

I always thought of Kathleen being the dealer

[flatonia]

Video doesn't fit the music.

Brilliant song by TVZ but do yourself a favor and listen to it on Live at the Old Quarter.

[FuckinMongo]

'' ride the north wind down to see kathleen ''

listen to my townes van zandt cover if youre bothered

thanks 

[znarf541]

Got to be one of the most haunting songs ever written - by a guy who wrote quite a few...

[BluesYourAss]

I DON'T GET HOW SOMEONE CAN DISLIKE THIS !

I MEAN YOU CAN SAY IT'S NOT YOUR FAVORITE TYPE OF MUSIC, BUT HOW CAN YOU NOT AT LEAST APPRECIATE A SONG WITH SUCH GREAT LYRICS AND ARRANGEMENT ? I REALLY DON'T GET IT.......

[maldoror2007]

Kathleen is really a great song, not only this version, also the 1st one. Maybe the only one of Townes that mentiones the "Ocean". wonderful, so good

M

[leengirl]

I've heard several songs called Kathleen (my name), but this one is the best. This is the first time I've heard it and I've already played it about five times. So far.

[opiumrebel]

@leengirl

Wonderful name, though Townes talks about Codein when talking about Kathleen, as people talking about "Heroin" when using the name "Candy".

[riseup20twelve]

*****

[lGnossos]

I usually prefer his live stuff, but this is an awesome studio recording. the fiddle is perfect

[opiumrebel]

a swollow comes and tells me of her dreams

when will opiates be legalized

when you kick "I feel like I could die as I watch her flyin' by"

soon I'm gonna see my sweet Kathleen

[MrTouchShriek]

Excellent composition, full of despair and loneliness so palpable I feel like I could drink them. The suffering of humankind has sustained me for ages, and will sustain me for centuries to come.

[kathleenvb896]

i like this song not just because it has my name in it but also because it is good.!!!

[kathleenvb896]

i like this song not just because it has my name in it but also because it is good.

[iliazdoved]

Las de la civilisation numérique? rejoignez la communauté des amateurs de papier. Le plus beau commentaire de cette superbe chanson de Townes van Zandt se trouve dans le feuilleton de Régis Gayraud, dernier des poètes maudits, intitulé "Méritoires d'outre terre" et publié dans la revue "Recoins", n°4. En vente à Paris à la librairie de la halle Saint-Pierre et aussi par correspondance à : Recoins, 13, rue Bergier 63000 Clermont-Ferrand France

[oasisforever00]

Oh my god..townes I miss you :(

[opiumrebel]

Kathleen the sister of Candy, you'll be missed.

[GriffonKeeper]

Boy, he really bent, held and hit all the right notes in those days. Real character and emotion in his voice. I don't mind the orchestration in this version.

[GriffonKeeper]

Boy, he really bent, held and hit all the right notes in those days. Real character and emotion in his voice. I don't mind the orchestration in this version.

[abrighton82]

My interpretation is its about suicide. But.. Kathleen takes on 2 roles. Kathleen is the woman who left him, for a better life, and the devil is also Kathleen. The dual role is deliberately fague as he doesn't clearly see where Kathleen, his love, ends and where Kathleen, the devil, starts. Kathleen can not be dead as, in his eyes, she would be up in heaven not down in hell. He also longs for Hell as much as he longs for Kathleen because he knows that is his punishment and possibly his saviour.

[BigEvinrude]

@abrighton82 Kathleen stands for unfulfilled longing. She's that which can never be reached--the devil inasmuch as her absence fuels the insanity that drives him toward her in an unending spiral downward. Yeah, she's a bitter lady...no doubt.

[z5hmg]

thanks for posting !

I enjoyed the music *and* the video :-)

It would be nice to hear the live version if anyone can post it, this one is overproduced with the strings (there is a filmed from video/TV version, the quality is very poor but well worth a look). There's also a great cover by a guy called LicoriceTattoo...

[MrJC7071]

I have the acoustic, no strings, live version by Townes. It may be the darkest tune he ever did, and he did many. This is Townes letting you see into the dark areas of his heart. That same darkness eventually killed him. This version is one of the many attempts to commercialize a real poet. It doesn't work at all. Neither does the video

[TheEndKing]

Heh heh...a swallow comes.

[gavjjj]

I love TVZ but this song really haunts me for some reason. I guess that goes with the territory. The older I get, the more I listen to him.

[davidb1959]

I see many have a different and varied interpretation of the song and isn't that really the goal of a great songwriter? To have the art touch EVERYONE no matter what they may draw from the work. I think this board provides all the proof one needs of Townes greatness as a musician/writer/human being.........................­................

[pantsonthaground]

Just a thought, maybe Kathleen could be the name given to his inner demons that constantly pursue him. If you listen to the song "The Hole", Townes personifies these demons in the form of a woman as well. He doesn't give her a name, but couldnt it be possible that he is referring to Kathleen? If you follow this interpretation, this song is even more haunting than "The Hole" because in "The Hole" he tries to escape the grip of his demons that he comes face to face with. Here he longs for them.

[flipstzr]

i'm in love with cathleen

[eweksi]

a true artist, his work is amazing

[futile1981]

But not a specific woman, I would say...

I'm totally against such an interpretation for this song!

[bewleytools]

agreed... Kathleen is not a specific woman. Probably a combination of many.

[saltwaterebel]

this makes me want to love a kathleen.

[RossM3838]

While the song may have been inspired by a real person, it takes on a life of its own and like all great songs I speaks to people in different ways. When someone says the song is about him he doesn't mean that literaly. I read the song as a contemplation of suicide as well. Its not as overt as "A Song For.." but its there.

[acupunxa]

its totally about me.

