this song was written by someone younger than me. (i’m seventeen)
singer black francis was only about fourteen or fifteen when he wrote this song, which probably explains its overt simplicity. but first, background. pixies, if you don’t know them, are an indie rock band from boston, massachusetts, formed in 1986. the most well-known lineup consisted of black francis (guitar/vocals), kim deal (bass/vocals), joey santiago (guitar), and david lovering (drums). they became very famous for their loud-quiet-loud volume dynamics and their unique, eclectic sound based on punk and classic rock.
“Here Comes Your Man” is another energetic happy song that disguises its dark themes, like “Making Plans For Nigel”, the other song I reviewed this week here. however, while “Making Plans For Nigel” was a lot more experimental and quirky, “Here Comes Your Man” is, on the surface, a very conventional song. it follows a typical verse-chorus-verse structure instead of the loud-quiet-loud dynamics pixies became known for- and by loud-quiet-loud, i mean loud noise contrasted with gentle interludes, a good example of which can be found here.
“Here Comes Your Man” is built on a very simple chord progression/overall structure, but its melody is endearing enough to be instantly catchy. i think most great and subversive bands tend to have a song like this to serve as definitive evidence that- yes, they can make accessible, simple pop music if they wanted to, but that’s not their primary goal. take the velvet underground’s “Pale Blue Eyes“, my bloody valentine’s “thorn“, the cure’s “Just Like Heaven“, and you get the idea. even then, pixies can’t help but be a little challenging, predominantly through this song’s lyrical content.
the song’s lyrics, from what i can tell, deal with homelessness and perhaps how the impoverished must wait for ‘the man’ to provide them with assistance, a.k.a. federal funding. however, ‘the man’ appears to be inefficient as they “wait till face turns blue”. it’s a critical take on poverty, similar to pearl jam’s famous “Even Flow“, but of course, it’s not the kind of thing a casual listener would notice.
musically? sure, this song isn’t too interesting, and even black francis disliked releasing it retrospectively. but the lyrics and the instantly-memorable hook make this one worth at least a few listens, even if this isn’t the kind of thing to enter my rotation.
