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.
Yellow Walls
Jackson C. Frank Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Dark green windows
Stare never closed
From yellow walls that shine like silver
Through the hands I choose to hold
Painting nightlight
In searching questions
That is me
Running naked
And unmentioned
Through the death
Of a saltless sea
No one knows me
In the morning
No one sees me go walking by
And if I listen while no one answers
The winds can only echo a goodbye
While through your windows
And through your walls
I see you made of crystal light
I see you running and never moving
I see you waiting for my knife
Through yellow walls that shine like silver
Dark green windows
Stare never closed
Through yellow walls that shine like silver
Through the hands I choose to hold
The lyrics to Jackson C. Frank's song Yellow Walls convey a sense of isolation and desperation. The yellow walls that shine like silver juxtapose with the dark green windows that reflect the singer's inner turmoil. The windows "stare never closed," emphasizing the feeling that the singer is constantly being watched and judged. Through these walls and windows, the singer sees a world that is seemingly unattainable - one of crystal light and effortless movement.
The second stanza introduces the idea of a "saltless sea," which could represent the absence of something essential. The singer feels like a shadow that cannot be caught, running naked and unmentioned through this metaphorical sea of emptiness. The third stanza adds to this sense of invisibility, with the lines "No one knows me/ In the morning/ No one sees me go walking by." The winds can only echo a goodbye, emphasizing the feeling that the singer is alone in this world.
The final stanza returns to the yellow walls and dark green windows, emphasizing the theme of imprisonment. The singer sees someone on the other side of those walls and windows, who seems to be waiting for them with a knife. This could represent a threat to the singer, or perhaps a desire to break free from their current situation. Ultimately, the song conveys a sense of being trapped, both physically and emotionally, and the desperate desire to escape.
Line by Line Meaning
Yellow walls that shine like silver
The singer is describing the walls as shiny and beautiful, but could also be a metaphor for how happiness can be deceiving.
Dark green windows
The singer mentions the color of the windows, which may be symbolic of how he views the world around him.
Stare never closed
The windows are always open and the singer feels exposed and vulnerable.
From yellow walls that shine like silver
The artist is repeating the first line to create a sense of continuity and emphasize the beauty and deception of the walls.
Through the hands I choose to hold
The artist is holding onto someone close to him as he experiences the eerie feeling of the room.
Painting nightlight
The singer is using the darkness to create something comforting for himself, like a nightlight.
In searching questions
The singer is questioning his existence and contemplating his purpose in life.
Cannot catch the shadow
The artist feels as though he is unable to capture his true self or find his identity.
That is me
The artist is referring to the shadow as being his true self, but is unable to grasp it.
Running naked
The artist is expressing his vulnerability and feeling exposed.
And unmentioned
The singer is feeling ignored and overlooked by others.
Through the death
The artist is using death as a metaphor for his struggles.
Of a saltless sea
The sea may be seen as a representation of life or a journey without meaning.
No one knows me
The singer is expressing a feeling of loneliness and isolation.
In the morning
The singer is emphasizing how his existence goes unnoticed in the mundane routine of daily life.
No one sees me go walking by
The artist is repeating his loneliness and insignificance.
And if I listen while no one answers
The artist is searching for answers and validation.
The winds can only echo a goodbye
The singer feels as though even nature is telling him goodbye and he has no place in the world.
While through your windows
The singer is contrasting his own situation with someone who is better off, looking through their windows.
And through your walls
The artist is emphasizing how there is a barrier between him and this other person.
I see you made of crystal light
The person the artist is observing is seen as pure and unobstructed by darkness.
I see you running and never moving
The artist is seeing the other person as restless and constantly moving, yet never making any progress.
I see you waiting for my knife
The singer is feeling jealous or resentful of this person who seems to have everything and is waiting for an opportunity to take them down.
Through yellow walls that shine like silver
The artist is repeating the beginning of the song to emphasize how he is still stuck in this situation and feeling the same way as before.
Through the hands I choose to hold
The singer is choosing to hold onto someone close to him despite the negative feelings he is experiencing.
Contributed by Mason D. Suggest a correction in the comments below.