Neptune City (song)
Encyclopedia
"Neptune City" is the title track on singer-songwriter Nicole Atkins
’ 2007 album Neptune City
.
It begins with the narrator identifying himself as a ghost looking down on his own funeral – “You can’t see me from this view, all the way down, trailing the procession.” He says he’ll “hide out a few more days,” perhaps the mourning period for the remaining family, but then has to leave.
The narrator seems to wish he could have a more positive outlook on the “landscape I was born to,” ostensibly the same town where his funeral now takes place. He thinks if he looked at it differently, it could “make me new again.”
The chorus is divided between the narrator and the family left behind on Earth. In the first quatrain, the family’s “hearts are singing out” for the deceased. They are so bereaved that they sing a “cemetery song”, but if they could figure out a way beyond their grief – “if we knew just what we could do” – they could stop singing the cemetery song.
The second quatrain finds the narrator assessing his current state, “sitting over Neptune City”, wistfully acknowledging how much he misses it. He has one chance to briefly return – “I’ll come down, walk around a while” – until his time is up and he’s “sure I can never go home again.
In a 2007 interview with The Star-Ledger
, Atkins indicated the last quatrain could also apply to anyone looking back with ambivalence at their hometown. “After the fact, it took on all these different meanings about not being able to feel comfortable in the place that you always thought was home.”
or Atlantic City.
It opens in a meadow of tall grass (with a barely visible Atkins to the left) and pans right, past an old roadside billboard. An image of the Roman god Neptune
is briefly visible on the billboard before fading to black. The camera then moves in on the image of an old amusement park separated from the meadow by a body of water.
From there, the camera zooms in on Atkins in color, transposed on a black-and-white image of the old Atlantic City Boardwalk
. As she sings “I’ll be leaving this place soon,” the picture changes to an image of rapidly deteriorating film but with a statue of Neptune
clearly visible in the center of the frame, a reference to the namesake location.
Later scenes show Atkins lying down across an image of Tillie
and walking down a set of stairs onto the beach. As the video progresses, the images play in reverse, with the final scene returning to the meadow with the billboard and finally Atkins by the roadside before fading to black. Throughout the video, Atkins is the only person seen both in color and moving. The still photos may represent snapshots of a distant time the singer cannot bring back. They could also represent the world of the living, from which the singer is forever separated.
Nicole Atkins
Nicole Atkins is an American singer-songwriter. She has been compared to Roy Orbison and singers from the Brill Building era.-Early life:...
’ 2007 album Neptune City
Neptune City (album)
Neptune City was generally well-received by most music critics. Katherine Fulton of Allmusic noticed that "Atkins shows on this album that she has both the capability and potential" and praised the "lush arrangements on Neptune City, which [...] showcase the depth, range, and versatility of Atkins'...
.
Themes
The song is sung mainly from the perspective of a ghost or spirit, paying one last visit to his hometown before leaving forever to the next world.It begins with the narrator identifying himself as a ghost looking down on his own funeral – “You can’t see me from this view, all the way down, trailing the procession.” He says he’ll “hide out a few more days,” perhaps the mourning period for the remaining family, but then has to leave.
The narrator seems to wish he could have a more positive outlook on the “landscape I was born to,” ostensibly the same town where his funeral now takes place. He thinks if he looked at it differently, it could “make me new again.”
The chorus is divided between the narrator and the family left behind on Earth. In the first quatrain, the family’s “hearts are singing out” for the deceased. They are so bereaved that they sing a “cemetery song”, but if they could figure out a way beyond their grief – “if we knew just what we could do” – they could stop singing the cemetery song.
The second quatrain finds the narrator assessing his current state, “sitting over Neptune City”, wistfully acknowledging how much he misses it. He has one chance to briefly return – “I’ll come down, walk around a while” – until his time is up and he’s “sure I can never go home again.
In a 2007 interview with The Star-Ledger
The Star-Ledger
The Star-Ledger is the largest circulated newspaper in the U.S. state of New Jersey and is based in Newark. It is a sister paper to The Jersey Journal of Jersey City, The Times of Trenton and the Staten Island Advance, all of which are owned by Advance Publications.The Newark Star-Ledgers daily...
, Atkins indicated the last quatrain could also apply to anyone looking back with ambivalence at their hometown. “After the fact, it took on all these different meanings about not being able to feel comfortable in the place that you always thought was home.”
Background
Atkins told the Ledger, "I wasn't even planning on writing a song called 'Neptune City.' My sister and I were making pasta, and we were like, (sings) 'We're making pasta in Neptune City ...' Like, just kidding. And I was like, 'That (melody) sounds really cool.'" The lyrics were inspired by an uncle whom she never met. Long before Atkins' birth, her mother’s brother died in an accident at the age of 13. Years later, Atkins found the uncle’s Yamaha learner’s guitar in an attic and used it to teach herself how to play.Video
The video, directed by David Simon, features fantastic scenes and dreamlike sequences set in a faded amusement area, with moving images of Atkins transposed on older still photographs. The intentional grainy and distorted look of the video evokes the old peep shows one would have found in early 20th century seaside resorts like BrightonBrighton
Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...
or Atlantic City.
It opens in a meadow of tall grass (with a barely visible Atkins to the left) and pans right, past an old roadside billboard. An image of the Roman god Neptune
Neptune (mythology)
Neptune was the god of water and the sea in Roman mythology and religion. He is analogous with, but not identical to, the Greek god Poseidon. In the Greek-influenced tradition, Neptune was the brother of Jupiter and Pluto, each of them presiding over one of the three realms of the universe,...
is briefly visible on the billboard before fading to black. The camera then moves in on the image of an old amusement park separated from the meadow by a body of water.
From there, the camera zooms in on Atkins in color, transposed on a black-and-white image of the old Atlantic City Boardwalk
Boardwalk
A boardwalk, in the conventional sense, is a wooden walkway for pedestrians and sometimes vehicles, often found along beaches, but they are also common as paths through wetlands, coastal dunes, and other sensitive environments....
. As she sings “I’ll be leaving this place soon,” the picture changes to an image of rapidly deteriorating film but with a statue of Neptune
Neptune (mythology)
Neptune was the god of water and the sea in Roman mythology and religion. He is analogous with, but not identical to, the Greek god Poseidon. In the Greek-influenced tradition, Neptune was the brother of Jupiter and Pluto, each of them presiding over one of the three realms of the universe,...
clearly visible in the center of the frame, a reference to the namesake location.
Later scenes show Atkins lying down across an image of Tillie
Tillie
Tillie is the nickname of two murals of a grinning figure that were painted on the side of the Palace Amusements building in Asbury Park, New Jersey, United States. Tillie is an amusement park "fun face," painted over the winter of 1955-1956. The name Tillie is likely a nod to George C. Tilyou,...
and walking down a set of stairs onto the beach. As the video progresses, the images play in reverse, with the final scene returning to the meadow with the billboard and finally Atkins by the roadside before fading to black. Throughout the video, Atkins is the only person seen both in color and moving. The still photos may represent snapshots of a distant time the singer cannot bring back. They could also represent the world of the living, from which the singer is forever separated.