A song about suicide?
I wander off over the internet to seek new music for my playlist. And I often find out songs that are hidden gems. It was during one such quest for some good ol' country music when I found this gem of a song called 'Long White Cadillac' by Dwight Yoakam. I fell in love with the tune instantly. Though it was tough at the beginning to understand the lyrics, Google to the rescue, I figured out the lyrics. And that's when it hit me. Is the song about committing suicide?
With a mind full of questions, I again knocked on the door of our dear friend Google. To find out the interpretation of the lyrics. But unfortunately, I did not find any fulfilling explanation. I guess the music world has not recognized the brilliance of this song yet. The only interpretation I found on the internet is that probably the song is about Hank Williams Sr., one of the greatest singers of his time. Hank Williams passed away in the back seat of his Cadillac while on the way to a concert. He passed away in his sleep. According to the comments from a few lyrics interpretation sites, he was having trouble managing his success and money, it impacted his personal life, as well as his marriage, which was also not in a very good place. If we go through the lyrics at first, it sounds like that was the story narrated by Yoakam in this song. However, I felt that the song has other meanings as well. It's not just about death or handling fame and success. I feel this song is about suicide. Let's dive into the lyrics and see if I am right, shall we?
The song starts with a mind-blowing guitar riff, and when the first verse starts, it's a picturesque scene!
"Night wolves moan
Winter hills are black
I'm all alone
Sitting in the back
Of a long white Cadillac"
I don't know about others, but I could imagine the entire scene! Imagine yourself in such a scenario where you could see a very dark outline of winter hills or snow-capped mountains on the horizon. And from far away, you could hear the moans of wolves! In sync! In chorus! And imagine you're all alone, there's nobody in the nearby radius! Scary but thrilling! Isn't it?
The song continues.
Train whistle cries
Lost on its track
I close my eyes
Sitting in the back
Of a long white Cadillac
Now the narrator explains that he can hear a train whistling. Most probably, the faint decibels of the whistle is increasing slowly. And while he's sitting in the back of a 'Long White Cadillac' he closes his eyes! Why? Well, here's when the suicide angle comes to my mind. Maybe he has carefully stopped his Cadie on the lonely railway track, waiting for the train to arrive and finish it once and for all! I don't know if that's the actual interpretation, but I don't why I strongly feel that that's the case here. Anyhow, let's move into the next lines.
Sometimes I blame it on a woman
The one that made my poor heart bleed
Sometimes I blame it on the money
Sometimes I blame it all on me
Like any other man who has lost all hope in his life, he starts pointing fingers at people or circumstances because of whom he turned out to be a loser. A woman who broke his heart. Money, the root cause of all evil (even though I don't think so), money that he made but lost or maybe he couldn't make. Maybe he couldn't be as successful as society wants people to be. And he turned out to live a miserable life. But I think it's the first reason. He made money but maybe because of his haphazard way of living, he lost it too. I think so because, at the end of his time, he's still sitting in his Cadillac. And that brings us to the next line where he blames himself. Maybe because of his carelessness, he lost the love of his life, his money and God knows what! So ultimately, he blames himself only.
I don't know how many people feel like this, but only I do, but this part seems so relatable. Who knows.
Let's continue.
Headlights shine
Highway fades to black
It's my last ride
Sitting in the back
Of a long white Cadillac
I think, in this part of the song, he's explaining his journey up to the railway track. The headlights of his Cadillac shine as he leaves a dark highway behind him. Maybe he's leaving civilization, society, and his own life behind him as he marches towards his ultimate truth. He's taking his last ride, of life! Of his Long White Cadillac!
The previous phrases are repeated.
Sometimes I blame it on a woman
The one that made my poor heart bleed
Sometimes I blame it on the money
Sometimes I blame it all on me
He again repeats the blame game where ultimately he ends up blaming himself only for his misery.
Train whistle cries
Lost on its track
I close my eyes
I ain't never coming back
In a long white Cadillac
And he prepares himself to let go of everything. He closes his eyes as the sound of the train whistle increases. He's ready to leave everything behind. He's ready to give up! He's ready to leave this godforsaken society and end his life! He's so sick and tired of everything that in an extra line, he says out loud he isn't coming back!
The coolest part of the song hits, the guitar riff! As he keeps reminiscing his life, and his mistakes, and prepares for the impact! The line "... in a long white Cadillac' is repeated a few times here. I don't know, but maybe the Cadie is relatable to his life. He wants to signify that the car and his life are the same. Both are going to get destroyed, even though they're glamorous!
As we approach the end of the song, the lines go...
Ah, bye bye baby
I'm gonna take this white trash
On down the road
He says his final goodbye. In a faint voice says that he's going to take this white trash down the road. This line signifies him taking his white Cadie for the last ride of his life. Even though he loves his car, it is valueless as he has given up on himself. It can also mean that he is the white trash and he is going down the road, to end everything.
But here comes the biggest twist. At least for me! As the song and the riff ends, he says one last word.
"Psychedelic"
And the song ends.
So what does this ending signify? Maybe it's the moment of impact and nothing less than one last adrenaline rush through his entire body! He's high! High on death! Maybe it's nothing short of the effects of any psychedelic drug! Or maybe, he was just high! On a psychedelic drug! And he imagined the entire scenario of him going for his last ride on his Long White Cadillac! He loses consciousness. And when the effects go away, he returns to his senses and explains the 'trip' by uttering the word psychedelic!
I realized it quite late. And what I felt was nothing less of a 'trip', a different level of high! On music, lyrics!
So, folks, that brings us to the end of my interpretation of the song "Long White Cadillac" by Dwight Yoakam. Again. I don't know if this was the a
ctual meaning or just some random thoughts that came to my mind regarding the song, but one thing is for sure it is a beautiful track! Great lyrics, terrific riffs, fantastic vocals and an even cooler inner meaning! At least for me!
See you around, fellas!
