Up ‘Gainst the Wall

John Coltrane (tenor sax), Jimmy Garrison (bass) and Elvin Jones (drums). From the album Impressions (1963).

I'm up ‘gainst the wall. The police are looking for me, and the drug dealers are tightening my screws. My girl left with someone else with more money than me. I have the feeling of being helpless and not being able to do anything. Now I’ve really got myself in a lot of trouble. I light a cigarette thinking it might be my last. I'll have to find a place to hide, at least for the time being until the storm passes. In this city of skyscrapers nobody is safe. Who could help me? To whom could I turn? No matter how hard I try, I'm up ‘gainst the wall.

Coltrane comes in playing a blues and starts telling a story: “I guess I should have taken your call. You do not know how I feel when you got me up 'gainst the wall. Maybe we could make a deal, but I do not know why you came here. Your slap was like a wake-up call. The marks on my face don’t matter to me. My bones are shaking and my hands are cold. It's almost as if I wish you would have me against the wall.” And Coltrane ends the topic briefly, just as it had begun.

Source

© Impulse! Records