Category: Music

Taxi Driver Music: “The Pilgrim, Chapter 33”

Martin Scorsese made deliberate choices in the music for “Taxi Driver,” including Kris Kristofferson’s “The Pilgrim, Chapter 33.”

Taxi Driver Music In a recent post, we discussed the link between Van Morrison’s Astral Weeks and the movie Taxi Driver (1976). In this post, we consider a musical connection between the movie and another song: Kris Kristofferson’s “The Pilgrim, Chapter 33.”

In Taxi Driver, perhaps the one moment a viewer might think that there is a slight bit of hope for Travis Bickle (Robert DeNiro) is when he first courts Betsy (Cybill Shepherd). After he charms her into going to a diner for a bite to eat, she quotes a song: “He’s a prophet, he’s a pusher… partly truth and partly fiction… a walking contradiction.” Bickle focuses on the “pusher part,” saying he has never been a pusher, but she explains she brought it up for the “walking contradiction” part. Bickle is amused, and a later scene shows him at a record store, apparently buying the album, which he later gives to her on their next date.  And then he ruins the date by taking her to see a pornographic film.

Although we do not hear the song or the name of the song in those scenes, the quote is from Kris Kristofferson’s song “The Pilgrim, Chapter 33,” which was off of his second album, The Silver Tongued Devil and I (1971). The album’s biggest hit was “Loving Her Was Easier (Than Anything I’ll Ever Do Again),” and the album also included Kristofferson’s version of “Jody and the Kid.”

“The Pilgrim, Chapter 33,” which was not a hit for Kristofferson, has held up well through the years. A number of artists have covered the song, including Emmylou Harris, Willie Nelson, and Jerry Lee Lewis (with Kristofferson).

When a tribute CD was put together for Kristofferson, they took the song for the title of the CD, The Pilgrim: A Celebration Of Kris Kristofferson. On that album, in the introduction to the title track, Kristofferson explains that he wrote that song “for a good friend of mine, Donny Fritts [Kristofferson’s long-time keyboard player], and Dennis Hopper and Johnny Cash. . .” and then he goes on to list a number of people ranging from Ramblin’ Jack Elliott to Mickey Newbury to “maybe me and I guess my father.” As Kristofferson has aged and seeped into musical legend as one of our classic country elders, the song seems to be more and more about him.

It is a beautiful song, and while like Astral Weeks it is not completely in sync with the story of Travis Bickle, you can see where Martin Scorsese got a little inspiration from the song. Like “Madame George,” the song “The Pilgrim, Chapter 33” also contains some of the themes of isolation and loneliness that Martin Scorsese tried to capture in Taxi Driver.

Kris Kristofferson Silver Tonged Devil He has tasted good and evil in your bedrooms and your bars,
And he’s traded in tomorrow for today;
Runnin’ from his devils, Lord, and reachin’ for the stars,
And losin’ all he’s loved along the way;
But if this world keeps right on turnin’ for the better or the worse,
And all he ever gets is older and around,
From the rockin’ of the cradle to the rollin’ of the hearse,
The goin’ up was worth the comin’ down.

Like many of Kristofferson’s songs, it works as pure poetry. His lyrics in “The Pilgrim, Chapter 33,” describe a man of contradictions, leaving much room for interpretation.

I have never read an explanation for the “Chapter 33” in the title, but I suspect it is a reference to a man being near the end of his life, just as Chapter 33 will fall near the end of a book. Perhaps that is why the song seems to describe so many of the brilliant artists mentioned by Kristofferson in the introduction mentioned above.

May we all be so lucky that the going up is worth the coming down.

In another performance, Kristofferson interprets the song with a more upbeat version of the song with a full band.

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    Elvis Presley Death Roundup

    On today’s date in 1977, the 42-year-old Elvis Presley went into hiding to escape the spotlight and live his life in peace. Well, either that or he died. Below is a roundup of some of the stories on the anniversary of his reported “death.”

    – The Washington Post blog reprints an article from 1956 about the young Elvis.

