Part I: Genesis of the Song
I wrote these lyrics on a jet liner en route from Denver to Minneapolis. The real-life nucleus for this song was a sign on the way to the airport that read: Exit 256 Buffalo Bill's Grave. It struck me as odd, because the sign was Kelley green. Usually, historical sites are on a brown sign, or just a plain old billboard. I don't know what makes this one different, and I've never taken the time to find out. Maybe Buffalo Bill's Grave is the name of a Colorado town? Plus, it seems strange that the Powers That Be would mark his grave in particular. Is there a freeway exit for P.T. Barnum's grave? Mark Twain's? Why Buffalo Bill?
I got on the plane with that sign rattling around in my head. I imagined the grave as a site of pilgrimage, and then came the song. The actual details of the writing are fuzzy now, several years after the fact, but I don't think the lyrics are much changed from the original. The melody I'd come up with on the plane was fairly amorphous, but I recall frustration at having lost a couple of good bits that slipped my memory. When I got home I (re)constructed it as best I could. The song was close to its final form then, but the guitar, owing to my limited proficiency at the time, was pretty awkward. I brought it to Memphis, whose help was essential in finishing it off.
Part II: Interpretations
Climbed all day he did. Met a man at the top he did
Where are you going? he asked him he did, and the man at the top said
These lines are written in third person, though from this point on, the song is told in first person. I'm not sure if I intended this, but it gives this story a frame. The Narrator is not simply relating an anecdote; he is a true storyteller. He introduces his tale very deliberately: picture a man (the Narrator says, referring to himself) climbing a mountain to find a Hermit, a guru. Though it is never stated explicitly, I've always imagined him as a very frail old man. (Echoes of 'Zo Bid,' 'Old Man Will Travel' and 'The Road Goes Ever On')
The climber reaches the top and asks the Hermit his question. Or at least it seems to be the climber, though it would make more sense for the Hermit to ask this of the climber. On the other hand, it makes more sense structurally for the climber, the Narrator, to be the questioner. I will treat this in a bit more detail at the end of this essay.
After the question, the story begins in earnest.
CHORUS
Buffalo Bill was a very old man when he moved to a hole in the ground
And I'll never find the house that he lives in now
Though I search till tomorrow, no I never have found
The hole in the ground that he lives in now
The wise Hermit, the object of the quest, has his own quest, which he's given up. Even though he has always carried that search just one more day ahead, it's never come to fruition. It appears that it never will.
I told him if you're going down the road too fast
You'd better go now while the exits last
254 is all a guy has, so if you want to go now
It's your very last chance
Here, we go into first person. The voice and the speaker change at the same time. The Chorus is spoken by the Old Man, the verse by the Narrator. This helps the change in person come in under the radar. The Narrator is not at all taken aback by the Hermit having a need, a mission himself him. He simply advises the guy that he'd better get going.
'Going down the road too fast' is an interesting comment about this Hermit's life. He lives outside of what most would consider the 'fast lane,' yet is still so preoccupied with an external goal that he misses the path to that very goal. '254' is simply a reference to the Exit number where Buffalo Bill's Grave might be found. Of course it's not the correct number -- the real gravesite is off I-70 on Exit 256. I'm not sure is I changed it because I thought it sounded better, or if I simply misremembered it. Here's a link to the official site: https://www.buffalobill.org
He gave a little wink up at the floater wire
Said he couldn't make it, he was just too tired
Buffalo Bill took his belly off the fire
And he asked me what a trip to Billy's grave required
The Hermit speaking, again, as recounted by the Narrator. Exactly what the 'floater wire' signifies is lost to me at the moment, if indeed, it was meant to represent anything concrete. At any rate, it is a reference to a line in REM's 'Driver 8.' 'The power lines have floaters so the airplanes don't get snagged.'
The Hermit is a good-natured old man, but believes he is too far gone to go on a journey. Notice here, though, it is the thought of finally achieving his quest that allows him to undertake it once more. It is not any cajoling on the part of the Narrator. Perhaps the Hermit has lost some of his passion (he's lost the 'fire in his belly'), and so, paradoxically, it allows him to get past his hang-ups and just go. This is a quick change on the Hermit's part. This is not so much to indicate that his reluctance is only skin deep. It is more a matter of pacing.
