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myoungish
Fifth Love
USA
264 Posts |
 Posted - 02/07/2008 : 07:03:09
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I've always found The Castle to be the most enigmatic and underpraised song in the mighty n' mystical Love canon. It's abstract and impressionistic and so evocative at the same time. "Mysterioso", as Thelonious Monk would say. And those cryptic, lysergic lyrics! I would love to know what your interpretations, feelings, impressions about that song are.
Michael Young |
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John9
Old Love
United Kingdom
2154 Posts |
Posted - 02/07/2008 : 12:04:16
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Hi myoungish - I may be way off beam with this, but I have always felt there there is some link with Franz Kafka's 1924 novel 'The Castle'... written when he was at death's door with tuberculosis. My grounds for this are as follows:
1. We have the line in the song 'A my love, B I love ....so hard to choose'. The central (and mysterious) character in the novel is known simply as 'K'.
2. The narrator in the song - perhaps that famous girlfiend after whom two other songs were named - is starting out on a journey. In the novel, the barmaid, Frieda who is already supposed to be the mistress of the Castle's most powerful official, is made love to by 'K'. But she leaves him once she discovers 'K's true motives.
3. The novel features twin assistants to 'K', Arthur and Jeremiah, whom it is impossible to tell apart.
4. The song scarcely seems complete - before that wonderful harpsichord takes over. The novel is definitely incomplete - and was published posthumously.
5. We know that Arthur had at least a slight interest in the more offbeat side of European literature - evidenced by his borrowing of lyrics from Peter Weiss's 'Marat Sade' for the end of 'The Red Telephone'.
6. The novel in common with much of Kafka's other work, does tend to major on the alienation of the outsider - some have said that the song does this also.
I conclude with a line from the novel:
"The Castle hill was hidden, veiled in mist and darkness, nor was there even a glimmer of light to show that the castle was there."
I am very likely reading far too much into all this! It's probably just about some girl making it with some guy. |
Edited by - John9 on 04/07/2008 01:01:16 |
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ed the bear
Fourth Love
USA
215 Posts |
Posted - 05/07/2008 : 18:23:27
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Hi John,
"It's probably just about some girl making it with some guy."
I presume that's some of that famous dry British humor, or, excuse me, humour.
I never thought about the Kafka connection, but it's always been clear that something is going on there. "Leavin' on the double" is usually taken to mean "Leaving in a hurry" but it also echoes the double-ness of the previous verse.
But it's the instrumental half of the song that never leaves me. I don't know if it's an accident of the mix or deliberate, but the way the repeated fingerpicking figure rises and falls in intensity is simply beautiful. That, and the harpsichord and bass in unison are, I think, unique in pop music. Even in an album full of one-of-a-kind masterpieces, "The Castle" stands out.
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Edited by - ed the bear on 05/07/2008 18:24:22 |
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John9
Old Love
United Kingdom
2154 Posts |
Posted - 05/07/2008 : 23:09:53
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| Hi Ed - great to hear from you again. Yes .... it really is true about our being two countries separated by the same language. The instrumental passage from 'The Castle' is as you've said, a truly superb piece of music - having as it does, quite a Baroque feel to it. I remember though reading a Zig Zag interview with Snoopy in which he completely dismissed his own contribution. His words were "It's nice...but there's nothing to it." Mind you, he also said in the same piece that 'Forever Changes' would never mean as much to him as the first album. I think that 'The Castle' exemplifies a time when some of the greats of rock....Love, The Doors, The Airplane, The Byrds and The Beatles seemed incapable of putting a foot wrong creatively. Recently, my sister-in law gave my CD collection a cursory glance before asking "Do you actually have anything from the last twenty years?" |
Edited by - John9 on 06/07/2008 01:24:19 |
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ed the bear
Fourth Love
USA
215 Posts |
Posted - 07/07/2008 : 03:55:13
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quote:
Recently, my sister-in law gave my CD collection a cursory glance before asking "Do you actually have anything from the last twenty years?"
