Evelyn...

[Lonesome Cowboy Squirt]

Okay, folks!  It's high time we got back into a bit of lyrical analysis.  Might I suggest this one, as I am quite impressed with the lofty poetic flair this one has:

Evelyn, a modified dog
Viewed the quivering fringe of a special doily
Draped across the piano, with some surprise.

In the darkened room
Where the chairs dismayed
And the horrible curtains
Muffled the rain
She could hardly believe her eyes.

A curious breeze
A garlic breath
Which sounded like a snore
Somewhere near the Steinway (or even from within)
Had caused the doily fringe to waft & tremble in the gloom

Evelyn, a dog, having undergone
Further modification,
Pondered the significance of short-person behavior
In pedal-depressed panchromatic resonance
And other highly ambient domains . . .

"Arf," she said.

As an initial point on which to start, I'd like to mention that I think of a connection between Evelyn and Pavlov's famous dog.

For your information:  Pavlov experimented with psychological conditioning.  Pavlov rang a little bell, then gave his dog a treat.  He repeated this several times and eventually "convinced" his four-legged partner he'd be fed every time he rang the bell.  Later, Pavlov discovered his dog would salivate profusely as soon as it heard the acoustic signal.

Now, if I didn't know any better, I'd say the story of Pavlov's dog was rather Motherly invention.  Bells and drool...that's right up FZ's alley if you ask me!

[Chris]

A "modified" dog is of course a poodle, clipped down, shaped and made unnatural by repressive types in the interest of some demented sense of fashion (the dog is a metaphor for an American, y'see -- hence Frank's bemused interest in poodles over the years).

The dog is puzzled by the sounds of the people from inside the piano (cf. Lumpy Gravy, Prevention, CPIII, others).

At least, this was always my take on it. Anyone?

[guacamole]

Interesting start on the interpretation of "modified" guys....one goes for the psychological and the other for the physical.
Personally, I tend to think it's more to do with the "modification" of the dogs thought processes.
( is it likely that a poodle would be further "modified" i.e. clipped and coiffured in a darkened room ? ).
The inference from - doillies, curtains, darkness, dismayed furniture and muffled - suggests to me a sort of Victorian type repression ( of sexuality ? ) and attempting to hide the unseemly from view.
In my experience of dogs, their sensory ability, even whilst appparently asleep, is amazing - if they sense something out of the ordinary they react to it - the wafting doily fringe has caused the dog to wonder about cause and effect - this to me constitutes the "further modification". The dog considers the possibilities - could "short-person behaviour" be a child playing with the piano pedals ? there is also the suggestion, to me anyway, of the dogs more highly attuned senses being in touch with "The Big Note" resonating throughout the universe - the dog's reaction; "arf !" and then back to sleep.

I suspect that the subject of a dog being startled or curious was just one of those many daily occurences which FZ came across, like dental floss, and he thought; "well, why not write a song about that ?".

I accept the conceptual continuity point about the piano-dwellers.

[Chris]

Excellent points. Keep in mind that Evelyn could've been "modified" physically at first (as a state, not an action -- groomed before the song started, in other words) and then underwent further modification (mentally this time) after hearing the sounds from the piano.

[guacamole]

Yep, I accept your point Chris.
It's just that in my mind, Evelyn has never been a poodle - more like the Papillon type Patricia from the Donald Roller Wilson paintings.

[Chris]

Ah! Terrific! That's probably a more valid way of hearing it than my take on it -- like, one of those extended "poem titles" that the artist gave to the cover of Them or Us and stuff. Nifty! I didn't think of that.

[Lonesome Cowboy Squirt]

could "short-person behaviour" be a child playing with the piano pedals ?

I accept the conceptual continuity point about the piano-dwellers.

 
"Evelyn" is one of the few songs (lyrical compositions, as opposed to instrumental compositions) that depicts a scenario not intended to be derisive or satirical.  FZ actually derives a "clean," almost naive kind of humor here.  I am almost positive this anecdote comes from the Lumpy Gravy recording sessions.  Please note:

A curious breeze
A garlic breath
Which sounded like a snore

I am convinced that this can be none other than Motorhead Sherwood himself emanating one of his famous "snorks."

Perhaps the short-people in action are, in fact, Dweezil and/or Moon at play in their daddy's piano.  However, if the story described here is a documentation of the LG sessions, they'd have been too young (not yet born) to actually take part at that specific time.  

Maybe this is yet another one of FZ's famous cut-and-paste jobs; he took two interesting stories about the modified canine and placed them together in one song designed to immortalize said pooch for posterity.

[Chris]

Arf, I say.

[Bálint]

By the way - can anyone explain this to me:

"...And other highly ambient domains"

I plan to translate it (well, yes it'll be easy...) ant this last sentence I simply don't understand. Can someone explain it to me word by word, slowly?

Thanks!

B

[bertanya]

You mean you could understand 'In pedal-depressed panchromatic resonance'.  I'm impressed.

however...

domain - a place
ambient - the state of surrounding or i would suggest in this case pervading.  the key is it indicates there is a common aspect to what ever it is an adjective to.

e.g. ambient temperature - the common/general temperature

ambient domain - a place which has a common aspect/trait, which was panchromatic resonance in the example of the line before.

and other highly ambient domains - other places which have a widely represented common trait.

e.g. outer space - a place with a common aspect of airlessness.

that said, i would say this is only an approximation to a meaning of the indefinite term ambient domain. a more exact meaning could be indicated by reference to an example, such as that from which it follows - so exactly what kind of a domain pedal depressed panchromatic resonance might be is the next question...

[Bálint]

Thanks!

That "pan chromatic" stuff was "easier", because I new it was something about music. But thins "ambience"... I didn't know if it was somethig about music ("ambient?..."), about a place ("domain"), or what. So I'll think it over again, thanks!

[bertanya]

Except panchromatic really means all colours, the association with the chromatic (13 tone) scale is because the 5 intermediate tones of the (8 tone) diatonic scale were historically printed in colour hence the term chromatic scale.

I don't think panchromatic should really be thought to be primarily a music reference, just as i don't think ambient really should be either.  Ambient music of course just means background music.  

[Chris]

Ambient = lots of space in the sound; strikes the listener as a big area

Glad I could clear this up for you.  

Brian Eno's a silly boy.

[gramps5299]

It occurs to me:
(in bullet, for easy understanding)

-modifed dogs (poodles) are commonly used by Frank to represent repressed/molded (or modified) American culture/people/aesthetics

-the short people are probably a reference to the people inside the piano in Lumpy Gravy (with a certain pedal depresed to make a weird, resonant sound in their voices)

-couldn't it be that Frank is remarking about how the minds of Americans are puzzled and even offended by any form of music outside of what their minds are trained to accept? For example, the music on Lumpy Gravy and the free music on We're Only In It For the Money?

[bertanya]

I've really no idea what the distinctive traits of ambient music are, if that's not an oxymoron.  Mr Eno could well be a silly hominid. Can you ever entirely trust anything but your own views. Here is somebodies web page on ambient music.