To begin, we meet our protagonist, Vidalia Belle. A simple-hearted, average young woman with no greater immediate ambition than to escape her pokey hometown. She lives on a farm out in the county, the nearest town being Anchor, IL, a drive-past town in flyover country. She is typical in the sense that, like many young people, she sees her situation in more adversarial terms than those who surround her.
Musically, I can tell you that “Big Rock Candy Mountain” was a conscious, direct inspiration. I think Tom Waits' “Singapore” was an unconscious, indirect inspiration. It has never diminished in its capacity to delight me since I first bought Rain Dogs on cassette, uh, looks like almost 40 years ago now. Wow.