Hi,
Does anybody know what SS is referring to in the lines:

Hello to the ghost of the eighty-eight
My favourite Canadian mess

They are from the song 'Before Your Time'. I can't figure out what it means. Is the 'ghost' (ghosts?) necessarily related to the 'Canadian Mess'? Nothing much happened in 1888 or 1988 in Canada, that would relate to this, as far as I can tell. I thought it might be a maritime disaster, but it seems not to be. There were 88 ppl who died in the Allan Shaft mine in 1918, but that seems a bit obscure. Anyway, any help possible would be appreciated

I think the "88" refers to the 88 keys on a piano and the "Canadian mess" is Glenn Gould.

...jim

Ohhhhhh, I guess that shows how much I know about pianos. So, to confirm, the main subject of the song is Glenn Gould, right? Has SS ever said this or is it just common knowledge to the more musically inclined that I. It makes sense now that I reread it with that in mind. Anyway, thanks.

That last one was a bit rushed, pardonez moi. I'm just wondering how you came to know that the subject was Glenn Gould? Has SS discussed this somewhere, or are there specific references in the song that I have missed? Or did you just infer it from general references?

I think there are a bunch of those:

Obviously, he qualifies as the "genius" and "a nervous wreck."
He also apparently was addicted to various pills ("a few pills a day").
"The furniture stays" could be a reference to his insistence that he would only ever perform on a specific chair which was made by his dad.
"Trying to find a warm place to hide" probably alludes to an irrational fear he had of being cold.
Finally, "lock up, lonely and hide" could refer to the extreme antisocial tendencies he exhibited later in his life.

Ok, I think I sort of answered my own question. But if you want to say, "Yeah, you're right, you stupid dork." That would make me more confident in the analysis.

How wonderful that you should post about this song in particular... It is usually my favorite all-time song written by sarah slean.

[quote:ac4a85e7d0]Sweet is the certified nervous wreck
Who now and then likes to appear
To lecture the night and the empty space
And sleep in the cradle of my ear[/quote:ac4a85e7d0]

That stanza in particular... simply spectacular lyrical poetry!

She has introduced it often at live shows as her song about glenn gould... though she hasn't played it in years.

~nicole g

Thanks Nicole w/o an 'h'. Yeah, I read the GG entry on Wikipedia, he's really a pretty fascinating guy, and Canadian too!

This'll sound dumb, but I always thought about those Oldsmobile Eighty Eight cars whenever I heard that line. I knew that couldn't be what Sarah was referring to, but thought I'd share.

-K