Born in North London, Jack grew up on a die… Read Full Bio ↴Jack Allsopp - Just Jack
Born in North London, Jack grew up on a diet of dance music including, break dance, electro hip hop and house. A wannabe break dancer at eight, his love of dance music led him to start DJing at the age of fifteen and he soon became submerged in DJ culture and US garage.
After completing a degree in Furniture Design Jack enrolled on a community music production course, which heightened his awareness to the potential of sampling. This inspired Jack to concentrate on perfecting his sound by night and to take on a series of unfulfilling jobs by day.
"I've been a washer upper, a flower arranger, a runner for a TV post production company... I even worked at Gap for while. That made me all the more determined to work at the music. I would get this down time in a studio and be recording all night, and working at Gap all day. It was knackering but it was very inspiring time."
Jack's debut album, 'The Outer Marker' is a collection of songs about modern life, relationships and the pressures of social situations. Originally released by the independent label RG Records, Just Jack's debut album 'The Outer Marker' received fantastic reviews. 'The Independent' described it as "impressive", Q said, "masterful", the 'NME' said "Awesome. Welcome Just Jack, you rule!", and 'The Big Issue' saluted Jack as "The new troubadour of daily life in the UK".
"The Outer Marker" has recently been re-packaged and re-released and now includes extra tracks and the video for 'Snowflakes'. It has been receiving plenty of airplay and remixes from the likes of Aphrodite and a famous Cure bootleg of 'Snowflakes' is now thrusting Just Jack into the limelight.
Recently, Jack and his band played his third ever gig to a great crowd at the Glastonbury Dance Tent and he will be performing at the V Festivals later this summer.
Jack Allsopp on Just Jack:
"I never had heroes and never wanted to be like other musicians", he says. "I have no affiliations to anyone, I'm not part of a gang, I'm not a part of a scene and I don't have a sound that's obviously a part of a scene. I'm Just Jack."
Links to Just Jack official homepages
Just Jack Homepage
Just Jack @ MySpace
Writers Block
Just Jack Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Had a shower and had breakfast
And had a couple of pieces of toast
You know, forced it down
Then had a cup of coffee
It was pouring with rain
And I thought oh God
I get this writer's block
It comes as quite a shock
And now I'm stuck between
A hard place and the biggest rock
In my own head consumed
I sit back in my room
It's like the tapestries of life
Get tangled in the loom
I'm like a butterfly
Caught in a hurricane
My pulse is quickenin'
As my heart plays a new refrain
I'm lovin' Mary Jane
Flyin' with Lois Lane
On board a bullet train
Don't know yet if I'm glad I came
Don't know yet if I'm glad I came
(Obviously this helped me I think)
Don't know yet if I'm glad I came
Don't know yet if I'm glad I came
(I always hoped that it would happen)
(But I never thought it really would)
Sometimes at night I think too much
About life and love and music and stuff
I mustn't sort of build
My hopes was too high
I'm livin' in the past
My clock's an hour fast
Should really go and make a coffee
But I can't be arsed
I've lost my mobile phone
You'll have to call my home
On second thoughts, just leave a message
When you hear the tone
My grimy windows show
The early morning glow
Another day, another dollar
In my one man show
I'm lovin' Mary Jane
Flyin' with Lois Lane
On board a bullet train
Don't know yet if I'm glad I came
Don't know yet if I'm glad I came
(Obviously this helped me I think)
Don't know yet if I'm glad I came
Don't know yet if I'm glad I came
(I always hoped that it would happen)
(But I never thought it really would)
I fell out with Mary Jane
I don't speak to Lois Lane
And I missed that bullet train
But now I know I'm glad I
I fell out with Mary Jane
I don't speak to Lois Lane
And I missed that bullet train
But now I know I'm glad I
I fell out with Mary Jane
I don't speak to Lois Lane
And I missed that bullet train
But now I know I'm glad I
I fell out with Mary Jane
I don't speak to Lois Lane
And I missed that bullet train
But now I know I'm glad I came
But now I know I'm glad I came
The lyrics to Just Jack's "Writer's Block" describe the struggles of a writer when they experience creative block. The song is narrated in the first person, suggesting that the artist himself might be going through such a struggle. The opening verse details the mundane activities of the artist's morning routine, indicating an attempt to focus on routine and normalcy to overcome the block. The chorus shows that the block is persistent and frustrating, “I get this writer's block, It comes as quite a shock, And now I'm stuck between, A hard place and the biggest rock."
In the second verse, the artist describes feeling trapped in his own head, unable to find inspiration and tangled up in his own thoughts. He says that he's "like a butterfly caught in a hurricane," an apt metaphor for the feeling of helplessness that creative block can bring. The chorus is repeated, but a bridge follows where the artist talks about different journeys he's been on, experiences he's had, but also expresses that he's not entirely sure if he's glad he went through them, indicating that even in life outside of writing, one can still question their choices. The song ends by repeating the chorus, slightly changed to show that the artist has come to a resolution on his writer's block, but also experiencing a newfound sense of clarity: "But now I know I'm glad I came."
Line by Line Meaning
I must have got up about twenty to seven
I woke up around 6:40 am
Had a shower and had breakfast
I showered and ate breakfast
And had a couple of pieces of toast
Specifically, I ate toast for breakfast
You know, forced it down
I didn't really want to eat but made myself
Then had a cup of coffee
I drank coffee after breakfast
It was pouring with rain
It was raining heavily outside
And I thought oh God
I felt a sense of dismay
You know, good old England
I was thinking sarcastically about England's weather
I get this writer's block
I experience difficulty writing
It comes as quite a shock
It is unexpected and surprising
And now I'm stuck between
I'm in a difficult situation
A hard place and the biggest rock
An allusion to the expression 'between a rock and a hard place'
In my own head consumed
I'm preoccupied with my own thoughts
I sit back in my room
I'm sitting in my room
It's like the tapestries of life
Life's events are like a tapestry
Get tangled in the loom
They become confusing and difficult to sort out
I'm like a butterfly
I feel delicate
Caught in a hurricane
But in a situation that's chaotic and unpredictable
My pulse is quickenin'
My heart rate is increasing
As my heart plays a new refrain
I'm feeling a new emotion
I'm lovin' Mary Jane
I enjoy marijuana
Flyin' with Lois Lane
Having an exciting experience
On board a bullet train
Feeling like everything is happening very fast
Don't know yet if I'm glad I came
I'm not sure if I'm happy with my current situation
Don't know yet if I'm glad I came
Repeating the previous line for emphasis
(Obviously this helped me I think)
I think this experience was helpful
Sometimes at night I think too much
At night, I tend to overthink things
About life and love and music and stuff
I think about different aspects of life
I mustn't sort of build
I shouldn't get too hopeful
My hopes was too high
I shouldn't have expected so much
I'm livin' in the past
I'm dwelling on past experiences
My clock's an hour fast
My clock is set one hour ahead
Should really go and make a coffee
I should make coffee
But I can't be arsed
I don't feel like doing it
I've lost my mobile phone
My phone is missing
You'll have to call my home
Please call my home phone instead
On second thoughts, just leave a message
Actually, just leave a voicemail
When you hear the tone
After the beep
My grimy windows show
My dirty windows reveal
The early morning glow
The sun is just starting to rise
Another day, another dollar
A common expression meaning that life goes on and requires money to live
In my one man show
I'm alone in this experience
I fell out with Mary Jane
I stopped enjoying marijuana
I don't speak to Lois Lane
I'm not having any exciting experiences
And I missed that bullet train
I let an opportunity pass me by
But now I know I'm glad I
But now I realize that I am happy with my current situation
I fell out with Mary Jane
Repeating the previous line
I don't speak to Lois Lane
Repeating the previous line
And I missed that bullet train
Repeating the previous line
But now I know I'm glad I
Repeating the previous line for emphasis
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: JACK CHRISTOPHER ALLSOPP
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@DeepSleeptr
I get this writer's block, it comes as quite a shock,
And now i'm stuck between a hard place and the biggest rock,
In my own head consumed. I sit back in my room,
Its like the tapestries of life get tangled in the loom,
I'm like a butterfly, caught in a hurricane,
My pulse is quickening as my heart plays a new refrain
Im lovin' Mary Jane, flyin' with Lois Lane,
On board a bullet train
Don't know yet if i'm glad i came
Don't know yet if i'm glad i came
Don't know yet if i'm glad i came
Don't know yet if i'm glad i came
Sometimes at night i think too much,
About life and love and music and stuff
I'm livin' in the past,
My clocks an hour fast,
Should really go and make a coffee but i can't be arsed,
I've lost my mobile phone,
You'll have to call my home,
On second thoughts just leave a message when you hear the tone,
My grimy windows show the early morning glow,
Another day, another dollar in my one man show,
Im lovin' Mary Jane, flyin' with Lois Lane,
On board a bullet train
Don't know yet if i'm glad i came
Don't know yet if i'm glad i came
Don't know yet if i'm glad i came
Don't know yet if i'm glad i came
I fell out with Mary Jane, I don't speak to Lois Lane and i missed that bullet train
But now i know i'm glad i-
I fell out with Mary Jane, I don't speak to Lois Lane and i missed that bullet train
But now i know i'm glad i-
I fell out with Mary Jane, I don't speak to Lois Lane and i missed that bullet train
But now i know i'm glad i-
I fell out with Mary Jane, I don't speak to Lois Lane and i missed that bullet train
But now i know i'm glad i came
But now i know i'm glad i came
But now i know i'm glad i came
@gabriellenovick4028
Used to listen to this at school. Headphones on. Docs. In the rain. Takes me back. Still that same girl. Love a time machine song. Banger
@nivszy
I feel so bad for the people just now discovering Just Jack. He's amazing!
@lovrolaby5607
Better now then never
@DHFreaki
nivszy found him over the day I died, but haven't found something comparable of him since..
@jessicadallas8090
Only just discovered him now. ITS 2017!
@fernandotavella2032
nivszy me weeks ago... Im glad to have it found now than never
@breakfastclub6895
I feel sorry for your outlook.
@otobag
I remember feeling so sad listening to this song 11 years ago, now I'm happy I found it so I can feel sad again.
@kldornfeld6437
Man it makes me think about drug abusers and those that found sobriety. I don't feel like it's sad, it's rising above.
@otobag
@@kldornfeld6437 yeah, we all have different associations.
I feel a lot of anxiety and indecisiveness in this music. That's how I felt a lot 11 years ago.