December 27, 2008
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25 Minutes to Go
I am not doing a celebrity round up this week. Sorry. There just wasn't enough material so I suppose next week I may do two entries or just one mega entry.
In lieu of a celebrity round up I am going to post one of my current favorite songs, "25 Minutes to Go".
The version I am going to share is by Pearl Jam. It was originally sung by Johnny Cash. I have never been able to find a studio version of the song. My searches have only led me to his Folsom prison concert. At a certain point in the song, the inmates were so uproarious that you can't hear Johnny's singing.
"25 Minutes to Go" was written by Shel Silverstein and is called gallows humor because it is a song about a stressful or life changing event. Well that is fitting because this song is about a guy walking to the gallows to be hung. This song is supposed to occur in real time. Whenever I listen to it I get this sense of urgency as the time dwindles down.
Here are the lyrics:
They're buildin' the gallows outside my cell.
I got 25 minutes to go.
And in 25 minutes I'll be in Hell.
I got 24 minutes to go.
Well, they give me some beans for my last meal.
23 minutes to go.
And you know... nobody asked me how I feel.
I got 22 minutes to go.
So, I wrote to the Gov'nor... the whole damned bunch.
Ahhh... 21 minutes to go.
And I call up the Mayor, and he's out to lunch.
I got 20 more minutes to go.
Well, the Sheriff says, "Boy, I wanna watch you die".
19 minutes to go.
I spit in his face... and I kicked him in the eye.
I got 18 minutes to go.
Well...I call out to the Warden to hear my plea.
17 minute to go.
He says, "Call me back in a week or three.
You've got 16 minutes to go."
Well, my lawyer says he's sorry he missed my case.
Mmmm....15 minutes to go.
Yeah, well if you're so sorry, come up and take my place.
I got 14 minutes to go.
Well, now here comes the padre to save my soul
With 13 minutes to go.
And he's talkin' about burnin', but I'm so damned cold.
I got 12 more minutes to go.
Now they're testin' the trap. It chills my spine.
I got 11 minutes to go.
'Cuz the goddamned thing it works just fine.
I got 10 more minutes to go.
I'm waitin' for the pardon... gonna set me free
With 9 more minutes to go.
But this ain't the movies, so to hell with me.
I got 8 more minutes to go.
And now I'm climbin up the ladder with a scaffold peg
With 7 more minutes to go.
I've betta' watch my step or else I'll break my leg.
I got 6 more minutes to go.
Yeah... with my feet on the trap and my head in the noose...
5 more minutes to go.
Well, c'mon somethin' and cut me loose.
I got 4 more minutes to go.
I can see the mountains. I see the sky.
3 more minutes to go.
And it's too damned pretty for a man to die.
i got 2 more minutes to go
I can hear the buzzards... hear the crows.
1 more minute to go.
And now I'm swingin' and here I gooooooooo..
Comments (7)
Well, that was cheery...
I didn't listen to the song, but I read the lyrics, and after what I have just been through, it may be a couple days before I can think about listening to that song. Are we on the same wavelength today or what?
I wasn't familiar with this song. I have heard, but it may be just an urban legend, that the song "Mr Tambourine Man" is about a man waiting to be put to death. The "jingle jangle" is of the warden's keys.
Seems like a replay of everyday of my life...but somehow I always get that pardon at the last second, only to start over again. Sucks doesn't it. Well, at least they give me liquor in my cell...lol.
@Egregious_Deviant_Zebra -
I put it up because it has been so hypnotic for me the last week or so when I accidentally stumbled upon it while doing secret hacker stuff. I feel the anxiety as the time ticks down.
@curiousdwk -
That is an interesting interpretation. I had always thought, because it was Bob Dylan, that the tambourine man was a drug dealer and having all the people following him like the pied-piper was like all the addicts looking for their fix. That is what I love about music and poetry, you can make your own interpretations and still be correct because that is what is correct to you.
@spicyhotcoffee -
I always thought having the last meal would cause I would ask for the rarest food and make them get it and if they didn't I would appeal or sue.
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