Mary Lou Lord first gained notice playing acoustic guitar and singing in and around Boston subway stations (particularly on the Red Line, as noted by the name she chose for her music and lyric publishing company, On the Red Line Music.)
She has claimed that she had a romantic relationship with Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain before the group's rise to mainstream fame. This claim was disputed by some, including Cobain himself, though it has been suggested that Cobain's wife Courtney Love made him publicly lie about his past relationships to prove his devotion to her. In 1994, Lord showed up uninvited at a party for Courtney Love's band Hole, which ended with Love chasing Lord down Sunset Strip.
Lord toured three separate times with Elliott Smith during the 1990s. He also wrote and helped Lord record a song called, "I Figured You Out", in 1997. Smith would later say that, "I gave that song away 'cause I thought it sounded like The Eagles and that it sucked."
Her recordings have been a mixture of covers (including songs by Elliott Smith and Richard Thompson) and original material, with a number of songs written by, or in collaboration with, Nick Saloman of the British band The Bevis Frond.
Her recording of Daniel Johnston's "Speeding Motorcycle" (which was originally featured on her self-titled 8-song Kill Rock Stars release) was featured in commercials for Target stores, after which her label reissued the song as the lead-off track of a CD single which also included two demo recordings from the sessions for Got No Shadow.
In 2001, Lord released Live City Sounds. This was a self-released disc of Mary Lou playing live in the Boston subway. The disc was later re-released after Mary Lou signed to Rubric Records.
She announced in 2005 that she suffered from a rare vocal chord affliction known as spasmodic dysphonia. She thereafter became more involved in A&R work and started Jittery Jack Management with her husband, Kevin Patey.
Some Jingle Jangle Morning
Mary Lou Lord Lyrics
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Your voice still rings and echoes in my mind
So many words unspoken so many worlds apart
Your memory is all you left behind
Somewhere it all got crazy and now it's like a dream
And I knew that I blew it from the start
I was too freaked out to deal with it all
And too fucked up to care
Now LSD and Ecstasy don't help me
And my dance with Mr. Brownstone got too rough
Will you wake me without warning some jingle-jangle morning
We'll fly away to heaven on a star
Cause I love to watch you walk
And I love to hear you talk
But there's nothing I can say
To make you feel the same way
Now my friends are all I have now
But they're so far away
They all moved out of Seattle and back to L.A.
They ask me how I'm doing
And I ask them if they've seen you
But no one sees much of anyone these days
Now LSD and Ecstasy don't help me
And my dance with Mr. Brownstone got too rough
Will you wake me without warning some jingle-jangle morning
We'll fly away to heaven on a star
Cause I love to watch you walk and I love to hear you talk
But there's nothing I can say
To make you feel the same way
the same way
The lyrics to Mary Lou Lord's "Some Jingle Jangle Morning" tell the story of a romantic relationship that ended abruptly and left the singer feeling lost and alone. The opening lines, "Song about a sun beam song about a girl, your voice still rings and echoes in my mind," suggest that the singer is remembering a happier time when they were in love with someone who was like a ray of sunshine to them.
However, as the song progresses, it becomes clear that the relationship fell apart due to the singer's own issues. The line "I was too freaked out to deal with it all and too fucked up to care" suggests that the singer was struggling with their own mental health and was unable to be present in the relationship. The repeated refrain "now LSD and Ecstasy don't help me and my dance with Mr. Brownstone got too rough" indicates that the singer has turned to drugs to cope with their pain, but finds no relief.
Despite all of this, the singer still holds onto the hope that they might one day reconnect with their former lover. The final lines, "will you wake me without warning some jingle-jangle morning, we'll fly away to heaven on a star," suggest that the singer longs to be reunited with this person and escape their current reality.
Overall, "Some Jingle Jangle Morning" is a poignant and introspective examination of a failed relationship and the ways in which we can become lost when we lose someone we love.
Line by Line Meaning
Song about a sunbeam, song about a girl
The song is about a girl, who is as bright and cheerful as a sunbeam.
Your voice still rings and echoes in my mind
Even after all these years, your voice still echoes in my mind and I can't forget you.
So many words unspoken, so many worlds apart
There were so many words left unsaid between us, and now we are living in two completely different worlds.
Your memory is all you left behind
All that's left of you now is just a memory in my mind.
Somewhere it all got crazy, and now it's like a dream
Things spiraled out of control, and now it feels like it was all just a bad dream.
And I knew that I blew it from the start
I knew from the beginning that I messed up, and it was all my fault.
I was too freaked out to deal with it all
I was too scared and overwhelmed to handle everything that was happening.
And too fucked up to care
I was in a bad state of mind and didn't care about the consequences of my actions.
I stood right there and watched it fall apart
I didn't do anything to try and fix things, just watched everything fall apart before my eyes.
Now LSD and Ecstasy don't help me, and my dance with Mr. Brownstone got too rough
Drugs and other vices no longer provide me with the escape they used to, and it's taken a toll on me.
Will you wake me without warning some jingle-jangle morning, we'll fly away to heaven on a star
One day, without any warning, I'd like for you to come back and take me away to a better place, like heaven.
Cause I love to watch you walk and I love to hear you talk
I still love being around you and just witnessing your presence, your actions and your voice.
But there's nothing I can say to make you feel the same way
Unfortunately, my love for you isn't reciprocated and there's nothing I can say to change that.
Now my friends are all I have now, but they're so far away
My friends are now my only support system, but they're all so far away from me.
They all moved out of Seattle and back to L.A.
All my friends moved away from Seattle, where I am, and went back to Los Angeles.
They ask me how I'm doing, and I ask them if they've seen you
My friends ask me how I'm doing, and I ask them if they've seen you around anywhere.
But no one sees much of anyone these days
Everyone is so busy in their own lives that they don't get to see each other as much anymore.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: MARY LOU LORD
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind