countdownkid wrote:invisible Pole wrote:I liken "Sleep Of The Just" to Dylan's "Buckets Of Rain." On its own, it's just this nice, little melancholy track. At the end of Blood On The Tracks, it's the perfect closer. So that's my justification, although I'm not sure if I've convinced myself.
I would liken Sleep of the Just to MOOT in terms of its lyrical depth and complexity, and also to Shipbuilding in its deft references to complex political situations rendered through the personal (as was described perfectly in the commentary on it). The family guilt of the brother and sister figures reflecting a wider guilt over political and social betrayal. It's a song whose lyrics you could write endlessly, with the shifting voice and ambiguities of voice and context, and yet it has a clear hard irony in its title line.
To cite a couple of commentators on it, starting with Greil Marcus:
http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=ySa5 ... st&f=false
If that link doesn't work, it's on Google Books, search for 'Greil Marcus Sleep of the Just'! I can't copy the text and it's too long to write out. But it's a superb quote about what makes the song stand out.
Or try this, uniting two of my passions and heroes in life, James Joyce and Elvis Costello. It's a bit over the top in the academic approach, but I think indicates the complexity and depths of the song's content:
http://www.estudiosirlandeses.org/issue ... kelly).pdf
At the same time, you don't need to study the song to 'get it', and therein lies the genius Marcus is pinning down. The theme and intent of the song come over in its execution perfectly. I don't use the word masterpiece lightly of it, but the above reflect the reasons it was no. 1 in my top 20. 'Nice, little melancholy' may reflect Buckets of Rain, but not SOTJ. Closer and further listening recommended, Countdown Kid. I'm confident you'll want to reconsider when you list this list in a few years and want to expand it to 200!