When Jackson Frank was eleven years old, a furnace exploded at his school, sending a ball of flames down corridors until it ended up in Frank's music classroom in the Cleveland Hill Elementary School in Cheektowaga, New York. The fire killed fifteen of his fellow students and burned Frank over more than half his body.[1] It was during his time in the hospital that he was first introduced to playing music, when a teacher, Charlie Castelli, brought in an acoustic guitar to keep Frank occupied during his recovery. When he was 21, he was awarded an insurance cheque of $110,500 for his injuries, giving him enough to "catch a boat to England."
His eponymous 1965 album, Jackson C. Frank, was produced by Paul Simon while the two of them were also playing folk clubs in England. Frank was so shy during the recording that he asked to be shielded by screens so that Paul Simon, Art Garfunkel, and Al Stewart (who also attended the recording) could not see him, claiming "I can't play. You're looking at me." The most famous track, "Blues Run the Game", was covered by Simon and Garfunkel, and later by Wizz Jones, Counting Crows, Colin Meloy, Bert Jansch, Laura Marling, and Robin Pecknold (White Antelope), while Nick Drake also recorded it privately. Another song, "Milk and Honey", appeared in Vincent Gallo's film The Brown Bunny, and was also covered by Fairport Convention, Nick Drake, and Sandy Denny, whom he dated for a while. During their relationship, Jackson convinced Sandy to give up nursing (then her profession) and concentrate on music full-time.
Although Frank was well received in England for a while, in 1966 things took a turn for the worse as his mental health began to unravel. At the same time he began to experience writer's block. His insurance payment was running out so he decided to go back to the United States for two years. When he returned to England in 1968 he was deemed a different person. His depression, stemming from the childhood trauma of the classroom fire, had increased and he had no self-confidence. Al Stewart recalled that: "He [Frank] proceeded to fall apart before our very eyes. His style that everyone loved was melancholy, very tuneful things. He started doing things that were completely impenetrable. They were basically about psychological angst, played at full volume with lots of thrashing. I don't remember a single word of them, it just did not work. There was one review that said he belonged on a psychologist's couch. Then shortly after that, he hightailed it back to Woodstock again, because he wasn't getting any work."
While in Woodstock, he married Elaine Sedgwick, an English former fashion model. They had a son and later a daughter, Angeline. After his son died of Cystic Fibrosis, Frank went into a period of great depression and was ultimately committed to an institution. By the early 1970s Frank began to beg aid from friends. Karl Dallas wrote an enthusiastic piece in 1975 in Melody Maker, and in 1978, his 1965 album was re-released as Jackson Frank Again, with a new cover sleeve, although this did not encourage fresh awareness of Frank.
In 1984, Frank took a trip to New York City in a desperate bid to locate Paul Simon, but he ended up sleeping on the sidewalk. His mother, who had been in hospital for open heart surgery, found him gone with no forwarding address when she arrived home. He was living on the street and was frequently admitted and discharged from various institutions. He was treated for paranoid schizophrenia, a diagnosis that was refuted by Frank himself as he had always claimed that he actually had depression caused by the trauma he had experienced as a child.
Just as Frank’s prospects seemed to be at their worst, a fan from the area around Woodstock, Jim Abbott, discovered him in the early 1990s. Abbott had been discussing music with Mark Anderson, a teacher at the local college he was attending. The conversation had turned to folk music, which they both enjoyed, when Abbott asked the teacher if he had heard of Frank. He recollected: "I hadn’t even thought about it for a couple of years, and he goes, ‘Well yes, as a matter of fact, I just got a letter from him. Do you feel like helping a down-on-his-luck folk singer?"
Frank, who had known Anderson from their days at Gettysburg College, had decided to write him to ask if there was anywhere in Woodstock he could stay after he had made up his mind to leave New York City. Abbott phoned Frank, and then organized a temporary placement for him at a senior citizens’ home in Woodstock. Abbott was stunned by what he saw when he travelled to New York to visit Frank.
