Rebecca Sylvester

Road sign, 2018

Road sign, 2023

Lyrics

The wind had picked up Where it left off the night before

These are shark's fins I believe the tongue propels them

At Fullerton and California California and Sacramento At Fullerton and Damen and

Diversely

These are shark's fins I believe the tongue propels them

Otherwise the surface Is only broken By

Foam, strawberries, tongues

Failing the diagonal Still

Strawberry yard's in Louisville

Why did the sharks watch him drown?

Chronology

• Upgrade & Afterlife
  • David Grubbs - vocals, lyrics, writer
  • Jim O'Rourke - writer
  • Sue Wolf - cello
  • Günter Müller - amplified percussion
  • Terri Kapsalis - violin

Interpretations

• The song's title came from a road sign that's visible when driving south on the Interstate-75 just before reaching Ashburn, Georgia. The sign lists Rebecca and Sylvester, two other Georgia towns. Previously, the sign also listed Wiregrass Georgia Technical College. Sometime between November 2021 and March 2022, the sign was replaced with one simply listing Rebecca and Sylvester.

Retrospectives

David Grubbs, 2015

20 years later, someone finally identifies the source of Gastr del Sol's "Rebecca Sylvester." PS re "Rebecca Sylvester" photo: I can't believe we didn't have a song called "Wiregrass." Never too late.