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The First Born is Dead is a actually a retelling of the
Shakespearean play Richard III, relocated in the southern states of the
USA. I list the main points of this theory below. All quotes are from the
new Penguin edition of the play. Act, scene and line numbers are given.
- Brawn Ian
- Tupelo:
- The twins mentioned here are a metaphor for the Houses of York
and Lancaster. In this song Nick tells us of the grim fortunes of
the House of York before the death of King Henry VI (the first
born). He does this by extending a metaphor used by Richard in the
opening lines of the play - "the clouds that loured upon our
house." (1.1.3).
- Say Goodbye To The Little Girl Tree:
- Henry is now dead and Edward IV of York has the throne. It is
Richard who takes centre stage, however. Here he declares how he
has forsaken love: "And therefore, since I cannot prove a lover To
entertain these fair well-spoken days, I am determined to prove a
villain And hate the idle pleasures of these days." (1.1.28).
- Train Long-Suffering:
- After the death of Edward IV a royal train (procession) caries
Edward, Prince of Wales, to London and to his doom. "Me seemeth
good that with some little train Forthwith from Ludlow the young
Prince be fet Hither to London, to be crowned our King."
(2.2.120).
- Black Crow King:
- Richard has proclaimed the bastardy of Prince Edward and here,
with false regret, claims the crown for himself: "Since you will
buckle fortune on my back, To bear her burden, whe'er I will or
no, I must have patience to endure the load;" (3.7.227).
England now has a black-hearted cripple King. Note Nick's use of
crows to symbolise the Tower of London, Richard's main tool in his
rise to power.
- Knockin' on Joe:
- A prison ballard in which Nick laments the incarceration of Prince
Edward and his brother in the Tower, and their mother's frustrated
attempt to visit them. "Pity, you ancient stones, those tender
babes Whom envy hath immured within your walls". (4.1.98).
- Wanted Man:
- Richard has now executed the Princes in the Tower. Far from
consolidating his position, however, he finds this act has turned
opinion against him; he finds himself vilified by the population in
general and by the women of his own housold in particular.
"Earth gapes, hell burns, fiends roar, saints pray, To have him
suddenly conveyed from Hence." (4.4.75).
- Blind Lemon Jefferson:
- The tale of a man heading inexorably towards his doom - a lonely
death on Bosworth field. Nick uses the figure of a blind bluesman
as a metaphor for Richard's moral blindness - "The brother blindly
shed the brother's blood," (5.5.25) as Richmond says in the closing
lines of the play.
- The Six Strings That Drew Blood:
- Whilst not part of the album proper, this song forms a nice companion
piece. It is a song about Shakespeare himself. Nick describes
Shakespeare's bordy life and his violent plays. He also comments on
the irony that Shakespeare - the foremost bard of his day - was both
master of language and yet slave to the Tudor propaganda which cast
Richard III as an unredemable villain.
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