Testify - intro

[Chris]

Hi,

Daft question but here goes

What is the spoken intro to Testify ("You're going down boy..") about?

Most of the spoken intros suchas Hot Summer night and the like, i cna generally see what is going on and how it links to the song. but what is supposed to be happening int he Testify one?

Cheers

[evil nickname]

To me it sounds a lot like:

"Shame on you, for comin' all the way back down
Almost as if you got a chance - ain't got no chance
You sold you soul, you're going down, all the way down
Hellhounds on your trail, boy...
Hellhounds on your trail!!!"

and I've read somewhere that that should be Joe Seneca , sampled from the movie "Crossroads"

[Chris]

Sorry, misphrased the question

I know what the words are but am wondering why they are there. Sort of what thye mean.

For example, Hot Summer Night is about a date. The intro is about what she would give to someone on a date.

Any ideas?

[evil nickname]

Could also be I misread (if there is such a word) the question: but as to why it is there, I don't know... I guess it could be there to establish some kind of mood...

[Shane]

You should ask David Driskell. He's the guy that first brought this to our attention, although I can't remember any of the details.

He's a member of this forum, or his website is http://www.mirrorofthesoul.com/greymatter

[Dave]

LOL!

The intro to the song Testify is very indicative of the American "Dirty South." Think about Meat's character in Crazy In Alabama for a moment...got the picture? This is the type of thing the "good" sherrif might yell at an escaped convict during a search. It is a very "period" type of thing. "Hell hounds" is American slang for blood hounds used to help track down criminals during a search. The song has a general "feel" of a Southern Gospel "tent revival" type of song. I believe this was more than likely added in to give the song more of a dirty south type of feel to it. This is quite difficult to explain if you are not familiar with America on a first-hand basis, much in the same way some British televison shows are semi-complicated to us Americans to understand.

I hope I helped and did not mess the image up in your mind even worse.

ROCK ON FIRE BALL!!!

[heat]

A-ha.....

It kinda makes sense now :wink: :twisted:

[Tim]

Evil Nickname.... Crossroads....with Britney Spears :??: 8O

mmm... but now things are cleared up, right :lol:

[evil nickname]

Evil Nickname.... Crossroads....with Britney Spear

Crossroads (http://us.imdb.com/Title?0090888)

D'r zijn meer hondjes die fikkie heten

[JulesB]

Chris, not a daft question at all,
when I heard the album that was one of my first questions. I love that bit, it's classic and great, IMO.

I asked Kasim in one of his chats who did that, he said OJ...OJ Jones. A search couldn't find anything about the song and OJ Jones. Kasim likes to joke around.

Then one night we stumbled across this movie "Crossroads", it has all the words in it you hear at the start of "Testify". No, not the "Crossroads" w/ Britney Spears, there are 17 movies w/ that name. This one was done in 1986, starred Ralph Macchio and Jamie Gertz.

Not that great a flick but we were entranced because of the connection to "Testify". I posted about it on MOTS 7/4/03, check the archives there.

The story all relates to Robert Johnson, a blues pioneer. He died young, supposedly poisoned, is little known but highly respected. The crossroads bit is about him selling his soul to the devil at the crossroads, for the ability to play great music.

How it fits into the rest of the song...I'm still trying to figure that out. I just know I love it.

Amongst all the new songs we saw performed in WI and IA, the crowd seemed to like "Testify" the best.

Keep on rocking and enjoy the music,
T

This is me posting on J's puter.

[Tim]

Evil Nickname.... Crossroads....with Britney Spear

Crossroads (http://us.imdb.com/Title?0090888)

D'r zijn meer hondjes die fikkie heten

Hahhaha, allright, tought so.....
But still, it is a great intro... love it.

[Chris]

The story all relates to Robert Johnson, a blues pioneer. He died young, supposedly poisoned, is little known but highly respected. The crossroads bit is about him selling his soul to the devil at the crossroads, for the ability to play great music.

How it fits into the rest of the song...I'm still trying to figure that out. I just know I love it.


That makes sense now.

If the intro is about someone selling his soul to the devil, the words of the song seem to fit.

Someone trying to get up but being pulled back down: Maybe trying to escape the devil adn hell but being pulled bakc by the contract with Satan.

A sweet young thing called out my name

Maybe an angel calling out to try and help him.

God as the ultimate judge, testifying before god in his role as a judge of men.

maybe....