Muss an Gram Parsons liegen, das mit den Fragen. Der wirft jede Menge Fragen auf.
Wer sich auch gefragt haben sollte, was es mit der 1.000-Dollar-Wedding auf sich hat:
Gram Parsons, ‘$1000 Wedding’
Devotees have been puzzling over the meaning of this enigmatic masterpiece for 40 years, but it has yet to yield a definitive interpretation. Gram Parsons’ protagonist is a none-too-bright bridegroom at a low-rent (possibly shotgun) wedding, where he is stood up for reasons unknown. Maybe the bride died, maybe she ran off with someone else — it’s never specified. So he and his groomsmen go on a drunken bender so epic, “It’s lucky they survived.” Wedding seems to morphs into funeral, leading to the saddest closing line in all of country music: “It’s been a bad, bad day.” For all that the words leave unspoken, there’s no mistaking Parsons’ tone of stoic, bemused resignation. Duet partner Emmylou Harris blesses the proceedings with the perfect note of angelic sadness. —D.M.
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Dirty, dirty feet from the concert in the grass / I wanted to believe that freedom there could last (Willy Mason)