Posts tagged Neko Case
Poor Ellen Smith, how was she found?
Song-crush of the week: Neko Case’s cover of Bluegrass classic, Poor Ellen Smith.
Weird thing is that in Neko’s version, she does 7 years for murder, unlike the traditional 20 year sentence. Reduction due to good behavior or is it just a Canadian thing?
My theory is that she’s emphasizing the narrator’s innocence, adding the couplet
“Who had the heart, and who had the brain
To shoot my little darling on that cold lonesome plain”
also saying “and hunted us down” instead of “hunted me down”. Though the latter may just be a slip of the noun. Especially considering the gender-blender further along the lyrics.
