I Drive a Valence [Bill Callahan]

[Smog] [Chicago People] [Lyric as Poetry]

I Drive a Valence

Bill Callahan

Drag City, Chicago, 2014. First edition. Octavo.

Beautifully preserved; like new.

Since the late 80s, Bill Callahan has been producing some of the most sublime experimental, sentimental, and delightful music to come out of Chicago. From the lo-fi bedroom weirdness of “Sewn to the Sky” to his more recent pastoral works reflecting on fatherhood and a life well lived, such as “Shepherd in a Sheepskin Vest” and “Ytilaer”, Callahan has proven himself one of the great lyricists of our time. This book compiles lyrics to dozens of his songs, along with his beautiful illustrations, in a remarkably well presented package. Chew on this one, for example:

“The leafless tree looked like a brain

The birds within were all the thoughts and desires within me

Hoppin’ around from branch to branch

Or snug in their nests listenin’ in”

            -All Thoughts are Prey to Some Beast from Sometimes I Wish I Were an Eagle

Downhome paganism to ponder in the pre-dawn glow.