Anatomy of A Song: "The Pilgrim, Chapter 33" Quiz

Answer: Jacket and jeans

'See him wasted on the sidewalk, in his jacket and his jeans,
Wearin' yesterday's misfortunes like a smile'

This paints a vivid picture of our main character, and, given that he's "wasted", tells us that he's been (and possibly still is) going through hard times. The album 'Silver Tongued Devil and I' was released in 1971. It became a Gold record.

Answer: Like they was goin' outa style

'Once he had a future full of money, love, and dreams,
Which he spent like they was goin' outa style'

So our hero was once much better off. No doubt we will find out in the course of the song what brought him to this sad state.
I found the wrong answers by Googling for 'Spending money like...' I was familiar with the expression 'Spending money like water', but I was particularly taken with 'Like a drunken Kennedy' (with apologies to any Kennedys taking this) and 'Like a 70s African nation' is particularly poignant.

Answer: A shrine

'And he keeps right on a'changin' for the better or the worse,
Searchin' for a shrine he's never found'

I see our hero as never settling for the mediocre, always looking for something better. The wrong answers were the album 'Searching for a Former Clarity' by Against Me!, the track 'Searching for Artificial Happiness' from the album Desperate Existence by 'Ashes You Leave' and the song 'Searching for a Savior' by Building 429.

Answer: Professor

'He's a poet, he's a picker
He's a prophet, he's a pusher
He's a pilgrim and a preacher..'

This shows all the sides of our hero. He's certainly not portrayed as any sort of saint! I was able to find a song called 'Professor Booty' by Beastie Boys from their album 'Check Your Head'.

Answer: When he's stoned

'He's a pilgrim and a preacher, and a problem when he's stoned'

Definitely no saint. In the movie "Taxi Driver" (1976), Robert de Niro, (Travis Bickle), bought 'The Silver Tongued Devil and I' album for Cybil Shepherd (Betsy) because she described him with a quote from this song.

Answer: Truth and fiction

'He's a walkin' contradiction, partly truth and partly fiction,
Takin' ev'ry wrong direction on his lonely way back home.'

In live performances, Kris has been known to sing 'Partly truth and mostly fiction...' I am indebted to Ricky100 for informing me that this part was written specifically about Johnny Cash. If you picked 'partly man and partly horse', this actually describes a centaur.

Answer: Your bedrooms and your bars

'He has tasted good and evil in your bedrooms and your bars,
And he's traded in tomorrow for today'

Our hero is obviously one of those people who lives for the moment and doesn't think about the future. Hmm, I wonder why I like this song so much?

Answer: The stars

'Runnin' from his devils, Lord, and reachin' for the stars,
And losin' all he's loved along the way'

Our hero would probably appreciate not only the Royal Air Force's motto 'Per Ardua Ad Astra' ("Through adversity/struggles to the Stars", which is also the motto of many Commonwealth Air Forces), but also Oscar Wilde's quote from 'Lady Windermere's Fan' - "We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars". Keep looking for your star.

Answer: Older and around

'But if this world keeps right on turnin' for the better or the worse,
And all he ever gets is older and around'

I think that getting older and around is sometimes the best that any of us can hope for. The first bit is inevitable, and I like to keep trying for the second...

Answer: The going up

In the first verse, he doesn't seem to be too sure:

'Never knowin' if believin' is a blessin' or a curse,
Or if the goin' up was worth the comin' down'

but in the last verse he concludes:

'From the rockin' of the cradle to the rollin' of the hearse,
The goin' up was worth the comin' down'.

Whenever anything sad happens in my life, I always try to work out if 'the goin' up was worth the comin' down'. And you know what? It usually was. On the album, Kris says "I started writin' this song about Chris Gantry, ended up writin' about Dennis Hopper, 'n' Johnny Cash, 'n' Norman Norbert, Funky Donny Fritz, Billy Swan, Bobby Neworth, Jerry Jeff Walker 'n' Paul Siebel. Ramblin' Jack Elliot had a lot to do with it." I'm sure you can think of people in your own life it might apply to, and I hope you enjoyed the quiz. Feedback always welcome.