    Elvis Gold Suit

    – Events at Graceland are covered in several articles. Doug Stephan’s Good Day has a piece about the annual pilgrimage to Graceland. The Los Angeles Times also addresses the journey to Graceland (“Elvis…spurs fresh tears”) and notes some other Elvis anniversaries around the corner. Illustrating Elvis’s international appeal, AlJazeera also has a post about Graceland and the anniversary.

    – In the memory category, Boomitude presents a couple of fun podcasts of Billy Bob Thornton discussing his memories of Elvis’s death (“If Elvis could be gone, boy, bad stuff can really happen, can’t it?”) and reviewing his favorite Elvis songs. A memory of a different sort is recalled in in the Orange County Register, where Patricia Bunin uses the anniversary to recount her first kiss, which was from Elvis.

    – The Baltimore Sun uses the anniversary to ponder what books Elvis would be reading today. Taking the idea further, the International Business Times discusses “Five Stocks Elvis Might Have Enjoyed,” using his song titles for guidance. The same publication also has “10 Things You Might Not Have Known About the King.”

    – The Oakland County Daily Tribune has a long feature story on an Elvis-themed party store.

    – Politics seems to creep into everything these days, so here is the Huffington Post writing about Michelle Bachmann mistakenly wishing Elvis happy birthday on the day he died.

    – In the song category, the Christian Science Monitor ranks his five greatest songs with “Hound Dog” and “If I Can Dream” in the top five. Blogness on the Edge of Town, consistent with its Bruce Springsteen focus, features a collection of Elvis Presley songs covered by Springsteen. The website also features an audio clip of Springsteen discussing his Presley memories.

    – Every anniversary of Elvis’s death I try to re-read Lester Bangs’s beautiful essay from the Village Voice in 1977, “Where Were You When Elvis Died?” Check it out if you have never read it. “But I can guarantee you one thing: we will never again agree on anything as we agreed on Elvis.”

    Finally, here is an obligatory great Elvis performance. Not long before Elvis died, he played the piano and sang after playing racquetball. The two songs — the last songs he would ever sing — were Willie Nelson’s “Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain” and “Unchained Melody.” Although Elvis was in bad shape toward the end of his life, we often forget that he could still belt out a song.

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    Did you Know Taxi Driver Was Inspired by Astral Weeks?

    Astral Weeks Van Morrison Taxi Driver Director Martin Scorsese once claimed that the first fifteen minutes of the movie Taxi Driver (1976) were inspired by Van Morrison’s album Astral Weeks (1968). How is this violent movie connected to one of the most beautiful albums of all time?

    Sources About the Connection

    One of the main sources for the link is the essay, “Save the Last Waltz for Me,” where Greil Marcus wrote about the documentary The Last Waltz (1978) and hanging out with Martin Scorsese. The essay was originally published in New West (May 22, 1978) and reprinted in Marcus’s book, Bob Dylan: Writings 1968-2010 (p. 79).

    Several Internet sources claim that the “first half” of Taxi Driver is based on Astral Weeks.  These sources may be perpetuating misinformation from Wikipedia based on a later Marcus interview.  Instead, Marcus’s 1978 essay actually asserts that much less of the movie is based on the album.

    According to Marcus’s story, Scorsese put on the album when Marcus was visiting. “Madame George” came on.

    Down on Cyprus Avenue,
    With a childlike vision leaping into view,
    Clicking, clacking of the high heeled shoe,
    Ford & Fitzroy, Madame George
    Marching with the soldier boy behind;
    He’s much older with hat on drinking wine,
    And that smell of sweet perfume comes drifting through
    The cool night air like Shalimar;
    And outside they’re making all the stops;
    The kids out in the street collecting bottle-tops,
    Gone for cigarettes and matches in the shops.

    Scorsese said, “That’s the song.” He explained, “I based the first fifteen minutes of Taxi Driver on Astral Weeks, and that’s a movie about a man who hates music.”

    The First Fifteen Minutes of Taxi Driver

    During the first fifteen minutes of Taxi Driver, Travis Bickle (Robert De Niro) drives around the dirty 1970s New York streets.  He applies for and gets the job as a taxi driver. Writing a letter, he describes how he cannot sleep at night and that after his shifts he has to clean off the back seat of his taxi.

