The Rolling Stones

Edward James: There is a phrase in this song that I think perfectly summarizes every Flannery O’Connor story.

• Regina Scime +1
• judd.baker +1 — This is an inspired take. Flannery O’Connor short story titles have a particular ring to them; this song title actually sounds like a Flannery short story title, which I had never noticed before despite hearing this song a million times. Thematically/aesthetically, it’s perfect too. The encounter with “Mr. Jimmy,” sharing a soda at the country drugstore while he simply whispers “Dead” to the narrator, could be a scene straight out of Wise Blood. The deceptive woman covered in blood (but is she really?). It’s murky, it’s violent but subtly so, it implies mystery and grace in weird ways. Never paid close attention to the words before. Great pick.
• fionmul +1 — My dad would sing this to us as kids and it was infuriating but imma do that to my kids too. This was an unexpected but great pick.
• Claire +1 — Getting what you need (not what you want) is very on point. The rest of the song didn’t quite fit the vibe imo. But it gets a vote from me because the hook is distinctively Flannery in a way that other songs were not
• Sam Ary +1
• Edward James 0 — In every Flannery O'Connor story, a character thinks they know what they want and who they are. Then through some inbreaking of grace, typically through the least likely avenue, they invariably get what they need. But never in the way they want to receive it. If I was to summarize every Flannery O'Connor story in one sentence, it would be "You can't always get what you want, but if you try, sometimes you just might find, you get what you need."
• Joseph Harvey 0 — I just can’t stand the Stones
• shea nowicki 0 — Totally agree. I like this song, a classic, but I struggled a bit to connect it to Flannery in the end.