Well? Do you?
After a discussion in another thread here, I bought the CD of "Sunshine Superman" so I could listen to it in the car. (I spend far too much time in the car, but that, alas, isn't likely to change anytime soon.) A lot of interesting harpsichord on that album, too. I don't think I've ever heard "jazzy" harpsichord other than on "Bert's Blues." |
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myoungish
Fifth Love
USA
264 Posts |
Posted - 07/07/2008 : 04:58:41
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Juicy analogy, John9. I just happened to pick up a fascinating new book called The Tremendous World I Have Inside My Head: Franz Kafka, A Biographical Essay. I have yet to read The Castle, though. I find myself rereading The Hunger Artist at least once a year. I really wouldn't put it past Arthur to have read The Castle. Along with Marat/Sade, the author of the Forever Changes 33 1/3 book was convinced that Arthur was well versed in Gnostic literature (and it's known he was a big Fellini fan), so it seems highly possible that he had read ol' Franz, another haunted, somewhat reclusive enigma. Cheers!
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undergroundbasement
Third Love
USA
84 Posts |
Posted - 07/07/2008 : 07:05:53
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Okay.... I'm not familiar with Franz Kafka's "The Castle". However, an online search yielded several results and it appears that there is controversy over some of the different publications. From what I've gathered, the book ends in mid-sentence, as it was never finished.
I would like to read this book, so which version is recommended?? |
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rocker
Old Love
USA
3606 Posts |
Posted - 07/07/2008 : 14:25:50
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| I have to say I never saw any connection between Kafka's novel and the song.As noted by all, the song is surely enigmatic with a theme of "going away"...maybe he had enough of the dark and moody Castle haunted I guess by Bela??? I pick a bit of Arthur playing as usual in his way with words when writing songs. The word "staff" in there gets me. Hand me my staff? hmmm..why does he need a staff? what's he going to be.... a hermit?????..;-).... |
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John9
Old Love
United Kingdom
2154 Posts |
Posted - 07/07/2008 : 17:07:22
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quote:
Originally posted by undergroundbasement
Okay.... I'm not familiar with Franz Kafka's "The Castle". However, an online search yielded several results and it appears that there is controversy over some of the different publications. From what I've gathered, the book ends in mid-sentence, as it was never finished.
I would like to read this book, so which version is recommended??
Hi undergroundbasement. The one I have is the most recent in the Penguin Modern Classics series and dates from the year 2000. It is in fact a 1997 translation by J.A. Underwood which itself won the 1998 Schlegel-Tieck prize. This award is offered annually for works translated from German into English and so I assume that it is a faithful translation - it is certainly a highly readable one. It currently retails at £8.99 in the UK and $18.99 in Canada. I have not read that it is available in the States but I am sure that it must be....one way or another.
Yes, the novel does end in mid sentence: "it was an effort to understand her, but what she said........" - and that's it! But if anything, this adds to the enjoyment. Reading the whole thing is a bit like having one of those long lucid dreams which have neither a rational beginning nor conclusion. |
Edited by - John9 on 07/07/2008 17:19:32 |
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undergroundbasement
Third Love
USA
84 Posts |
Posted - 07/07/2008 : 21:33:11
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Many thanks for the information, John9. I just ordered a copy via telephone and it will take three days to reach the States. The customer service rep said that the copy I'll receive was published by Random House in 1998. So, I may not get the most recent version but it's a start. I'm assuming it's this one:
We're all normal... |
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John9
Old Love
United Kingdom
2154 Posts |
Posted - 08/07/2008 : 01:06:00
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I was delighted to hear your news, undergroundbasement - and the cover of your Random House edition is far more evocative than the Penguin one that I have. That one features a man with a makeshift mask strapped to his face - with a model reindeer protruding from it.........deep huh?
