Hill Farmer Lyric Question

[LoveExpresso]

I'm going into tow law
To have my fun
Don't get me wrong
You were the only one
Behind my back lord
You made a fool of me
Don't do jack
And don't wait up for me

"Behind my back lord you made a fool of me" - is this line adressed to "her", or is it adressed to the "lord" actually?? Sorry, might sound stupid, but I never got that line... when he is so angry about her making him a fool, why is he then saying "don't get me wrong you were the only one" I always thought "to have my fun" intended some visit to another wife/hooker/etc...

That "don't do jack" could be the last line and some sort of goodbye to her then?

My interpration was always that a farmer wants to run away, maybe even THINKS about leaving it all and doing something stupid like committing suicide, maybe because of foot-and-mouth AND his wife cheating at him and seeing it all going down the drain?
When the solo starts however, I really can HEAR a big land diesel machine, let it be a truck or a jeep, rev up the engine and going onto the trip.. to Tow Law..
How do you think and how is your understanding of especially this paragraph of the lyrics? Happy to hear your input!

LE

[sak4]

Hi LE

My thinking is that its addressed to his wife/partner who had a relationship with someone else, so he's going to Tow Law to 'have some fun'  probably to get drunk, try and forget his sorrow somehow.  She was the only woman in his life.

'Don't do jack'  don't do anything, don't wait up, he's probably thinking of leaving.   Open to interpretation really, you could put quite a lot into it.
Hillfarmers had/have a really tough job, work hard very little money.

I think MK is weaving a story, maybe some based on real life experience and some crafting into a tale.

Any other ideas?

Sally

[Knopflerfan]

I'm going into tow law
To have my fun
Don't get me wrong
You were the only one
Behind my back lord
You made a fool of me
Don't do jack
And don't wait up for me

"Behind my back lord you made a fool of me" - is this line adressed to "her", or is it adressed to the "lord" actually?? Sorry, might sound stupid, but I never got that line... when he is so angry about her making him a fool, why is he then saying "don't get me wrong you were the only one" I always thought "to have my fun" intended some visit to another wife/hooker/etc...

That "don't do jack" could be the last line and some sort of goodbye to her then?

My interpration was always that a farmer wants to run away, maybe even THINKS about leaving it all and doing something stupid like committing suicide, maybe because of foot-and-mouth AND his wife cheating at him and seeing it all going down the drain?
When the solo starts however, I really can HEAR a big land diesel machine, let it be a truck or a jeep, rev up the engine and going onto the trip.. to Tow Law..
How do you think and how is your understanding of especially this paragraph of the lyrics? Happy to hear your input!

LE

'Dont do jack' is a used for a person who 'Doesn't want to do anything'

'Jack' is interesting because if you say 'you're allright Jack' that means someone is thinking/doing something for themselves without thinking of others. (Ie) Making a pot of tea amongst a group and then just pouring themself a cup!

Interesting....

[Knopflerfan]

I agree with sak4 and think she has near enough 'nailed it'!

[jakehadlee]

Yeah - think sak4 has it right. "Jack" is just short for the lovely English colloquialism "Jack S***" ie "nothing" as in "you never do Jack S*** around the house". So he's saying "don't bother waiting up or doing anything, I'm not planning on coming back". She's cheated on him and he's out for pay back.

"Lord" is just an expression as in "oh lord, what's she done now!"

[LoveExpresso]

Hey, thanks all for your fast reply! 

LE

[foma]

Hey English-spekers, I have a question regarding Jack just as well.

Mark said in one of his interview: "I've got a mongrel's technique" and "I'm Jack of few trades, master of none". What the hell did it means?

[superval99]

Hey English-spekers, I have a question regarding Jack just as well.

Mark said in one of his interview: "I've got a mongrel's technique" and "I'm Jack of few trades, master of none". What the hell did it means?

Hi Foma!   A mongrel is a dog of mixed breed, so MK's uses this analogy to describe his guitar technique as not the official way of playing - just things he learned from here and there.

"Jack of few trades, master of none"   means that he can do a few things moderately well, but doesn't excel at any of them.  The usual phrase is "jack of all trades, master of none".

[Lestroid]

It is an expression that is usually stated as "A Jack of all trades, master of none."  I think "Jack" is just referring to a man by the name of Jack.  Since Jack is common English name, it is used as stand in for anyone. 

Basically the expression means someone who has a variety of skills but is not an expert at any of them, like a handyman who can do some carpentry, plumbing, electrical work, etc, but does not qualify as a master at any of those skills.  You might hire him to do a simple job when you don't want to pay the price for an expert, but you would seek out the expert for a big job requiring a lot of skill.  Mark uses this phrase to refer to himself  in his usual humble, self-deprecating way, because he is of course an expert at the guitar

[foma]

Thanks Val and Lestroid for precise info, it's all clear now! I'll try to find an analogue in Russian for this...

[Lis]

I have a rather dark interpretation of this song.

The Hill Farmer is going to Tow Law to get some rather threatening items:
"Chain for the ripsaw
Killer for the weed"
...
"Going into tow law
 To fuel my fire
Shells for the twelve
And razor wire"

The Hill Farmer is in pain, and appears to want revenge.  However, I am not sure who he is threatening; his unfaithful wife or the man she is having an affair with, but I do wonder if there is another play on words...
Is there really a dog, or is Jack the name of the man (and it is the man who is a "dog" for sleeping with his wife):
example 1: "The dog

[LoveExpresso]

Oh for me it was always clear that the stuff he wants to buy at Tow Law are the things he needs for fighting against foot and mouth disease...

shells, to shoot the animals, barb wire to close his farm in quarantine, diesel to fuel his fire to burn the dead cadavers...

the dog is is only friend, the only one on his farm he feels a relationship to obviously after the marriage/relationship with HER is also bitter now...


LE

[dustyvalentino]

Had forgotten about foot and mouth, the song probably would have been written around the time we had a big outbreak here.

[Tally]

I seem to recall that Mark has said in an interview that's on MK News that the song was indeed inspired by foot and mouth disease.

Having said that, however, I think that the dark undercurrents of the lyrics could well be taken to hint at violence. It is an extremely powerful piece of work both musically and lyrically, and the hints at infidelity, etc., make this a song that is not only about a hillfarmer having problems with his animals.

I cannot say precisely what it means but it sounds very menacing. I am not sure that the lyrics about the dog are meant to imply that the dog is now his only friend - why leave him be? It is possible that the dog is to be taken metaphorically.

The lyrics are difficult to get a good grasp of partly because, as others have mentioned, the narrator seems to address different people at various points. Also, he says that "you", his wife one supposes, "were the only one", which would imply that they are no longer together. Yet, he also tells someone not to wait up for him, in the present, as if she is still around. These are thought-provoking lyrics.

[Masiakasaurus]

It is a fantastic song.