This song is a complete mystery to me, and that is what I like about it.
So many songs these days have contrived concepts to prove how clever they are, but still remain known qualtities once sussed. This song from the oddly intriguing couple of Lee and Nancy was heard by me occasionally as bumper music on Art Bell's late nite Coast To Coast AM radio show (along with "Lady Bird") which only magnified it's curious little oddness and mysterious epic balladry..
I find myself oddly bemused at the full range of people trying to make sense of this song's meaning, from those who think it is the worst lyrics ever to the best duet ever. The song has an enduring capacity to captivate, as seen in this small smattering selection of opinions:
Some Velvet Morning - Wikipedia
Wikanswers - What is the song Some Velvet Morning about?
The Post-Rockist - Some Velvet Morning
To me, I find the melody and arrangement haunting, along with the contrast of voices. The utter seriousness in the midst of a smoky psychedelic haze of words and strings is confounding. In this film made for a Nancy Sinatra TV special at the time, we see LEE in dark colors representing male forthright animus, riding a horse with four legs with his section sung in 4/4 time. Contrasting, we see NANCY in color and lightness, all feminine anima, mysteriously flowered inside the waltz rhythm of 3 beats to a measure. Men and women, sex and drugs, are all implied - but in the epic sweep of the presentation, they are all denied and surpassed. The womanly waves sweep against the steadfast rocky male shoreline, as do increasingly the two sections of music. The lyrics seem to suggest a man, speaking of a woman who gave him life.. and how he still is going to someday open up 'her gate'. And the woman's part makes reference to an undefined 'us'.. "look at us, but do not touch.." Is it a common earthly gender difference reference or something somewhat more supernatural? If not casually dismissed as random word nonsense, that is what puts this song in the mysterious undefined world of mythic symbolism.. and thus ineffable.
These two were quite a team. (he wrote the huge hit "These Boots Were Made For Walking") They had many other trippy country flavored and pop duet songs, such as Jackson:
However none of their collaborations quite reached the epic mysteriousness of "Some Velvet Morning" - which has inspired many cover versions, with various artists hoping to capture some of it's elusive essense. One of my favorites is Primal Scream's take, featuring their friend Kate Moss performing the Nancy Sinatra role:
Lee Hazlewood passed away a year ago in August 2007. Before he died he mentioned in an interview how he had the studio musicians play the intricate changes from 4/4 to 3/4 time live without edits. And Nancy Sinatra simply wanted to celebrate his life and could say no more. Their unique combination of persona's, recorded in musical expression, lives on for future generations to discover..
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