More generally, when you consider the startling journey that Arthur made from say, 'Can't Explain' to the existentialist splendour of 'You Set The Scene', it is difficult to escape the conclusion that something must have influenced him along the way - whether it be from theatre or cinema...... or literature. And as myoungish has said, he did seem to have wide ranging cultural interests. Peter Brook's film of 'Marat Sade' was released in 1967 and I wouldn't mind betting that Arthur caught that in some little offbeat LA cinema and that the interplay with his imagination yielded the germ of an idea. I'm not suggesting that he necessarily sat down and read Kafka's novel from cover to cover and then proceeded to build a song around it. But as we know, Arthur was a great one for word play - and for ambiguous meanings. Alas, we will never know for certain.....but I can imagine him laughing heartily at all our speculation. How we all miss him! |
Edited by - John9 on 08/07/2008 01:12:19 |
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rocker
Old Love
USA
3606 Posts |
Posted - 08/07/2008 : 14:25:19
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| In a way I wish Arthur would have said more on his "cultural interests". And this link with Kafka gets a little interesting the more i think about it in that Arthur through his writing kind of deals with the things Kafka wrote about like alienation, identity, power and how we all deal with modern life. He sure had his opinions! |
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Fred in Bed
Third Love
United Kingdom
63 Posts |
Posted - 12/07/2008 : 03:37:41
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'Haunting' really is an apt description of The Castle, I think. One thing that always frustrates me about it though is that the recording is nearly there but not quite. The reverb on the guitar is great but there's a general lack of clarity about the production. In a way, I think it's a shame it wasn't saved for Forever Changes because I think it would have suited the mood of the record so well but also because they really had 'that sound' down in the studio by then.
But still, all that's quite churlish of me really.
The thing I personally find strange about the song is that it takes me back to a time in my life many years ago before I'd even heard of Love or knowlingly heard any of their songs. For some reason it's very evocative of a place and time for me for no apparent reason or association.
But it was similar with Forever Changes. The first time I heard it, it was very evocative but in a less specific way. It just gave me this 'I've been here before' kind of feeling, and still does - the aural equivalent of deja vu, perhaps.
"I've been here once, I've been here twice..."
Like I say, haunting. |
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John9
Old Love
United Kingdom
2154 Posts |
Posted - 12/07/2008 : 10:15:18
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| Fred in Bed - I had exactly that same feeling when I first heard the song in 1971. And then I realised why. The harpsichord break had became very well known to television viewers in the UK around 1969-70 when it was used as the theme music for the BBC Holiday programme - the original one with Cliff Michelmore. Once again of course this fits the theme of going on a journey perfectly. In the novel, the problem faced by the traveller 'K' is that he can never reach his ultimate destination, nor can he return from whence he came........sounds a bit like Heathrow Terminal 5 back in March/April! |
Edited by - John9 on 12/07/2008 10:22:38 |
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rocker
Old Love
USA
3606 Posts |
Posted - 14/07/2008 : 14:45:30
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hey are people still losing their bags in "5"????.....
Listening to Castle again...very "shifty" song if you get the drift..slow... fast and yes "haunting".....not a "top 40" type of song for sure..all in all i figure this is the type of song he usually writes...nothing you can pigeon-hole into something definite....... "..life is so "eerie".....he makes it all interesting...you keep listening....and listening...and listening... |
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Fred in Bed
Third Love
United Kingdom
63 Posts |
Posted - 15/07/2008 : 15:15:19
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| Hey John9, yeah I found out about Castle being used as theme tune to the Holiday programme a couple of years ago when I saw an old clip on a BBC documentary and I thought that could be the answer to mystery. I would have been either in the womb or the cradle at the time but I never underestimate the power of the subconscious mind. Especially as the song seems so redolent of childhood to me - endless summers stretching out like a desert that goes on way past the horizon, mysteries to be explored under white clouds and blue sky. Going back to mama... |
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The enigma called The Castle (the song)