I took him by the hand, he was lighter than dust
I told him I was one of all the ones he could trust
Found the fellow's car it was covered in rust
But the fellow kept a-smiling till I thought he might bust
This is a pretty self-explanatory verse. He's old and withered, and so happy that his frail body might not hold up under his unbridled joy. This foreshadows his coming end. It's also interesting that, though his car is hidden away (I imagine it covered over in vines and long grass) and rusted out, the Hermit does own a car. In running condition, no less.
Jabba jabba jabba, bop-ba, jabba jabba ja-bop-ba
Jabba jabba jabba, bop-ba, jabba jabba ja-bop-ba
Not a reference to Star Wars or any such thing. Just an uncommon neutral syllable.
So we spent 254 days in his car
Rollin' down the barbers and cement'n' the tar
Told him where we were and he laughed pretty hard
He said I never ever thought that I could make it this far, because...
CHORUS
The journey is a long, arduous one, full of half-understood sights and dream-like conversation. (Part of this comes from yet another road sign: CAUTION-- GROOMED PAVEMENT AHEAD.) 254 is, of course, another reference to the Exit number. Still, as the underlying music shows, they are having a great time. As they get close to the Grave itself, the Hermit is overjoyed, not quite daring to believe in his newfound hope. In fact, he reminds the Narrator of his doubt, and in a sudden turn for the somber (both lyrically and musically) he returns to the Chorus.
We navigated out ourselves a mountainous route
When we made it to the graveyard, then the car petered out
I was gonna ask him what the gig was about
When he did a little dance, and he gave up a shout
They have arrived, and can go no further. The car's demise presages that of the Hermit. The Narrator still doesn't have an idea of why the Hermit is so captivated by the idea of the Grave, and he never learns. Some possibilities: 1) the Hermit is tired of life, has given up his pursuits, and he sees Buffalo Bill's Grave as a metaphor for his own sought-after death; 2) the Hermit was a Buffalo Bill fan and has finally made his pilgrimage; 3) the Hermit and his quest symbolize all the people who live around us, whose true wants and desires we can never truly know. There are others, and perhaps they are all correct, but these seem the be the strongest candidates. Each has its own implications.
And then his heart stopped cold in his breast
And though his soul was only a guest
I laid him on the ground and I beat on his chest
But he never came back and maybe that's best, because
CHORUS
The Hermit dies. The Narrator tries CPR, but it doesn't work. The Narrator can take this very philosophically because of -- the Chorus. How this informs the Narrator's opinion changes in light of the reasons for the Hermit's quest. For possibility 1), above: The Hermit has finally achieved peace. This also gives the Narrator some peace of mind, in that he sees inevitability of death as something that can be met with joy rather than fear. 2) The Narrator has at the very least done a good deed by helping the Hermit travel one last road, see one last sight. 3) The Narrator knows the Hermit was happy at the end, and thus knows he has done something good for the old man, though exactly what can never be clear. The Narrator resigns himself to the idea that many of the most important questions in life can never be answered. Even so, life should be enjoyed; these unanswered questions are not worth worrying and fretting away your time in the world.
Though all of these are relatively positive conclusions, the chorus maintains its somber tone. So though you should go ahead and enjoy the world, it is not a paradise. The final instance of these lyrics are in the voice of the Narrator, rather than the Hermit. It the Narrator quoting, or has he taken these words to heart? His original purpose in climbing the mountain remains unclear. The quest immediately became that of the Hermit. Does the Narrator now see that his own quest (whatever that may be) will never be achieved?
Or perhaps he has achieved it. If we assume the questioner at the very beginning of the song ('where are you going, he asked him he did') is indeed then Narrator, then the question was answered almost at once: the Hermit is going to Buffalo Bill's Grave. Perhaps this Narrator is simply a man of good deeds. He visits this Hermit, a shut-in, to bring him back to the world, to help him achieve self-actualization. However, even if the Narrator accomplished this mission, there are innumerable people who would need such help. The lack of a clear antecedent for the pronoun 'he' in the first two lines of this song, make this an exceedingly contentious point.
Jabba jabba jabba, bop-ba, jabba jabba ja-bop-ba
Jabba jabba jabba, bop-ba, jabba jabba ja-bop-ba
After a long intricate story, this bit of nonsense serves to point up the nonsensical nature of all hopes and aspirations. The final chord fails to resolve, which echoes the unanswered questions throughout the song.
Memphis Evans's Essay About Buffalo Bill's Grave
Order the CD Generic Mayhem featuring the song "Buffalo Bill's Grave"
Read lyrics for Buffalo Bill's Grave
Memphis Evans vs. Kaptain Karl Song Essay Wars index
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