State Trooper, the Lone Ranger’s bizarro twin.

Like a dark-brimmed rider coming into town with his back lit and his face shrouded by a crimson sunset “State Trooper,” the story of a tragically flawed transient of the night, is a mysterious spectacle. Situated in a musical landscape of two muted chords, the metronomic quality of the strumming lends itself to the inexorable rhythm of intake, compression, combustion, and exhaust. Set immediately on the New Jersey Turnpike by the driver/narrator, the lyrics are structured like narrative excerpts from an extended journey. The lyrical structure and musical style along with the lyrical content on this track support a reading which allows for an examination of the expanses and emanations of sound surrounding and punctuating the lyrics along with the words which populate the song.

The song begins simply with the strumming which will accompany the singing throughout, the car is already running and moving. It is almost like the rhythm was always already going, and will never stop going, at what point in the journey the song begins one cannot be sure. Similarly, the voice of the narrator comes out of nowhere to situate his tale of isolation amidst the blacktop and bleakness of the turnpike, the only illumination coming from the lights of industry and the set of bulbs he is steering.

After setting the scene, the first pair of verses define the conflicting nature of the aspirations and lifestyle that push the narrator onward. The first evidence is of his pseudo-vigilante nature comes as he relates that he is unremorsefully driving a stolen car, and that more crimes, which he has undoubtedly justified, may lie somewhere behind him. Shortly after this the narrator begins the chorus, the first of many pleas to the yet-unseen state trooper. Staying silent, he holds off for a time, nothing but the sound of the drive continues until the narrator begins again, further on down the road. The second verse, presents a side of the narrator which has given life to the inevitably approaching trooper. By the sound of the voice it seems he may even be a bit envious of the human connections, the wife and kids, which the trooper may have. The narrator is not only a bit jealous, the thoughts of family force him to confront his present reality, and he is reminded again of his solitary status and he is disturbed to the point of pleading again to the trooper.

After the drive has moved on some distance further, possibly hours down the road, the mind of the narrator, teetering on the edge of a demented cabin fever, turns for guidance to the vestige of society most available to his senses: the radio relay towers, monuments of modern communication. In the first line of the verse’s opening couplet the narrator admits his lack of reliance on his own judgment, and thus invites us to do the same. In the second line, he finishes the sentence by announcing that in his state-of-mind he must rely on the towers to get to his anonymous “baby.” Following this he turns again to the radio, this time to the waves and the radio shows that inhabit them. Here again the recurring theme of society denying the narrator that which he desires, deserves even, is played out as he heedlessly spins the dial looking for action, for a lively companion, not just the hollow talk of disembodied radio voices. At this point once again the narrator calls out to the state trooper, but as he finishes his plea his frustration overcomes him and he reacts with a sharp yelp of anger followed by a prolonged wail of blues-ridden anguish.

As he begins his final utterances the narrator pleads first to that which he is furthest from: humanity, a humanity which is as distant from him as a god. Finishing the final verse he mimics his namesake, confirming his outcast status, and calls out to his steed, directing him only to “deliver me from nowhere.” As the track concludes the narrator is overcome by emotion again, this time with even greater force his voice stabs the sky before settling into a forlorn, defiant, howl.

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