History
Uncle Walter is that relative who has soured with age. Opinionated when he was younger; vitriolic as he got older; now swathed in an air of righteousness and contempt without self-awareness or regard to repercusion, drowned in beer. The song of "Uncle Walter" recounts an afternoon or evening where a young man is left by his girlfriend or wife for an extended period of time to listen to the unrestrained rants of the eponymous relative on life and the ways of the world. The point of view of the song is from the young man dressing down his significant other after her return.
Folds, Sledge, and Jessee were known to have fun during interviews and often give false, misleading or intentionally humorous answers to questions. True or not, Folds has said that Uncle Walter
| “ | ...was actually based on this woman, the mother of this guy I played in a garage band with, and she was a total absolute drunk. They'd leave to go get a cord or beer or something - I was 14 - and she'd trap me in the corner and just talk, talk, talk. "If I was President, I would have done this..." She's dead now 'cause she was washing her hair in the bathtub and the bathtub was filling up, and she hit her head on the faucet and she passed out into the tub and drowned. The Uncle Walter I actually have is a nice guy. | ” |
Charles Leahy, first cousin of songwriter (and Folds' former wife) Anna Goodman, corroborates this in a June 2006 interview:
| “ | Uncle Walter was actually a real, genuine uncle (by marriage) of Anna's mom and my mom. (They're sisters). Uncle Walter had a great log cabin in the mountains of Virginia with an awesome large creek running beside it. He was a farmer from the depression days and a REAL character. Anna's mom and my mom were always telling stories about him and that's where the name comes from. Of course the character in the song is indeed a compilation of characters (including the woman you referenced), but I just wanted to give my great uncle some credit! | ” |
Read more about this topic: Uncle Walter (song)
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