The Ballad of Lucy Jordan - Marianne Faithfull, 1979

 
 

The morning sun touched lightly on the eyes of Lucy Jordan
In a white suburban bedroom in a white suburban town
As she lay there 'neath the covers dreaming of a thousand lovers
Till the world turned to orange and the room went spinning round.

At the age of thirty-seven she realized she'd never ride
Through Paris in a sports car with the warm wind in her hair
So she let the phone keep ringing and she sat there softly singing
Little nursery rhymes she'd memorized in her daddy's easy chair

Her husband, he's off to work, and the kids are off to school,
And there are, oh so many ways for her to spend the day
She could clean the house for hours or rearrange the flowers
Or run naked through the shady street screaming all the way

At the age of thirty-seven she realized she'd never ride
Through Paris in a sports car with the warm wind in her hair
So she let the phone keep ringing as she sat there softly singing
Pretty nursery rhymes she'd memorized in her daddy's easy chair

The evening sun touched gently on the eyes of Lucy Jordan
On the roof top where she climbed when all the laughter grew too loud
And she bowed and curtsied to the man who reached and offered her his hand
And he led her down to the long white car that waited past the crowd

At the age of thirty-seven, she knew she'd found forever
As she rode along through Paris with the warm wind in her hair...

 
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Marianne Faithfull is known as much for her stormy personal life, as she is for her music. Born into a British upper-class family (her mother was a Baroness), she became addicted to drugs in the late 1960s. She was Mick Jagger's girlfriend, which didn't hurt her career, and even contributed to the Rolling Stones musical success. She inspired songs, such as Wild Horses, and even wrote Sister Morphine for the band.

After ending her relationship with Mick Jagger in 1970, Marianne Faithfull continued on with a mediocre solo career and anorexia before launching Broken English in 1979. This album was a radical departure for her. The music style was Dance, New Wave and even Punk, while the subject matter of the songs shocked fans and critics alike. With the political awareness of Broken English to the raw sexuality of Why D’Ya Do It, the album was a huge success for her. (I can never forget the reaction to Why D’Ya Do It when it was played in record stores such as Sam's: parents scrambling to get their teenage kids away from such shocking lyrics!)

The Ballad of Lucy Jordan was written by Shel Silverstein, an American poet and song writer. Marianne's version, with her rough gravelly voice, has stood the test of time. It is every bit as compelling as it was some 30 years ago.

Connections: Marianne Faithfull's favourite band, the Rolling Stones. Shel Silverstein also wrote a very popular song for another artist, Johnny Cash.