“There’s a need to keep writing even after you finish a record,” says Jenny about the downtime that followed the occasionally tumultuous recording of More Adventurous, “but it’s taken me some years to feel confident writing alone. Now I realize the privacy behooves my songwriting. I was more relaxed and worked on these songs at my leisure.” Still, even with a bevy of “private” songs cluttering up the corners of her brain (“they were slightly more sedate, more word-focused”), Jenny had no plans to release or even record the lot of them. It took a Bright Eye-d friend to convince her otherwise. “I didn’t even consider making a solo record until Conor [Oberst] asked me a couple of years ago,” she laughs. “He said he was starting a label, Team Love, and he’d love for me to make a record for it.”
In keeping with the loose origins of the project, recording was also a catch-as-catch-can affair, done in between press and performance obligations for Rilo Kiley. After laying down a number of songs with old friend and co-conspirator Mike Mogis in the San Fernando Valley, Los Angeles, Jenny flew herself to Portland to work with M.Ward, a collaboration that bore instant fruit. “When I flew to Portland all I had of “Happy” was a verse,” she explains. “As soon as I got there Matt came over to my hotel room and I played it for him and it just sort of happened – the chorus just came out. The whole process was quick and casual.”
Modeled after the great “white soul” classics of the past – particularly Laura Nyro and Labelle’s seminal Gonna Take a Miracle – Rabbit Fur Coat finds Jenny reaching out to her farflung assortment of wildly talented friends (including co-producer M.Ward, Death Cab for Cutie’s Ben Gibbard, Maroon 5’s James Valentine and Mickey Madden, and label boss Oberst) while simultaneously coming into her own as an individual performer and storyteller. “That album was always in the back of my mind: if I could just make something that captured the feeling of that record.” Enter the Watson Twins, a set of Kentucky-born sisters with an other-wordly gift to harmonize. “I met the girls through Blake in L.A.,” she explains. “I’m just so impressed with their instincts as singers and their relationship to my songs. They were very serious about them.”
On the galloping “Big Guns” and the smoldering “Rise Up With Fists!” the Watson Twins tease out the soulful corners of Jenny’s confessional narratives, steering strong story/songs about religion, forgiveness, and the nature of art into the weedy and dense grounds of a gothic, southern estate. Indeed, this atmosphere of dixie-fried mystery pervades the disc, heightening and haunting Jenny’s nuanced compositions.
Handle With Care
Jenny Lewis with The Watson Twins Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Been sent up and I've been shot down.
You're the best thing that I've ever found.
Handle me with care.
Reputation's changeable.
Situation's tolerable.
Baby you're adorable.
I'm so tired of being lonely.
I still have some love to give.
Won't you show me that you really care.
Everybody's got somebody to lean on.
Put your body next to mine and dream on.
I've been fucked off and I've been fooled.
I've been robbed and ridiculed.
In day care centers and night schools.
Handle me with care.
Been stuck in airports, terrorized.
Sent to meetings hypnotized.
Overexposed, commercialized.
Handle me with care.
I'm so tired of being lonely,
I still have some love to give.
Won't you show me that you really care.
Everybody's got somebody to lean on.
Put your body next to mine and dream on.
I've been uptight and made a mess.
I'd clean it up myself I guess.
Oh the sweet smell of success.
Handle me with care.
The song "Handle With Care" by Jenny Lewis with The Watson Twins is a beautiful ballad that speaks about the struggles of life and the need for someone to care for and handle us with care. The lyrics tell a tale of a person who has been through a lot of trials and hardships, including being beat up and battered around, sent up and shot down, screwed over and fooled. However, despite all of this, they have found someone who is the best thing they've ever found, and they implore them to handle them with care.
The lyrics go on to say that reputation and situations are changeable, but their feelings for this person are not. They urge their lover to handle them with care, even though they've been stuck in airports and terrorized, sent to meetings hypnotized, and overexposed and commercialized. Ultimately, the singer is tired of being lonely and still has love to give, and they are hoping that their partner will show that they really care. The song concludes by emphasizing that everybody needs somebody to lean on, and that they should put their body next to the singer's and dream on.
