#494. Whiskeytown “Houses on the hill”, 1997

Lyssna på Spotify: Whiskeytown “Houses on the hill”
Egentligen är det här den ultimata sångidén. Ryan Adams måste ha knutit näven i fickan och utbrustit YES när han sprang på den av en slump. Vid ett besök hos en f.d flickvän hittade han på hennes vind en låda med gamla kärleksbrev daterade så långt bak som till andra världskriget. Breven tillhörde ex-flickvännens mamma, och det visade sig att hon förlorat sitt livs kärlek under kriget, något hon aldrig riktigt kommit över.

På film skildras kärlekshistorier som inte var menade i olika varianter, men inte lika ofta förekommer de i sångtexter. Adams levererar på mindre än tre minuter en mer träffsäker skildring än de flesta fullskaliga romaner klarar. Till sin support har han Caitlin Carys dystra violin och ett band som är förståndiga nog att hålla sig i bakgrunden till förmån för berättelsen. Jag drar mig också tillbaka här och låter text och musik tala för sig själva:

Well I found a bunch of letters
That were written for the fellow who broke your momma’s heart
And the envelope folds smelled of her ancient perfume
I’ll bet she didn’t know
How to respond before the blankets of snow
Caught him out wandering alone with no place to go

There were stars in the sky
There were houses on the hill
And there bottles of pills that were easy to buy
To keep her warm from the oncoming storm

Well I found them in the northwest corner of the attic in a box
Labeled tinsel and lights
Didn’t know what I was I looking for
Maybe just a blanket or artifacts
Eisenhower sent him to war
He kept her picture in his pocket that was closest to his heart
And when he hit shore must have been a target for the gunman

There were stars in the sky
There were bunkers on the hill and there were caskets to fill
Where he will lie
Shrouded in the red white and blue with the stripes

There were stars in the sky
There were houses on the hill
And there were bottles of pills that were easy to buy
To keep her warm from the oncoming storm