This record, his first, came out when Goodman was 23. His photo on the cover looks like a high school kid. His song about taking Amtrak from Chicago to New Orleans makes it seem to be exotic and enjoyable. Yet Yellow Coat crams more alienation and despair in one song than Lou Reed singing about heroin. The singer sees an ex at a turnpike plaza; they sit together. He says he’s doing well but mentions only minor pluses that sound false. He asks whether she enjoys her life, remembering little things she enjoyed. His comments to her are ‘did you ever read the letters that I wrote,’ ‘I wish you wouldn’t look at me that way,’ and ‘have you heard a single thing I’ve said.’ It seems tragic when he says he can’t remember why they never had children. As he leaves, he says the weather is getting cold—he foreshadows getting old and dying, says me.
Two other songs make me sad. The singer of Eight Ball Blues is worried that he is aging badly as he looks in the mirror. Donald and Lydia are individuals stuck in unhappy conditions. There are lots of folks around but they are each lonely.
converselyspeaking 