man, i cant stop from crying... just understanding that he understood that he was singing a song his own father wrote, about *him* still unborn... how he held it together i do not know... i did read that he burst into tears as soon as he left the stage... i can only imagine. *Seraph* not to mention that from the beginning here, the foreshadowing of water taking him, drowning, etc... that went on his whole career... tears and chills.
Lilla Bognár ah. okay, thank you for the corrected timeline. though, it isn't stopping the tears... he was still singing/covering a song that his own father wrote about his feelings towards *him* and his mother, i think in the only way that Tim knew how to express those feelings... and i just cant even grasp what it must have been like to play that song and sing his father's feelings about himself...
n/a n/a Actually, could you please explain to me a bit more about those feelings expressed through the song? I'm French, and although I can understand the words, I can't quite get to the meaning behind it all... I feel very drawn to the "spooky" connection between Tim and Jeff, and would love to understand it more...(the song that most talks to me about it is Dream Letter, which is straightforward enough that I can understand...but this one is too complex for me to grasp, so a little help - if possible - would be oh so appreciated :) )
Pepito Micolazon well, i am no expert... but what i understand is, that Tim and Jeff's mother dated a while, and she became pregnant, unexpectedly... Tim was trying at a music career... and made a choice to leave Jeff's mother and try and pursue it... in this song i think he is trying to say, "i never asked to be a father, or your husband and shoulder all of this responsibility..." and he didn't... then he starts to talk about Jeff after he had been born and was now a bit older, and how his mother would speak to him of how much of a scoundrel his father was, and how he felt Jeff was then, even at a young age forced to help support and comfort her, when he never asked for that kind of responsibility either....he was the product of it! kind of like, Tim was saying to the mother, neither of us ever asked to be your 'mountain' of support and comfort... and seems to put a sort of unfair spin on it. though, Tim DID get her pregnant... and that DOES take TWO. but he denies that he ever intended it to become so serious. and then when Jeff was still young, he felt it was unfair that he imagined the mother leaning on Jeff for support and comfort, especially when he REALLY had no voice or choice in the matter... i could be missing something here, or left something out... anyone else who can describe it better, please do...
+n/a n/a i hear ya man,so profound....knowing how poignant the lyrics were...Tim dying at 28,Jeff at 30....tangled and sad parent/child relationships..it is making me think of my own struggles in this area,and i feel a bit teary too.
Jeff Buckley--voice, acoustic guitar Gary Lucas--slide space guitar Cheryl Hardwick--piano Hank Roberts--cello Greg Cohen--acoustic bass GE Smith--guitar Live at St Ann's Church Brooklyn, "Greetings from Tim Buckley" tribute concert 4/26/91 Produced by Hal Willner
Singing a song about yourself as a child being abandoned (as he was) from your father is pretty brave. Jeff you are/we're worth more than that. I'm not in judgement of Tim. But to perform the way he did must have been difficult.
@@npatt6362 "it was about him having to take the gypsy life over a regular one. I’m mentioned in the song, as is his girlfriend at the time - my mom. It’s a beautiful song. I both admired it and hated it, so that’s what I sang. There are all of these expectations that come with this “‘60s offspring” bullshit, but I can’t tell you how little he had to do with my music." Quote from jeff buckley
See also: Dream Brother - The Lives and Music of Jeff and Tim Buckley by David Browne. He chronicles the parallels between their two lives; great book.
That's a horrible term & no child should be referred to that way. But if you mean it in the sense it is used generally, ie, unmarried parents, TB & Jeff's mother WERE married.
Jeff's parents were married. Tim falsely believed his girlfriend was pregnant and they were married on October 25, 1965, when he was just 18. Jeff Buckley was not born until Nov 17, 1966 - but Tim was gone by then.
The titles at the beginning seem to suggest that Tim didn't want Jeff at his funeral, which is unlikely. The second wife wouldn't have thought of including Jeff as he had not really been in Tim's life, and it may be that her son didn't even know about Jeff. Jeff was not even mentioned in the obituaries. Sounds like the second wife wanted it that way. Tim and Jeff's mother were divorced about a month before Jeff was born.
Thanks so much - I've been wanting to hear this ever since I found out about the tribute concert for his dad. Nice that both this and "Once I Was," covered by Jeff, have been posted here. There was a third song of his father's that he performed at the tribute - any idea where I might find that? I'd like to hear that as well. Thanks again!
I just read that there were actually two others or maybe he just played guitar on one and sang on one? They were Sefronia and Phantasmagoria, which coincidentally must be two of the greatest and most beautiful song titles ever :) try flowersintime.org for info on where you might be able to download them or get mp3 files somehow.
