“Kick The Stones” by Chris Whitley is a raw, blues-drenched, and desperate song about a relationship that is being ruined by unspoken problems. At its heart, the song is a plea from the narrator to his lover to deal with the hard, uncomfortable issues—the “stones”—that have come between them and are making their intimacy impossible. It is a song filled with deep doubt, where a passionate and almost spiritual connection is now being questioned. The narrator is forced to wonder if their powerful bond was based on true love or on something more destructive, like a shared addiction. In this article, we explore the meaning of this song, breaking down its metaphors and emotions.
This track is from Chris Whitley’s acclaimed 1991 debut album, Living with the Law, and it perfectly captures his unique style. The song’s atmosphere is dark, gritty, and intensely personal. Whitley’s soulful voice and poetic lyrics paint a picture of a man at his breaking point, lost in a landscape of decay and desire, begging for comfort and clarity in a place that offers neither.
A Desolate Landscape of Doubt
The song opens with a picture of a bleak and lonely world. “Everything is silent / Night upon the rocks / I’m over by the roadhouse / With them rusted engine blocks,” the singer begins. This sets a scene of decay and abandonment. It is a quiet, dead place, filled with the ghosts of things that once worked but are now broken and rusting away. This external landscape seems to be a perfect reflection of how the narrator feels inside.
The setting is a “ghost town with a gold mine,” a place that is dead but still holds the promise of something valuable. This could be a metaphor for his relationship—it feels like a ghost of what it once was, but he still believes there might be something precious left to find. However, his personal state is one of pain, described as having a “pick axe in my head,” a powerful image of a sharp, nagging, and unbearable thought or headache. This pain leads him to his central plea: “I’m beggin’, mama, please move over / Kick them stones out of my bed.” The bed, which should be a place of comfort and intimacy, is filled with hard, painful problems that need to be removed.
The Sacred and Dangerous Lover
The narrator then introduces the woman at the center of his pain, referring to her as “Sister Sandra.” The name “Sister” is likely a term of intimate affection, not a reference to a real sibling. She is a complex figure, described with conflicting images. She has “them jewels and the cross,” which suggests she has a spiritual or even sacred side to her. However, she also “paint with chili sauce,” a metaphor that suggests she is spicy, exciting, hot, and maybe even a little bit dangerous.
This mix of the sacred and the dangerous makes their relationship feel complicated and possibly unhealthy. The narrator says, “I cannot do no business / With your candle lit in red.” A red candle can symbolize many things, including passion and love, but in this dark setting, it feels more like a warning light or the sign of a brothel. It suggests a situation that is transactional, illicit, or simply not right, a place where he cannot have an honest connection. This woman is not a simple character; she is a mix of saint and sinner, and their relationship is just as complicated.
A Love as Deep as Religion
Despite the problems, the narrator makes it clear that his connection to this woman was incredibly deep and powerful. He describes it in very physical and spiritual terms: “Take you in my belly / Sure as night is black / I take you for religion / Like the skin across my back.” He is saying that his love for her was a fundamental, primal part of him. It was not a casual feeling; it was his “religion,” the belief system that guided his life. It felt as natural and essential as his own skin.
But even within this incredibly deep connection, there is a seed of doubt. During moments of intense intimacy (“When I’m buried in your thighs girl”), his mind is filled with insecurity. He feels the need for reassurance, asking her to “tell me just for once now / You ain’t got no other plan / You ain’t got no other man.” This shows that even at the peak of their physical connection, he fears he does not have all of her, that she might have secrets or other lovers.
The Final, Burning Question
The song ends with the narrator planning to leave town and needing one final moment of truth before he goes. “So meet me at the junction / I’ll buy you one last ’round,” he says. A “junction” is a crossroads, a perfect place for a final meeting where two paths diverge. He is offering to buy her one last drink, a final moment together before they part ways for good.
In this final meeting, he reveals his deepest doubt. “Well, we used to have a password, girl / And now I can’t recall,” he says. The “password” symbolizes the secret, special understanding they once shared. The fact that he can’t remember it means the magic and clarity of their connection is gone. This leads him to the ultimate question of the entire song: “You gotta tell me was it love / Or some high grade alcohol?” He needs to know if the powerful, religious feeling he had for her was real, or if it was just an illusion created by a shared addiction. The song ends on this question, leaving the listener with the narrator’s painful uncertainty.
The Story Behind The Song
“Kick The Stones” is a powerful example of Chris Whitley’s songwriting mastery from his 1991 debut album, Living with the Law. The album, produced by the visionary Daniel Lanois, was a critical sensation that introduced the world to Whitley’s unique brand of “dirty-realist” poetry. This song, like many on the record, showcases his ability to tell stories about complex, messy, and often painful relationships with a raw and unflinching honesty. He was a songwriter who was never afraid to look into the dark and uncertain corners of the human heart.
