Born in Hampstead, London, Faithfull began her career in 1964 after attending a Rolling Stones party, where she was discovered by Andrew Loog Oldham. Her debut album Marianne Faithfull (released simultaneously with her album Come My Way on April 15, 1965) was a commercial success followed by a number of albums on Decca Records. From 1966 to 1970, she had a highly publicised romantic relationship with Mick Jagger. Her popularity was further enhanced by her film roles, such as those in I'll Never Forget What's'isname (1967), The Girl on a Motorcycle (1968), and Hamlet (1969). However, her popularity was overshadowed by personal problems in the 1970s. During that time she was anorexic, homeless and a heroin addict.
Noted for her distinctive voice, Faithfull's previously melodic and higher-registered vocals (which were prevalent throughout her career in the 1960s) were affected by severe laryngitis, coupled with persistent drug abuse during the 1970s, permanently altering her voice, leaving it raspy, cracked and lower in pitch. This new sound was praised as "whisky soaked" by some critics and seen as having helped to capture the raw emotions expressed in Faithfull's music.
After a long commercial absence, Faithfull made a comeback with the 1979 release of her critically acclaimed album Broken English. The album was a commercial success and marked a resurgence of her musical career. Broken English earned Faithfull a nomination for the Grammy Award for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance and is often regarded as her "definitive recording". She followed this with a series of albums, including Dangerous Acquaintances (1981), A Child's Adventure (1983) and Strange Weather (1987). Faithfull also wrote three books about her life: Faithfull: An Autobiography (1994), Memories, Dreams & Reflections (2007) and Marianne Faithfull: A Life on Record (2014).
Faithfull is listed on VH1's "100 Greatest Women of Rock and Roll" list. She received the World Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2009 Women's World Awards and was made a Commandeur of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the government of France.
The Ballad Of Lucy Jordan
Marianne Faithfull Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The eyes of Lucy Jordan
In a white suburban bedroom
In a white suburban town
And she lay there 'neath the covers
Dreaming of a thousand lovers
'Til 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 were oh so many ways
For her to spend her days
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 rooftop 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
The Ballad of Lucy Jordan tells the story of a woman named Lucy Jordan who lives in a white suburban town. The song's opening verse speaks of Lucy waking up to the morning sun and dreaming of a thousand lovers. However, she is reminded of her mundane life when the room starts to spin.
The second verse of the song describes how Lucy spends her days while her husband is at work and her kids are at school. She has a choice of cleaning the house or rearranging flowers, but feels unfulfilled. At 37, she realizes that she has never had the opportunity to drive through Paris in a sports car with the warm wind in her hair.
In the final verse, Lucy climbs to the rooftop when the noise of the laughter gets too loud. There, a man offers her his hand, and she descends with him to a long white car waiting beyond the crowd. Lucy knows she has found forever as they ride through Paris, finally getting the experience she had always dreamt of.
The song's message is about the regret of not living life to the fullest and settling for a mundane existence. The chorus emphasizes this regret as Lucy realizes that she will never be able to experience everything that life has to offer. The trope of a woman feeling trapped in her life isn't new, but the song brings a fresh perspective to it.
Line by Line Meaning
The morning sun touched lightly on
The start of a new day and a fresh beginning for Lucy Jordan
The eyes of Lucy Jordan
Lucy's hazel eyes show that she is bright-eyed and ready to see what the day brings
In a white suburban bedroom
The setting of Lucy's life- a dull, uneventful place where nothing ever happens
In a white suburban town
Lucy lives in a conformist society filled with monotony and repetition
And she lay there 'neath the covers
Lucy is all alone under her comforter battling her own thoughts
Dreaming of a thousand lovers
Lucy longs for a life filled with passion, mystery and unpredictability
'Til the world turned to orange
Lucy's thoughts and worries start to overpower her, causing her to hallucinate in the midst of her eventual breakdown
And the room went spinning round
A dizzying realization that Lucy's unfulfilling mundane life has contributed to her mental exhaustion
At the age of thirty seven
Lucy always imagined that at this age she would have accomplished more than she has
She realized she'd never ride
Lucy feels she has missed out on many life experiences and that it is too late to change them now
Through Paris in a sports car
Lucy has always dreamt of having luxurious adventures that she can never truly accomplish
With the warm wind in her hair
A feeling of freedom, something Lucy has always wanted to achieve
So she let the phone keep ringing
Lucy has turned a blind eye to the reality of her life, hoping that it will get better
And she sat there softly singing
Lucy is attempting to comfort herself by singing the songs she loved as a child
Little nursery rhymes she'd memorized
Lucy is reminiscing about her childhood, a time when things were less complicated
In her Daddy's easy chair
A place where she feels safe and secure, a sanctuary in her mind
Her husband, he's off to work
Lucy's husband is always working and never there to fulfill the love and companionship she longs for
And the kids are off to school
Lucy's kids are too busy with their own lives to pay attention to her needs
And there were oh so many ways
Lucy has reached a point where the monotony of her life has broken her spirit
For her to spend her days
She has to find a way of getting through each day with the limited resources she has
She could clean the house for hours
Housework has become form of escape for Lucy from the reality of her life
Or rearrange the flowers
Lucy finds peace and tranquility in focusing on menial tasks like rearranging flowers
Or run naked through the shady street
Lucy is fantasizing about doing something erratic and wildly out of character
Screaming all the way
Lucy is screaming out of frustration and sorrow
The evening sun touched gently on
The sun was setting, waiting for Lucy's day to end
The eyes of Lucy Jordan
Lucy's eyes show that she does not have much fight left in her
On the rooftop where she climbed
Lucy is seeking peace and solitude on the rooftop
When all the laughter grew too loud
Lucy cannot bear to be around individuals where happiness and love comes naturally
And she bowed and curtsied to the man
Lucy has submitted to the fact that she will never have the life she longed for
Who reached and offered her his hand
Lucy has found somebody who understands and supports her, albeit far too late in her life
And he led her down to the long white car that waited past the crowd
At last, Lucy leaves her dull and suffocating life behind her and begins anew
She knew she'd found forever
Lucy finally finds the love, adventure and excitement that she has always craved
As she rode along through Paris
Lucy is exploring a new world that is both beautiful and daunting
With the warm wind in her hair
Lucy is finally embracing the new life with freedom that has eluded her for way too long.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: SHEL SILVERSTEIN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind