Preacher

I love the lyrics to "Preacher" and have often wondered if this was prompted by a real-life experience. I think the imagary of a woman hanging clothes is so basic to when we were growing up & we all had a mom hanging clothes out on the line. But this song was the first time I ever thought of it as being something sexy, a man sitting & admiring his wife's qualities while she hangs clothes. This song just puts a vision in my head, of a man in a simple home who is very happy with what life has given him. So I wonder, what inspired this song?

-Heather


when i was kid in oklahoma the preachers would come by from the churchs in soper to try and get my dad to come to their paticular church. so i took that memory and created this little tennessee williamslike movie with a senual and religious concflict. i mean you got your full tilt holy rollin' burt lancaster elmer gantry preacher trying his best to convince a paul newman cool hand luke southerner to be saved while a mamie van doren baby doll woman is outside hanging up clothes and well you rhyme all these images and sing it over a slow greasy lightnin hopkins, tony joe white deep groove progression and there you go. in my world as well as the song, mamie seems to win 99 out of 99 times.
-ray wylie

Snake Farm

Was Snake Farm written about the little place in San Antonio and was there ever a Ramona staff member?

Thanks,

Julie Crawford



Julie,

i have driven by the snake farm in new braunfels probably 10000 times and one day as i drove by i went, Uggggh, just sounds nasty. flannery o'conner said "never second guess inspiration" so instead of going on to the next thought, i kept it and wrote the chorus and said, "well what do i do with this?" i'll make it a love song about a man who doesn't like snakes but is in love with a woman who works there. well then it was like dominos. what would her name be, ramona of course, she would drink malt liquor, have a ironic tattoo, dance like you know who, and prefer the alarm over u2. it is just a song rather than a jingle for the place.

ray wylie

Rilke and The Messenger

Dear Ray,

After hearing you do 'The Messenger" live and explaining where you got the inspiration from Rilke's Letters to a Young Poet , I was moved to read the book. However I don't find anything very close to the quote, "our fears are like dragons guarding our most precious treasures." Rilke does say "perhaps all of the Dragons of our lives are princesses who are only waiting to see us once beautiful and brave." I have the edition that was translated by M. D. Herter Norton. Do you know if there is a translation of that work closer to the former quote, or if it comes from somewhere else? Anyways, it's a great song, and I've found it particularly inspiring after hearing you do it live. And when you mention Townes Van Zandt ... well it brings tears to my eyes.

Thanks, Dan

Dan,

i paraphrased it. even thought it is completely different, its sort of the same idea. i wanted to give rilke credit for it meant that much to me.

ray wylie