Some stories by Suzanne that tie into this song are published in the Passionate Eye. One of them, "The Happy Gravedigger" is a story about Suzanne and Ruby meeting a gravedigger on a little cemetary. The gravedigger talked about his sister who invited him over to California, where he would be able to drive around and look at the gates of the mansions of famous people like Frank Sinatra and Rod Stewart. He doesn't think much of it, because he has his own gates to look at. [Ed.]

"My parents, we had a cat for 17 years and it died. And my parents would be considered Bohemian in their own way. They decided to send Morris up the river. They decided to let him go with dignity and they wanted to give him a Viking funeral, so they put him in a shoebox and set him on fire and sent him up the East River. I remember hearing the story, and I'm sort of used to these types of things happening by now, so I didn't really pay much attention. My sister called me a week later and said, "Did you hear what they did to Morris?" I said, yeah, they put him in a shoebox, set it on fire and sent him up the river. Then I realized what it sounded like, and how odd it could be perceived. So, I was thinking to myself, when I die I would prefer a tombstone. I started thinking I like a tombstone because it weathers well, and it was sort of a lighthearted look at what might be. There you go. I don't know if my mother is going to appreciate this on the website, but there it was floating up the East River and everybody saw it."
Music Power Network interview by Mr. Bonzai (http://www.vega.net/bonzai.htm)

The object of desire is the figure of death. [Ed.]