[JoeySweatsocks]

its a song about lonely, desperate, suicide.

...at least thats how i read it.

only until about 1:40 does it come together- "the stars hang high above the oceans roar. the moon has come to lead me to her door. theres crystal across the sand, the waves they take my hand. soon i'm going to see my sweet kathleen.

sounds like drowning oneself in the ocean no?

[futile1981]

Yup, that sounds drowning to me... I love your interpretation Joey.

But can't totally convince myself that suicide is the whole thing in the song! I read that some say it's about drugs, which also makes sense. But why not both?

[mwadevilg]

The coldest, lonely, best country music ever. Townes...

[TheEndKing]

@mwadevilg: I agree with MOST of the sentiment, but remove 'country', and leave the sentence as what follows. ;)

[Tadhg64]

@mwadevilg in his own words, his music isn't just sad, it's hopeless....

[SWC11]

The great thing about music is the same song can mean differnt things to differnt people. Why argue about what a songs about? To me its about suicide. "The waves they take my hand. Soon I'm gonna see my sweet Kathleen". I take it as she's dead and he's thinking about going to see her. Could be wrong.

[BrianGodard]

Kathleen is a woman.

Its not Rolling Stones' Mary Jane, which is obvious from the title that it's a song about marijuana.

[jimalda]

I think kathleen is codiene based on his rhyming scheme, minor notes and wordplay

[BrianGodard]

Its not a song about heroin.

Who the fuck can give thumb-ups to MilesPittman's statement?

[6eeyore9]

I could do without the strings

[nkvv88]

hmm...maybe, maybe not. I think they add something to the song. I will agree that there is something special when it's just Townes and his guitar though.

[BrianGodard]

Or maybe Kathleen is already dead and he waits for his judgement day to see her.

[BrianGodard]

No,it is NOT like Poe.

Poe was depressing,sometimes very pretentiously "dark";this is a song about a woman that Townes lost and hopes to see her in a better world,when they are both gone from this world.

I think its about it.

[unclebobunclebob]

What the heck is with this video?

[Bunz083]

yes.. it is like poe.

[fsgerm]

I always thought that this was about suicide, I've also read that it was about depression. Does anyone agree that the most POEsque song is "Our Mother the Mountain"?

[DeathOrGlory83]

listen to "rake"

[halfbreedscott]

I thought it was returning back to an old lover ...just for a moment of comfort....in a cruel world where lovers let you down ...but maybe I am just projecting my own feelings on to the song...its mine though I own this song whenever I hear it ...townes...at the centre of my musical life....r.i.p. M.jackson

[MilesPittman]

most likely a song about heroin. The path of the addict, going to his bad habits, and knowing the harsh repercussions.

[CurtisMateer]

dp11issosweet and glynnth give some nice explanations of this hauntingly beautiful song's meanings here.

[doa2382]

It's like Poe, ain't it?

[rosesredvioletsblue]

great song!

thank you

[glynnth]

So is Kathleen supposed to be like, "deceased", in this song?

[dp11issosweet]

thats how i read into it . like his days are so troubled hed rather go be with her, even though she is no longer in this world.

[glynnth]

Yeh, he's talking about going to be with her, but the only way he can seem to do that, is by following a little bird's voice, or going down to the ocean, things like that... Seems like Kathleen isn't available, except in some other-worldly dimension..

Although it could be talking about someone who's "not available", for other reasons. I guess only Townes knows, for sure??

An eerie song - gives me chills. I like this so much better than some of the "standard country western" music he also does.

[glynnth]

I just wonder if Townes ever did any public commentaries, ever explained any of these "mysterious lyrics" of his?

[kiramouse]

No this was written about my mother, who is still very much alive. She was a psychadelic artist. She says they never dated.

[tippex1954]

Hauntingly beatiful - thank you

[usmem54]

My favourite song ever. Tindersticks did a really nice job with this song too.

[hafler333trio]

This song is awesome! The first Townes I heard and it set me on a journey through his other work. The man was a genius.

[astroandyborgloh]

Great song, and also check out the Tindersticks Version, very good, too!

[kathleendaguno]

my name's also KATHLEEN!!!

[bibs5]

i came to hear townes. dug on the vid too. i like oldies.

[dantean]

I'm sure it's not the poster's intent, but this footage trivializes the song. "Kathleen" wasn't a 1950s high personal hygiene short screened in an elementary school auditorium before 1,500 disinterested 11 year-olds. 'Just my opinion.

[terr0rkitten]

Oh dear! Don't people take things seriously. Firstly it's all about the music, if you don't like the footage turn the screen off or look away. Secondly, it's not a personal hygiene short but a short dealing with jealousy and betrayal. Of course I have already answered that once above.

I assume that you enjoyed the tune and are glad I took the trouble to post it?

[dantean]

@terr0rkitten Of course I'm glad you posted it and apologize if I sounded upset. It's not that serious. "Kathleen" is one of my favorite songs from one of the great record releases ever. Again, my apologies for disrespecting the effort you made to wed the song to the footage--which, from the perspective of a couple of months--has a more serious tone to it than I gave it credit for at the time. My bad.

[terr0rkitten]

@dantean Thanks for coming back - I didn't take it personally. I only make them for fun. No harm done ;)

[err0r]

@terr0rkitten All hail almighty poster for uploading content they didn't even make to You Tube. I, for one, appreciate your dedication...

[kathleen2403]

i'm Kathleen! ;**

[kiramouse]

Song is written about my mama.

[rainyydayy]

MY NAME IS KATHLEEN

HAHAHAHAHAHA (L)

[salrip]

what is the videofootage from?

[terr0rkitten]

it's a shot movie about jealousy