shel silverstein
No, the title is NOT misspelled. Shel Silverstein (Sheldon Allan Silverstein, 1930–1999) used "Jordon" when he wrote it for Dr.Hook and the Medicine Show, and I'm true to originals, usually. But in this case I'm true to the lyrics only. The song was released as a single in 1974. I hardly noticed it. In 1979 Marianne Faithful recorded it for her album "Broken English" with sparse synth by Steve Winwood, and it became a smash hit. I didn't like it. I've heard several other versions; none of them have pleased me; many have annoyed me. Why?
The lyrics are brilliant, and one of the very few "serious" ones Silverstein ever wrote. Last year I came across it again, and realized that the melody is stereotypic and boring. Shel Silverstein was not a composer, neighter a real musician. I doubt he was especially musical at all. He was a prolyfic writer with bright ideas, wrote down hundreds of lyrics, gave them three chords and let go.
... He's been dead for more than 20 years ...
... I'll fix it.
The chords I've put up here don't exactly fit the original melody, but by keeping this in mind and following the chord progression, you'll probably find the same changes as I made; bringing on tension to Shel's good work. Sorry for still not being able to supply my humble album with sample audio files: if I ever do; this one will be one of the first.
the mornin' sun touched lightly on the eyes of Lucy Jordon
in her white suburban bedroom in her 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 spinnin' 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 ringin' as she sat there softly singin'
pretty nursery rhymes she'd memorized in her daddy's easy chair
her husband he was off to work and the kids were off to school
and there were oh so many ways for her to spend her day
she could clean the house for hours or rearrange the flowers
or run naked down 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 ringin' as she sat there softly singin'
pretty nursery rhymes she'd memorized in her daddy's easy chair
the evening sun touched gently on the eyes of Lucy Jordon
on the rooftop where she'd climbed when all the laughter grew too loud
and she bowed and curtsied to the man who reached and offered her his hand
and led her down to the long white car that waited past the crowd
at the age of thirty-seven she'd finally found forever heaven
riding through Paris
with the warm wind in her hair
For the following CHORD section, fullscreen/horizontal mobile is recommended.
Chords in brackets may be omitted.
G G7 C G the mornin' sun touched lightly on the eyes of Lucy Jordon Bm Em A7 D7 in her white suburban bedroom in her white suburban town G G7 C G as she lay there 'neath the covers dreaming of a thousand lovers Bm Em D7 G Till the world turned to orange and the room went spinnin' round C G Em Am at the age of thirtyseven she realized she'd never ride through Paris D7 C G in a sports car with the warm wind in her hair G G7 C G so she let the phone keep ringin' as she sat there softly singin' Am D7 C G pretty nursery rhymes she'd memorized in her daddy's easy chair
