The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter - Thematic Elements

Thematic Elements

The lyrics of the album's Dylanesque opening track, "To the Dogs or Whoever," contains a number of historical references, many of them to traditional American cultural and mythological figures:

  • Florence Nightingale
  • Calamity Jane
  • Joan of Arc
  • Casey Jones
  • Casey at the Bat
  • General George Armstrong Custer

The second verse of the song "Empty Hearts":

I'm inside with my friends

We build fires and pretend

That the night could just bend on forever

While outside in the frost

Are the wolves and the lost

And we sing to the dogs or whoever

references the title of the first track on the CD, which could be read as the friends' singing that first song or singing for a canine audience. The title of the first track on the CD is never mentioned in that song's lyrics, but Ritter self-referentially uses it in the lyrics of "Empty Hearts," suggesting that the songs on the CD may have an interrelated design.

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