The song's meaning is one of vulnerability and the desire for love and care. It speaks to the universal need to be loved and cared for, no matter what we've been through. It's an ode to the human spirit and the strength it takes to get through life's struggles.
Line by Line Meaning
Been beat up and battered 'round.
I've been through a lot of hardships and struggles.
Been sent up and I've been shot down.
I've been in difficult situations and faced defeat.
You're the best thing that I've ever found.
You're the one good thing in my life.
Handle me with care.
I'm fragile and vulnerable, please treat me gently.
Reputation's changeable.
My reputation is not constant and can be influenced by different factors.
Situation's tolerable.
My current situation is endurable, but not ideal.
Baby you're adorable.
You are so cute and likable.
Handle me with care.
Again, I'm fragile and in need of protection.
I'm so tired of being lonely.
I'm tired of being alone and want companionship.
I still have some love to give.
Even though I've been hurt, I still have love to offer.
Won't you show me that you really care.
I need assurance that you truly care about me, and aren't just using me.
Everybody's got somebody to lean on.
Everyone has someone to rely on, except for me.
Put your body next to mine and dream on.
I want to be close to you, and imagine a better future for us.
I've been fucked off and I've been fooled.
I've been treated poorly and taken advantage of.
I've been robbed and ridiculed.
I've been stolen from and made fun of.
In day care centers and night schools.
I've experienced mistreatment from childhood to adulthood.
Handle me with care.
Once again, I need to be treated gently and with care.
Been stuck in airports, terrorized.
I've been stranded in airports and felt scared and overwhelmed.
Sent to meetings hypnotized.
I've had to attend meetings and felt trapped and manipulated.
Overexposed, commercialized.
I've been exploited and turned into a product for others' gain.
Handle me with care.
Yet again, I'm in need of protection and tenderness.
I'm so tired of being lonely,
Reiterating my dissatisfaction with being alone.
I still have some love to give.
I remain open to the possibility of love and connection.
Won't you show me that you really care.
Can't stress this enough - I need to know that you value me for who I am.
Everybody's got somebody to lean on.
Once more, a reminder of how alone I feel compared to others.
Put your body next to mine and dream on.
A plea for intimacy and solidarity in imagining a brighter future.
I've been uptight and made a mess.
I've been anxious and struggled to navigate life's challenges.
I'd clean it up myself I guess.
I wish I could solve my problems alone, but I need help.
Oh the sweet smell of success.
Even in my struggles, I find hope and optimism for a better future.
Handle me with care.
One last time - please, please treat me with kindness and understanding.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Peermusic Publishing, THE BICYCLE MUSIC COMPANY
Written by: BOB DYLAN, GEORGE HARRISON, JEFF LYNNE, ROY K ORBISON, TOM PETTY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@nixieNICLA
I think this is a good remake of a great song. I think Jenny has a terrific voice.
@user-ys9fg4ol9s
Excellent cover ! Excellent voice. Bravo
@TheGarrison89
Jenny Lewis is by far one of the most beautiful singers of our time! I Loved her in the Wizard when we were kids, I've enjoyed growing up with her movies and music in my life.
@simon-nak8403
Jenny has been one of my favorite singer since about 2010. Turns out she was my first celebrity crush. Just found out she's the red head girl in the movie The Wizard with Fred Savage. I saw the movie when i was 7 in 89.
@MagusMirificus
A lot of you fellows are missing the point here. The guests on this track are Ben Gibbard, Connor Oburst, and M Ward, who are all modern indie music legends. Obviously them and Rilo got together some night and said "Hey, let's record something, that'll be awesome," so they decided to cover the most famous Traveling Wilburys song, since that whole group came from famous musicians just hanging out and making music for fun.
@99marshmellows
well Connor! THAT was a surprise! Great song
@carlbethel8639
Great cover, Love it.
@Raquel-gx6ni
my mind has been blown.
@AnaphoraNigh
I'm intrigued by the Watson Twins.
@isabel-vf8cu
still disappointed that Jenny Lewis and Ben Gibbard haven't done any more collaborations past this (and the Postal Service, if that counts)