Difference between revisions of "Interpretations:32 Footsteps"

Revision as of 17:22, 12 September 2006

I think it's about a fire. Where your eyes don't go, there is always a skull head, representing death. The 32 footsteps are the people trapped probably inside a house and the NO!'s are them screaming for help while burning, while counting how many have died. There are other references but I am far too baked and therefore lazy to write any more.--tehbagel 12:59, 28 Apr 2006 (CDT)

One or two things spring to mind in this song. It appears to be an anti capital punishment comment. The 32 footsteps mark the distance from the cell to the execution apparatus. Capital punishment is seen as unnatural and nature tries to rebel - the "paint don't wanna dry" thus preventing executions. Dirt reaching the sky is a reference to man (made of dirt according to Genesis) going to Heaven (the sky). The feathers possibly imply cowardice, and reflect his fears. New moons shining is a contradiction - a new moon is entirely dark - is this another death reference? Ancient man would have regarded the moon as dying at this point. Missing his baby who has left could suggest that he has been found guilty of killing his girlfriend, but is innocent - not knowing what has become of her.

The nonsense middle section happens to reach the 16th letter of the alphabet. Halfway through 32. Seems appropriate.

The lies may reflect his innocence when found guilty, and the floorboards giving way is clearly talking about hanging. Walls tumbling and night becoming day talks of his imminent release from confinement and his bleak existence being replaced with a brighter life after death. Infantrymen and boxcars summon up images of a firing squad, and the train carriages used to transport people to Nazi death camps - both symbols of state-sponsored murder. Once again the image of the missing girlfriend comes to his mind.

Lastly he is being led to his death and counts the footsteps. Is 31 the last step he remembers before the final one marking his death, or is it his last step and he has actually miscounted? The "no" shouts reaffirm his innocence.

Wow, and John Lennon thought he had it bad!

I always liked this song, but didn't realise the significance of the number 32. Why 32 footsteps? The distance from the cell to the execution apparatus? A possibility, but why would 32 footsteps be conserved in every death row? Surely not all death row inmates waiting to be executed occupy the same cell? I did not understand 32 Footsteps until I read the following passage:

"In 1336 King Ludwig of Bavaria sentenced one nobleman Dits von Shaunburg and four of his supporters to death. The nobleman was accused of creating rebellious moods in the country. All of the accused trouble-makers were supposed to be beheaded. Right before the execution, the king asked the nobleman his last wish. Dits pleaded to have his supporters freed if he manages to run past them headless. In addition, the nobleman remarked that each of his friends has to stand eight feet apart from each other. Only those men whom the beheaded nobleman manages to pass will be freed.

The monarch simply laughed at such strange plea but agreed to do everything as the nobleman had asked. Dits placed his people in one row, while carefully counting distance between each one of them. Afterwards, he kneeled before the executioner's block. In a blink of an eye, the nobleman's white-haired head rolled down the stars. His fully erect body with a fountain of squirting blood quickly ran by his accused friends. As soon as he passed the last man standing, after having made 32 steps (!), the body stopped and immediately collapsed to the ground. The king kept his word and freed all of the accused."

It is my belief that the Johns knew of this story and that it became the idea for this song. After all, it is pretty remarkable that a headless human body can take 32 coordinated footsteps without even a brainstem or cerebellum. Many previously-noted interpretations still hold firm, including the floorboards giving way, the new moon and the state-sponsored murder motifs; however this story (another tale of execution) is the clear basis for the song and, in my opinion, what drove John to write it. Someone should ask him if that's true.

(N.B. Names and dates in the above passage may not be accurate - I don't believe Ludwig was the name of the 14th century Bavarian king, as Ludwig I and II were 19th-century Bavarian kings. "Dits von Shaunburg", while not looking like a German name (would probably be closer to "Ditz von Schaumburg"), does not appear anywhere else using Google. However, the story may have taken place in the 19th century, perhaps in 1836, with a different headless man!) -Weizenmensch

Just my two cents, but while I am skeptical about the entire execution thing, If it is about execution then the feathers in the headress are signifying courage, and not cowardice. He is bravely facing his death, although his execution will be wrong, He still refuses to show cowardice.

Well, the way that I look at it is that the singer's wife has given him a month (31 days) to sort out himself, or she will leave. By the time it takes him to realise that he wants her to stay is has been 32 days, and she has already gone. 28,29,30,31 ......(Too late) That's probably not the right interpretation, but I don't care. ( Herwwiyal ? )

AlienGirl's Mystery School interpretation: the boxcars are a reference to the Holocaust, which is a recurring theme that runs through several songs on the Pink Album, and indeed through much of TMBG's work. Have you ever noticed that every mention of a train in a TMBG song has it as a symbol of unstoppable despair and darkness? Think about it!