Pop Song 624 of 1000 'Hey Jack Kerouac' 10,000 Maniacs 1987

Pop Song 624 of 1000 'Hey Jack Kerouac' 10,000 Maniacs 1987

MV https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5nSFFL3dBA4

Hey Jack Kerouac” was written in an era when the Beats were most revered, since by the mid 1980s they had transcended mere personhood to become mythic figures representing ideals of artistry and freedom. Natalie Merchant approaches Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg in this song from a place of sympathetic critique – she does not seek to diminish their works, but she’s not blind to their ego and destructive tendencies or how that tended to impact people in their orbit more than themselves. Her goal here is simply to look at these writers as just men – to demystify them, to reveal their flaws, and in doing that, to approach them with empathy rather than awe. Merchant’s lyrics directly address them as though she’s a concerned peer asking difficult questions about what they took from others and what debts they’ve left unpaid.