Outlaw Blues
...hority in order to see his woman. In the first verse, we can tell how difficult the situation is. The speaker asks “ain’t it hard to stumble/ And land in some funny lagoon?” (line 1). The answer is obviously yes! It is very hard to do so especially when the weather and time is unpleasant, which is minus 9 degrees and three o’clock in the afternoon. The time is not good because at that time there are many people so he may be easily found. The speaker is rushing to somewhere in such an unpleasant condition. In the second verse, the speaker uses the example of Robert Ford and Jesse James to describe his situation. He is an outlaw and fortunately, there is no picture of him hanging as “Wanted.” He thinks there will be no pictures hanging. What makes him think so somehow result from how he looks at himself: he considers himself as a victim. After some research on the Internet, I get to know the story of Robert Ford and Jesse James. Jesse James formed a gang and they robbed banks. But James was adored by the publics for the legend had that he was like contemporary Robin Hood. James hired Ford to help him on the bank robbery. However, Ford betrayed James, assassinating him, for the government reward. In the song, the speaker claims that he is more like Jesse James than the cunning Robert Ford. He defends for himself. In the third verse, the speaker reveals that he wants to start a new life. He wants to be “on some Australian mountain range.” He thinks of that just because he wants some changes, which indicates that he wants to start a life. Maybe he is tired of running and hiding. In the fourth verse, the speaker tries to keep a low profile in case being found. He wears dark sunglasses and carries his black tooth, hoping for good luck. It is quite awkward to me that the black tooth would bring him good luck. I did not find relevant resources as well. But I think the speaker uses “dark” things to contrast with his wishes of good luck. Usually when we think of dark or black colors, it is not lucky. It reveals how difficult the situation is but he does not give up. “Don’t ask me nothin’ about nothin’/ I just might tell you the truth” might means that people might be curious of his strong faith in himself. He does not want them to ask or he might tell us the truth. We do not know what the truth is at the end of the fourth verse. In the last verse, he eventually tells us why he is so determined to run away: he has woman in Jack...