The Lonesome Whip-poor-will

M. Ward’s 2003 album, Transfiguration of Vincent, contains a sad, sad song with the sad, sad singer visiting a sad, sad Whip-poor-will.

It’s a lovely song, even if the Whip-poor-will is a bit over-determined by the past two centuries of sad Whip-poor-wills.

And so I went to the whippoorwill, I said whippoorwill please,
What do you do when your true love leaves?
He said I only have but one trick up my sleeve,
I sing it over and over ’til she comes back to me.

I make a sad, make a sad, make a sad sad sad song
I make a sad, make a sad, make a sad sad song

The reference does have a bit of texture to it, in the Inception-like effect of it: the Whip-poor-will’s is a sad song (the bird’s own) within a sad song (all the sad songs invoking it that pre-date M. Ward’s and that give it its singular resonance) within a sad song (M. Ward’s).

Featured Photo by kilarov zaneit on Unsplash