Oof, this is like when the therapist listens to your whole BS story and then they’re like “Can I tell you what I’m noticing?” and you know the gig is up, and you’re gonna have to face hard things… Very few of us can stomach (or sing) that truly “harrowingly pathetic” vulnerability—but life insists that is the only way.
Your pen should make every artist, dead or alive, tremble. I had to do one of those physiological sighs before I began this piece. I knew you wouldn’t let up. The only thing I wish is you could travel back in time and take on everyone who made audacity get the better of them (on the world stage). Maybe we wouldn’t be here with a dead Jolene. Great, deep piece! Also, had to listen to Bjork and Dilla.
Thank you for posting this and inspiring a deep dive into the new version. Your keen perception of threats spoiling the message rings true in my experience. My interpretation of the revised story is one of a woman who is confident in her relationship with her husband. “Highs and lows and everything between
Good deeds roll in like tumblin' weeds
I sleep good, happy
'Cause you can’t dig up our planted seeds
I know my man's gon' stand by me, breathin' in my gentle breeze…”
Advising Jolene not to waste her time would have been more consistent with the confidence in the marriage than a smoking gun threat.
My favorite line and one that hits me after 19 years of marriage and raising kids: “We've been deep in love for twenty years
I raised that man, I raised his kids…”
A picture of a strong woman who helped shape the man who is so attractive to other women. And let’s face it, there’s nothing sexier (or a bigger challenge) than a married man who is loving and faithful to his wife and family. Yet, no threats are necessary for that type of commitment.
Paul Newman comes to mind. Women swooned over him even after years of marriage to Joanne Woodward. When asked about how he handled the temptation to stray during an interview, he replied: “Why go out for hamburger when I have steak at home?” The beef analogy aside, women are highly attracted to that mentality; it creates a sense of not just love, but also security. The two most primal foundations of peace of mind.
I love the idea of a cover as a calling, an act of resurrection in a different form.
You've really hit on something with the egoism in B's cover, and what it masks. The notion of fighting for what you want sounds good on paper in 2024 – I'm not begging, I'm warning you … you don't want that smoke – but when it comes to this song, I miss the intimacy and humility of the more plaintive original. Recognising how fragile and rare this relationship is, even if she's wide open now in her vulnerability.
The conjurer/witness/alchemist channel is wide open here...Whew, damn!
Thank you🙏🏽
Oof, this is like when the therapist listens to your whole BS story and then they’re like “Can I tell you what I’m noticing?” and you know the gig is up, and you’re gonna have to face hard things… Very few of us can stomach (or sing) that truly “harrowingly pathetic” vulnerability—but life insists that is the only way.
Your pen should make every artist, dead or alive, tremble. I had to do one of those physiological sighs before I began this piece. I knew you wouldn’t let up. The only thing I wish is you could travel back in time and take on everyone who made audacity get the better of them (on the world stage). Maybe we wouldn’t be here with a dead Jolene. Great, deep piece! Also, had to listen to Bjork and Dilla.
Thank you for posting this and inspiring a deep dive into the new version. Your keen perception of threats spoiling the message rings true in my experience. My interpretation of the revised story is one of a woman who is confident in her relationship with her husband. “Highs and lows and everything between
Good deeds roll in like tumblin' weeds
I sleep good, happy
'Cause you can’t dig up our planted seeds
I know my man's gon' stand by me, breathin' in my gentle breeze…”
Advising Jolene not to waste her time would have been more consistent with the confidence in the marriage than a smoking gun threat.
My favorite line and one that hits me after 19 years of marriage and raising kids: “We've been deep in love for twenty years
I raised that man, I raised his kids…”
A picture of a strong woman who helped shape the man who is so attractive to other women. And let’s face it, there’s nothing sexier (or a bigger challenge) than a married man who is loving and faithful to his wife and family. Yet, no threats are necessary for that type of commitment.
Paul Newman comes to mind. Women swooned over him even after years of marriage to Joanne Woodward. When asked about how he handled the temptation to stray during an interview, he replied: “Why go out for hamburger when I have steak at home?” The beef analogy aside, women are highly attracted to that mentality; it creates a sense of not just love, but also security. The two most primal foundations of peace of mind.
That said, this album is a masterpiece.
I love the idea of a cover as a calling, an act of resurrection in a different form.
You've really hit on something with the egoism in B's cover, and what it masks. The notion of fighting for what you want sounds good on paper in 2024 – I'm not begging, I'm warning you … you don't want that smoke – but when it comes to this song, I miss the intimacy and humility of the more plaintive original. Recognising how fragile and rare this relationship is, even if she's wide open now in her vulnerability.