Originally appeared on Unconditionally Guaranteed
The decks were stacked
The wind blew low, the wind blew high
The stakes were low, the stakes were high
Upon the My-O-My
Hands low, hands high,
Ho-ho-ho, hi-hi-hi
Hands low, hands high
Upon the My-O-My
How was I to know she was so shy?
Upon the My-O-My
Across the light, across the night
You can hear the Captain’s cry
Hands low, hands high
Upon the My-O-My
Got to make her roll, got to make her fly
Upon the My-O-My
Now tell me, good Captain,
How does it feel
To be driven away from your own steering wheel
Upon the My-O-My . . .
(1974)
Originally made available at Justin Sherill’s Home Page Replica
Despite the lackluster critical acclaim of “Unconditionally Guaranteed” , I think “Upon the My o My” is an excellent song with the characteristic intensity Beefheart is known for.
A melodic departure from his earlier experimental style (though my knowledge of Beefheart/Don van Vliet is limited). His play with words, generating instant images, could be compared with John Lennon’s ‘Come together’ and part in ‘I’ve got a feeling’.
The beauty of Don Van Vliet is that he skips any interference. The man was a pure copper lightning conductor bringing the hidden worlds to our eyes and ears . I would like to buy one of his paintings if I had the money.
The lyrics suggest to me that CB was not happy with the whole UG project, unhappy with how he was not in control of his own art. “Tell me good captain how does it feel to be driven away from your own steering wheel? Upon the my-o-my….”