The atmospheric production by Lanois is crucial to the song’s power. The swampy, dark, and intimate sound makes the “ghost town” setting feel real and makes the listener feel like they are right there in the room with the narrator as he makes his desperate plea. The song helped to establish Whitley’s reputation as a new and important voice in music, an artist who could create vivid, cinematic scenes with just a few perfectly chosen, gritty details. His ability to mix the profane with the sacred, and to find poetry in decay, is on full display in “Kick The Stones.”
Metaphors
Chris Whitley’s lyrics are packed with gritty and soulful metaphors that give this song its unique power.
- Stones in the Bed: This is the central metaphor of the song. The “stones” represent all the hard, painful, and uncomfortable problems that have come between the narrator and his lover. A bed should be a place of softness, rest, and intimacy, but theirs is filled with these obstacles—unspoken issues, secrets, or past hurts—that make comfort impossible.
- Pick Axe in My Head: This is a vivid metaphor for a sharp, painful, and persistent thought or headache. A pick axe is a heavy, violent tool, so this image suggests the narrator is suffering from a mental pain that feels like a physical assault, something that is chipping away at his sanity.
- Painting with Chili Sauce: This is a fantastic metaphor for the lover’s personality. It suggests that she is exciting, spicy, hot, and maybe even a little bit painful or dangerous. She is the opposite of someone who is gentle or bland. She brings an intense heat to the narrator’s life.
- High Grade Alcohol: This is both a literal and metaphorical idea. On a literal level, it suggests that their relationship may have been fueled by heavy drinking. Metaphorically, “high grade alcohol” represents any powerful, intoxicating, and addictive force—be it passion, chaos, or obsession—that could have created the illusion of love and clouded their judgment, making them ignore the “stones” in their bed.
FAQs
1. Who was Chris Whitley?
Chris Whitley (1960-2005) was an acclaimed American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He was celebrated for his unique and soulful music that blended blues, rock, and folk, and for his intensely poetic lyrics.
2. What album is “Kick The Stones” from?
“Kick The Stones” is a track from Chris Whitley’s classic 1991 debut album, Living with the Law.
3. What is the central plea of the song?
The central plea is for his lover to “kick them stones out of my bed,” which is a metaphor for asking her to help him clear away the hard, painful problems that are ruining their intimacy and peace.
4. What kind of feeling does the song create?
The song creates a feeling that is dark, gritty, desperate, and full of doubt. It’s the sound of a passionate but troubled relationship at a breaking point.
5. What does the setting of a “ghost town with a gold mine” symbolize? It symbolizes a situation that feels dead and abandoned on the surface (a ghost town), but that still holds the promise of something valuable and precious (a gold mine). This likely represents his relationship.
6. What does a “pick axe in my head” feel like?
This is a metaphor for a sharp, nagging, and painful thought or headache that feels like a violent, persistent assault on the mind.
7. Who is “Sister Sandra” in the song?
“Sister” is most likely used here as a term of endearment for a lover or a close female companion, not a literal sibling. Sandra is the name he gives this mysterious woman.
8. What does it mean that she “paint with chili sauce”?
This metaphor suggests her personality is spicy, hot, exciting, and possibly a bit dangerous. She brings an intensity to his life.
9. Why can’t the narrator “do no business” with a “candle lit in red”?
A red light often symbolizes passion, but it can also signify danger or a place of illicit business, like a brothel. The narrator may feel that the situation has become transactional or dishonest, a place where a real, open connection is impossible.
10. What does he mean by taking her for his “religion”?
He means that his love for her was once the most important and guiding force in his life. She was the center of his belief system, something he worshipped and was completely devoted to.
11. What is he asking when he says “You ain’t got no other plan”?
He is asking for reassurance. He is feeling insecure and wants her to confirm that she is fully committed to him and doesn’t have a secret plan to leave or be with someone else.
12. What is the significance of meeting “at the junction”?
A junction is a crossroads. It’s a symbolic place for a final meeting before two people go their separate ways. It’s a point of decision and departure.
13. What was the “password” they used to have?
The “password” is a metaphor for the secret, special intimacy and understanding they once shared. The fact that he can’t recall it symbolizes that their unique connection has been lost or clouded.
14. What is the main question the narrator needs answered at the end?
He desperately needs to know if their powerful connection was based on real, genuine love or if it was just an illusion created by a shared addiction to “some high grade alcohol.”
15. What does the imagery of “rusted engine blocks” contribute to the song?
It adds to the atmosphere of decay, abandonment, and brokenness. It suggests a world where things that were once powerful and useful are now just sitting around, useless and rotting away, much like his relationship feels.
16. Does the song give an answer to the narrator’s final question?
No, the song famously ends on this unresolved question. It leaves the narrator and the listener in a state of painful uncertainty, which is part of what makes the song so powerful.