    Additionally, we see Bickle going to a pornographic movie.  There, he unsuccessfully tries to strike up a conversation with the woman who works at the concession stand.

    Interpretations of “Madame George”

    Critic Lester Bangs wrote an outstanding essay about Astral Weeks that gives some insight, even though he does not address the Taxi Driver rumor. But he did write about the “desolation, hurt, and anguish” in “Madame George.”

    Bangs called the song, “Possibly one of the most compassionate pieces of music ever made, it asks us, no, arranges that we see the plight of what I’ll be brutal and call a lovelorn drag queen with such intense empathy that when the singer hurts him, we do too.” He added, “The beauty, sensitivity, holiness of the song is that there’s nothing at all sensationalistic, exploitative, or tawdry about it.”

    A number of writers have offered various interpretations of the song “Madame George.” And Van Morrison has reportedly disputed some of the interpretations.  But a piece in Rolling Stone correctly asserts that “Madame George” is “a cryptic character study that may or may not be about an aging transvestite but that is certainly as heartbreaking a reverie as you will find in pop music.”

    The Connection Between Movie and Song?

    So what is the connection between the movie and the ambiguous song? Part of the connection seems to be that both are about lonely men wandering the dirty streets.

    There is heartbreak in both the movie and the song, so the connection seems more of tone than a literal connection. In his essay, Bangs also declined to “reduce” the other songs on the album by trying to explain them.

    You should read Bangs’s essay, but I will follow his lead and not try to explain the unexplainable any further. But the next time you watch Taxi Driver, think of the poetry found in the misery.  And reflect on the beauty of both the film and Astral Weeks.

    Check out our other posts on connections between music and the movie Taxi Driver: Kris Kristofferson’s “The Pilgrim, Chapter 33” and Jackson Browne’s “Late for the Sky.”

    Another Scorsese-Morrison Connection and Bonus Information About Taxi Driver: Martin Scorsese later used Van Morrison’s music for the beginning of another movie, Bringing Out the Dead (1999).  That film features some similarities to Taxi Driver.  Bringing Out the Dead opens with the main character driving a vehicle, although in this movie it is an ambulance instead of a taxi, and he is played by Nicolas Cage. During the scene, the music playing is Van Morrison’s “T.B. Sheets.” Regarding Taxi Driver, Obsessed With Film recently posted “50 Reasons Why Taxi Driver Might Just Be The Greatest Film of All Time.”

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    Nixon, Robert E. Lee, and Susanne Sundfør Resign

    Susanne Sundfor

    On August 8 at 9:01 p.m. in 1974, Pres. Richard M. Nixon went on television to announce he was resigning. Although many had seen it coming, it was still a shocking moment in American history.

    As impeachment proceedings were beginning from the Watergate investigation and Nixon’s involvement in the cover-up, Nixon realized that the end was near. He stated that a long drawn-out fight would harm the country, so, “Therefore, I shall resign the Presidency effective at noon tomorrow. Vice President Ford will be sworn in as President at that hour in this office.”

    Another Historic Offer of Resignation

    More than a century earlier in 1863 also on August 8, Gen. Robert E. Lee offered his resignation as Commander of the Army of Northern Virginia to Confederate President Jefferson Davis. Although he ultimately did not resign, his offer signaled Southern concerns about the state of the war.

    More than a month before Lee’s offer, Lee’s army had suffered 23,000 casualties at Gettysburg.  And the Union Army was once again in Virginia. Lee was physically exhausted and questioned his ability to lead the army to victory.

    But Jefferson Davis refused Lee’s resignation offer.  He realized that it was impossible to find someone more fit than Lee to lead the army.

    Susanne Sundfør’s Song “I Resign”

    Lee and Nixon both made big mistakes, but in the song “I Resign” from the album Take One (2008), Norwegian singer-songwriter Susanne Sundfør reminds us that sometimes there is relief in resignation. In the song, she sings: “I have found peace / Where it’s impossible to rest.”

