Monday, February 28, 2011

Start Your Week Right: With My Morning Jacket - Mahgeetah

Start Your Week Right: With My Morning Jacket is going to be a recurring segment written by the fine Gabrielle Eagle. Gabrielle can be found on Twitter tweeting away My Morning Jacket goodness in anticipation for their new record at The Countdown. The Steam Engine Labs ran tests and has concluded that starting your week off with My Morning Jacket leads to higher salaries, increased love drive and, most importantly, a sunny disposition. 


-Jason
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Happy Monday, everyone! Over at The Countdown, we’re celebrating tracks from My Morning Jacket each day that brings us closer to the release of Circuital, MMJ’s sixth studio album. You can check out The Countdown on Twitter for hourly updates.

This week at The Countdown, we’re starting with the closing track from 2001’s At Dawn, “Strangulation!” Then we’ll roll on to the first third (tracks 1-4) of 2003's It Still Moves, MMJ’s major label debut (BMI/ATO). ISM saw the first of the band’s lineup changes, with Patrick Hallahan joining in 2002.


Today though, let’s take a closer look at ISM’s first track, "Mahgeetah."

Now, there are a few schools of thought on what “Mahgeetah” actually refers to. Some believe it is another pronunciation of “my guitar,” others say that it simply recounts a love affair. I’ve even heard that the song refers to a monkey (this rumor(?) was also cited in “My Morning Straightjacket”). Is it a loving tribute to the Flying V, a woman, or a monkey? All three? Or none of the above?
Sittin’ here with me and mine, all wrapped up in a bottle of wine
Little we can do, we gonna see it through somehow
So, now are you ready to go, my lady? 
Regardless, for me, a song’s meaning emerges not from lyrics, but the from feelings I get while listening. Lyrics don’t contribute too much to the song’s overall substance. I think Jim’s lyrics are cryptic in this way so that we’ll focus in on the music itself, not the literal meaning. "Mahgeetah" invokes feelings of romance and uncertainty, that kind of passion and insecurity we at some point feel about a person, place, or thing.
Can he see me? Does he feel me? Does he know me at all? 
Does it shiver? Always deliver? Does it know me at all? 
I hope this post finds you pleased and confident going into the promising week ahead. Leave a comment, I'd love to hear your thoughts!


6 comments:

Chris said...

there's a very stirring quality to Mahgeeta that's rooted in Patrick's chops on the drums. if you've ever been on a roadtrip, riding along an old road, this is the sound you hear. that's what i think about when i hear this song.

Jason said...

As always thanks johnnY! I can't take credit however, a talented young lady is in control of the jacketdown Twitter and she was kind enough to start a new TSE segment. This is all her!

Gabrielle said...

Chris: Have to agree. One of the first few times I heard this song I was driving on I10 to Pensacola. My first road trip. Kept me going for several miles.

Jason: Aw, shucks! Thanks a lot. I'm glad to be a part of it.

SaraBanana said...

Nice, I like it! The week can't start any better than with MMJ :)

Chris said...

Gabrielle,

i can't tell you haw many times i've made my way from new orleans to pensacola along I10, and the interstate just outside of NOLA is exactly the stretch i was thinking about.

Gabrielle said...

Oh yeah? That's crazy. Mahgeetah must've been written for stretches like that. I was coming from the east though. But it's pretty much the same. Wide open.