"When I went down I hadn’t seen a picture of him, except for his album cover. Then, he was thin and young. When I went to see him, there was this heavy guy hobbling down the street, and I thought, ‘That can’t possibly be him’...I just stopped and said ‘Jackson?’ and it was him. My impression was, ‘Oh my God’, it was almost like the elephant man or something. He was so unkempt, dishevelled.” A further side effect of the fire was a thyroid malfunction causing him to put on weight. “He had nothing. It was really sad. We went and had lunch and went back to his room. It almost made me cry, because here was a fifty-year-old man, and all he had to his name was a beat-up old suitcase and a broken pair of glasses. I guess his caseworker had given him a $10 guitar, but it wouldn’t stay in tune. It was one of those hot summer days. He tried to play Blues Run The Game for me, but his voice was pretty much shot."
Soon after this, Frank was sitting on a bench in Queens, New York while awaiting a move to Woodstock, when someone shot him in his left eye and consequently blinded him. At first no details were known, but it was later determined that children from the neighborhood were firing a pellet gun indiscriminately at people and Frank happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Abbott then promptly helped him move to Woodstock. During this time, Frank began recording some demos of new songs. Frank’s resurfacing led to the first CD release of his self-titled album. In some pressings, Frank's later songs were included as a bonus disc with the album.
Frank died of pneumonia and cardiac arrest in Great Barrington, Massachusetts on March 3, 1999, at the age of 56.
Though he never achieved fame during his lifetime, his songs have been covered by many well-known artists, including Simon and Garfunkel, Counting Crows, Nick Drake, Sandy Denny, Bert Jansch, Laura Marling, and Robin Pecknold (as White Antelope) of Fleet Foxes. Frank's song "I Want To Be Alone", also known as "Dialogue," appeared on the soundtrack for the film Daft Punk's Electroma. Soulsavers covered "Blues Run the Game" on their single "Revival" (7" vinyl, 30 April 2007). Marianne Faithfull covered Frank's arrangement of a traditional song, "Kimbie" on her 2008 album Easy Come, Easy Go and included the song in the repertoire of her 2009 tour. Erland & The Carnival also covered "My Name Is Carnival," apparently Frank's favourite song. Bert Jansch also covered this song as a gesture to Frank.
Sandy Denny's song, "Next Time Around," contains coded references to Frank, her ex-boyfriend. "Marcy's Song" is played by Patrick, John Hawkes' character, in the 2011 film Martha Marcy May Marlene and "Marlene" plays in the closing credits. Laura Barton's BBC Radio 4 programme "Blues Run the Game", first broadcast 20th November 2012, included interviews with Al Stewart, John Renbourn, Jim Abbott and John Kay as well as archive material of Jackson C. Frank talking and singing.
Blues Run The Game
Jackson C. Frank Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Maybe to Spain
Wherever I have gone
Wherever I've been and gone
Wherever I have gone
The blues are all the same
Send out for whiskey baby
Me and room service honey
Me and room service babe
Me and room service
Well we're living a life of sin
When I'm not drinkin' baby
You are on my mind
When I'm not sleepin' honey
When I ain't sleepin' mama
When I'm not sleepin'
You know you'll find me crying
Try another city baby
Another town
Wherever I have gone
Wherever I've been and gone
Wherever I have gone
The blues come followin' down
Livin' is a gamble baby
Lovin's much the same
Wherever I have played
Whenever I've thrown them dice
Wherever I have played
The blues have run the game
Maybe tomorrow honey
Some place down the line
I'll wake up older
So much older mama
I'll wake up older
And I'll just stop all my trying
Catch a boat to England baby
Maybe to Spain
Wherever I have gone
Wherever I've been and gone
Wherever I have gone
The blues are all the same
The song "Blues run the game" by Jackson C. Frank is a poignant tale of a wandering musician's struggles with love, loneliness and isolation. The opening lines of the song, "Catch a boat to England baby, maybe to Spain" suggests that the singer of the song appears to be a nomad, constantly moving from place to place, looking for a home but never finding it. He craves for whiskey, gin and room service to alleviate his troubles, which he describes as "a life of sin." The recurring theme in the song is that wherever he goes, the blues seem to follow him, whether it's the blues music or the feeling of despair and loneliness. He even goes on to say that "Living is a gamble, loving's much the same", implying that both love and life itself are full of uncertainties and risk.