    Nixon was embarrassed and hated to give up the power of the presidency.  But he also must have felt a little relief to have that responsibility removed from his shoulders.

    By contrast, Lee must have taken Davis’s refusal as validating his worth to continue the fighting.  Yet, he also he may have felt some disappointment that the burden of men’s lives and the the war’s outcome remained on his shoulders.

    Although Sundfør is not a household name in the U.S., she has won awards in Norway and won a talent grant for aspiring musicians from the Norwegian music icons a-ha. The reviews on her website are in Norwegian, so I do not really know what other people are saying about her music. But from the music, I think we may be hearing more from Susanne Sundfør.  Here is her song, “I Resign.”

    Photo above via.

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    First Use of Electric Chair & Eric Church’s “Lightning”

    Eric Church’s song “Lightning” captures a lot about the death penalty but his video gets one big thing wrong, missing the odds against Texas executing a white man for killing a black man.

    On August 6 in 1890, the State of New York executed William Kemmler in the nation’s first use of the electric chair. As explained in Richard Moran’s Executioner’s Current: Thomas Edison, George Westinghouse, and the Invention of the Electric Chair, as New York prepared to execute William Kemmler, corporate interests and profit motives affected the debate about the execution method.

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    Electric chair

    George Westinghouse, who was working to make alternating current the U.S. standard for distributing electricity into homes, supported Kemmler in his appeals. Meanwhile, Thomas Edison, who was working to make direct current the standard, was an advocate for the electric chair.

    Edison hoped that once people saw the use of the electric chair, they would realize that Westinghouse’s AC current was dangerous and adopt his DC current. As part of his campaign, Edison even showed how electricity could kill an elephant. Edison’s promotion helped lead to the state using AC current for the execution.

    But in the long term, Edison did not win the DC-AC debate.  Today we use AC current in our homes.

    Kemmler’s Execution

    Kemmler had been sentenced to death for killing his common law wife with a hatchet.  After officials strapped him into the chair, the electricity was applied for several seconds.  During that time, Kemmler strained against the leather straps.

    When attending doctors thought Kemmler was dead, the warden had the electricity turned off. But Kemmler’s body continued to twitch, causing observers to faint.

    After doctors confirmed Kemmler was still breathing, the executioner sent 2,000 volts through Kemmler’s body.  Kemmler’s mouth foamed and blood vessels ruptured.  Witnesses smelled burning flesh as Kemmler’s body caught fire.

    After the electricity ceased, Kemmler’s body went limp.  Doctors confirmed that this time Kemmler was dead. Following the execution, about twenty newspapers in New York called for a repeal of the law that allowed execution by electrocution.

    Debates about the method of execution will continue as long as the U.S. is in the minority of countries in the world that maintain the death penalty. Recently, news stories have focused on problems with the chemicals used in lethal injection.

    Eric Church’s “Lightening”

    A slang term for being killed in the electric chair is “riding the lightning.” Country singer Eric Church incorporated the reference in his song, “Lightning,” about a death row inmate.

    There is something about the imminence of death that makes a death row inmate’s perspective compelling for a country song. Reportedly, this death penalty song earned Church his recording contract.

    Church’s song does not take a position for or against the death penalty.  But it focuses on the often overlooked families of both the condemned and the victim.

    I like the version of the song used in the video more than the version from his debut album, Sinners Like Me (2006). The video version changes the sound of the inmate’s voice at the end in a way that the album version does not, using an old microphone sound to convey a timeless voice from beyond the grave. It’s a good and haunting song and video.

    Yeah, tonight I ride the lightning
    To my final restin’ place.

    One aspect of the video, however, is somewhat inaccurate. The condemned in the video is a white man executed in Texas where the victim appears to be African-American. Although Texas leads the country in executions, that racial combination is exceedingly rare.

    In 2011, Texas executed Lee Taylor for murdering an African-American inmate while serving a life sentence. That was only the second time out of almost 500 executions during the modern death penalty era (since 1976) that Texas executed a white person for killing a black person. The rarity is not limited to Texas, as a number of studies from various states show that one is more likely to get the death penalty for killing a white person than for killing a person of any other race.

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