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.
Dialogue
Jackson C. Frank Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I need to touch each stone
Face the grave that I have grown
I want to be
Alone
Before all the days are gone
And darker walls are bent and torn
To pass the time of those who mourn
Alone
Rivers that run anywhere
Are in my hand and just up the stair
Past the eyes of those who care
Who can never be
Alone
Changes that were not meant to be
Tow the hours of my memory
Sing a song of love to me
To say you must never
Never be alone
The tears of a silent rain
Seek shelter on my broken pain
And run away
But I remain
To speak the words
That sing
Of alone
I want to be alone
I need to touch each stone
Face the grave that I have grown
I want to be
Alone
The lyrics to Jackson C. Frank’s “Dialogue” are a haunting and introspective exploration of the desire for solitude, the inevitability of aging and death, and the nature of memory and longing. The song begins with the repeated phrase “I want to be alone,” which sets the tone for the rest of the lyrics. The first verse describes the singer’s need to confront their mortality by “facing the grave that I have grown,” which suggests a sense of personal accountability for one’s life and actions. The chorus repeats the desire for solitude, with an added sense of urgency as the singer notes that “all the days are gone” and “darker walls” loom in the future.
Line by Line Meaning
I want to be alone
The singer desires to be in solitude, without any company or interaction
I need to touch each stone
The singer must confront the consequences of their past actions and experiences, represented by the gravestones
Face the grave that I have grown
The singer must confront the weight and impact of their own mistakes and choices, represented by the 'grave' they have metaphorically constructed in their own life
Before all the days are gone
The artist is aware of the limited time they have to reconcile and make peace with their past
And darker walls are bent and torn
The artist recognizes the inevitable passing of time and how it will make their emotional state even more difficult to overcome
To pass the time of those who mourn
The singer wants to use their own time in seclusion to come to terms with their personal pain, in order to help those around them who are also dealing with grief or loss
Rivers that run anywhere
The singer recognizes the vastness and unpredictability of life, represented by the 'rivers,' which can be dangerous and difficult to navigate
Are in my hand and just up the stair
Despite the uncontrollable nature of life, the artist has a sense of control over their own emotions and fate, indicated by the fact that the 'rivers' are 'in their hand' and easily accessible, just 'up the stair'
Past the eyes of those who care
The artist's actions and emotions are hidden and inaccessible to those who care about them or want to help
Who can never be alone
The artist recognizes that there are other people in the world who cannot bear to be alone, but the artist's journey is unique in that solitude is necessary for them
Changes that were not meant to be
The singer acknowledges that there are certain changes or events in their life that were out of their control or weren't supposed to happen
Tow the hours of my memory
Those unexpected changes or events have affected the artist's memory and continue to weigh on them, represented by them being 'towed' by the hours of memory
Sing a song of love to me
The singer longs for a message of hope or love to help them overcome their past struggles
To say you must never
The message of hope or love should reinforce the idea that one should never be alone
Never be alone
Reiterating the importance of seeking comfort and company, rather than facing struggles alone
The tears of a silent rain
The artist has endured a lot of emotional pain, represented by 'tears,' which are made more difficult by the fact that they are 'silent,' indicating an inability to express their feelings in a healthy way
Seek shelter on my broken pain
The tears are an attempt to alleviate the artist's emotional 'pain,' but unfortunately without external help, they still feel 'broken' and unresolved
And run away
Despite the tears, the problems still persist and will not be easily resolved by escaping from them
But I remain
The singer recognizes that they must confront and address their problems, rather than running away or ignoring them
To speak the words
The artist hopes to find the courage to articulate and express their feelings to others, even if that process is difficult or painful
That sing of alone
Ultimately, the artist's journey will lead them to a better understanding of themselves and their own need for solitude, despite the emotional complexities that it brings
I want to be alone
Reiterating the initial desire for solitude, indicating its importance and necessity for the artist's emotional health
I need to touch each stone
Reiterating the importance of confronting one's past and personal struggles, even if it is difficult or painful
Face the grave that I have grown
Reiterating the importance of confronting one's personal demons or past mistakes, in order to move forward in a healthy way
I want to be alone
Final reiteration of the importance of solitude and self-reflection in the singer's journey towards understanding and healing themselves
Contributed by Annabelle P. Suggest a correction in the comments below.