In the second verse, the singer admits that when he's not drinking, his thoughts are consumed by his lover. He cries himself to sleep at night, which shows that his heartache is more profound than just the physical loneliness of being on the road. He tries moving to different cities in search of a change of pace, but the blues always seem to catch up with him. Finally, in the last verse, he comes to terms with his isolation and seemingly accepts it. He talks about waking up one day much older and not trying anymore.
Overall, the song is a touching expression of the universal feeling of loneliness and the search for a sense of belonging. The refrain of the song, "Wherever I have gone, the blues are all the same" is a powerful reminder of how even though we may change our surroundings, our internal struggles remain constant.
Line by Line Meaning
Catch a boat to England baby
I want to escape my current situation by leaving and going to England or Spain.
Maybe to Spain
I am unsure where I will end up, but I know I need to get away.
Wherever I have gone
No matter where I have traveled, the blues have followed me.
Wherever I've been and gone
Whenever I have traveled and returned, the blues have still been there.
The blues are all the same
No matter where I go, my troubles and sorrows remain constant.
Send out for whiskey baby
I turn to alcohol and self-destructive behavior to cope with my problems.
Send out for gin
I will try anything to numb the pain.
Me and room service honey
The only company I have is room service, a symbol of my loneliness and isolation.
Me and room service babe
I am just trying to get by, one day at a time.
Me and room service
I have accepted the fact that I am alone and helpless.
Well we're living a life of sin
My lifestyle is unhealthy and immoral, as I try to find a way out of my despair.
When I'm not drinkin' baby
I cannot escape my sadness, even when I am sober.
You are on my mind
You are my only source of hope and happiness.
When I'm not sleepin' honey
I am plagued by insomnia due to my anxiety and depression.
When I ain't sleepin' mama
I am constantly restless due to my emotional turmoil.
When I'm not sleepin'
My mind is always racing with thoughts of you, my pain, and my problems.
You know you'll find me crying
I am in pain and I cannot hide my emotions.
Try another city baby
I keep running away from my problems, hoping to find a new start.
Another town
Maybe the next place I go will be better than the last.
The blues come followin' down
I know that my problems will continue to haunt me, no matter where I go.
Livin' is a gamble baby
Life is unpredictable and full of risks.
Lovin's much the same
Love is also unpredictable and can be just as painful as life itself.
Wherever I have played
No matter what I do, my problems are never far behind.
Whenever I've thrown them dice
I have made risky choices in life and love, hoping for a better outcome.
The blues have run the game
I have never been in control of my life, and my emotions have been dictating my actions.
Maybe tomorrow honey
I still have hope that things will get better.
Some place down the line
It may not be today, but someday my luck will change.
I'll wake up older
Time keeps moving, and I have grown weary from the weight of my problems.
So much older mama
I feel like I have aged beyond my years, due to my emotional pain.
And I'll just stop all my trying
I will give up my futile attempts to escape my problems, and will try to accept them instead.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Frank Carey Jackson
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Jim Abbott
Thanks for posting. Jack was my friend and its good to see his music being shared this way. Jim Abbott
Dale Bentham
Glad i've come across this version again
Stephen Vessenmeyer
great track
Vladimir Motchoulski
Cool happy tempo. I like the dark side sometimes... this is cool too.
Russ Fitzgerald
I had not heard this version before. Is that Al Stewart playing the 2nd guitar part?
Baba Yaga
Indeed