PERFORMER: RICHARD THOMPSON
SONGWRITER: RICHARD THOMPSON
YEAR OF RELEASE: 1991
COMMENTS:
He
could
have
sub-titled
this
The
Little
Ego
Polka.
It
is
the
story
of
a
loser
and
social
misfit
with
but
one
special
thing
on
which
he
prides
himself.
"Don't
sit
on
my
Jimmy
Shands
unless
you
want
to
wind
up
black
and
blue."
This
is
the
polite
but
firm
warning
of
a
man
anxious
to
keep
patrons
at
a
party
from
abusing
his
collection
of
1930s
and
40s
vintage
78
rpm
polka
records. For one thing, this is actually a pretty hot jam. He makes a good strong
midtempo beat to which you could build up a good drunken off center dance
momentum. The independently credible tune bounces along on the top with a
self-conscious and directly conflicting stately pride.
The eccentric instrumental palette also paints quite a colorful picture. The accordian and Irish fiddle parts will pick you up and spin you around. Repeated listenings will reveal further rewards from all the little obscure instrumental contributions. What the hell is a "crumhorn" exactly?
There is a great deal of subtle psychological nuance here (as in many Thompson songs) that will slip up on you. In this case the effect is just hilarious, watching this guy trying to act like a stately gentleman around a bunch of drunks. The best example of his burdened but still functioning pride is his polite re-direction of some drunk fat chick about to do inestimable damage to his ego by plopping her big butt down on his shellac.
The first time I heard this song was when Thompson played it live in Bloomington, Indiana soon after it came out. This song seemed to be the most fun part of his set for him. He turned it into a singalong, and I won't soon forget how much boyish pleasure he took in getting an audience of American midwesterners in the 1990s to sing a song about some 60-year-old English
polka records.
Finally, this song makes no less than five picks on this list from Thompson's Rumor and Sigh album. Why haven't you bought it yet?
