Rickie Lee Jones (born November 8, 1954) is a two-time Grammy Award-winning… Read Full Bio ↴Rickie Lee Jones (born November 8, 1954) is a two-time Grammy Award-winning vocalist, musician, songwriter, and producer from the United States. Over the course of a three-decade career, Jones has recorded in various musical styles including R&B, blues, pop, soul, and jazz standards. Rickie Lee Jones is a singer songwriter whose style leans on jazz and pop/R&B timing and personification.

Jones settled in LA at the age of nineteen, doing the classic waiting tables stuff until she landed a recording contract with Warners. Her self-titled debut album in 1979 was a big success, as was the single, Chuck E.'s in Love, about her musician friend Chuck E. Weiss. At the 1980 Grammy Awards, she won a Grammy for Best New Artist, and also received four more nominations: for Record of the Year; Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female; Best Rock Vocal Performance, Female; and Song of the Year (for "Chuck E.'s in Love"). While none of her subsequent recordings achieved the same level of commercial success, Jones has continued releasing critically acclaimed albums that have explored a variety of sonic terrain from jazz standards to trip hop influenced works.

Jones' pursuit of jazz standards led to the recording of "The Moon Is Made of Gold" and "Autumn Leaves" for Rob Wasserman's album Duets in 1985. The latter track earned her another Grammy nomination. And in 1990, her duet with Dr. John, a cover of "Makin' Whoopee", earned the artist her second Grammy Award, this time in the category of Best Jazz Vocal Performance, Duo or Group.

At the time of recording her debut album, Jones was in a romantic relationship with Tom Waits; she is the girl draped over the car on the cover of his 1978 album Blue Valentine.

Early in her career, Jones was known for her drinking and substance abuse. She eventually tempered those demons, and came to terms with herself, and her own uncertain spirituality, and has maintained respect of her musical peers.

She's devoted to her talents, beyond music, one of which is raising her teenage daughter, and has even run her own political website and made music critiquing the Bush administration. She is involved in left-wing politics and community activism, partly through her web community, Furniture for the People (http://www.furnitureforthepeople.com/).

A greatest hits collection on Rhino called The Duchess of Coolsville was released in 2005.

In 2007 she signed to New West Records releasing The Sermon On Exposition Blvd, a record exploring lyrical territory inspired by Lee Cantelon's 1991 book The Words, which attempted to translate Christ's teachings into a more accessible contemporary format. Cantelon's friend, Guitarist Peter Atanasoff was instrumental in the creation of the eventual record.

Discography

1979: Rickie Lee Jones – Warner Bros.
1981: Pirates – Warner Bros.
1983: Girl at Her Volcano (EP) – Warner Bros.
1984: The Magazine – Warner Bros.
1989: Flying Cowboys - Geffen
1991: Pop Pop - Geffen
1993: Traffic From Paradise - Geffen
1995: Naked Songs - Reprise
1997: Ghostyhead – Warner Bros.
2000: It's Like This - Artemis
2001: Live at Red Rocks - Artemis
2003: The Evening of My Best Day – V2
2005: Duchess of Coolsville - Rhino
2007: Sermon On Exposition Boulevard - New West
2009: Balm in Gilead

Gravity
Rickie Lee Jones Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

There are wounds that stir up the force of gravity
A cold that will wipe the hope from your eyes
Young girl standing underneath the "L" train
Standing there, watching the trains go by ...
You think that nobody knows where you are, girl
You think that nobody knows how this feels
Alone, in a world of your own
There you are girl

The small things float
To the top of gravity
Gravity
I'm telling you where it is
Gravity

We walk in easy snakes
Through the roulette rattling of the ethyl
And now the arson smell of moon
Polishes a newsstand
They empty the gas can
The watch the fire
If there are three girls running
There are three girls running nowhere
From remedies
That you call random
We call by name
And ask them to explain why

Oh, no I heard somebody
Hush up
Don't say nothing
I thought I heard someone
Well we walk when we want to go
Nobody's gonna be there
Seen somebody, somebody
Be quiet
Nobody's there
Nobody

I could not say no to the light of my desire
I'm not asking so much
But you roll-call the passion
His lips ?
No
His back ?
No
His face?
No, no, no
I'm not asking so much!
I try to imagine another planet, another sun
Where I don't look like me
And everything I do matters
Where you are, girl
In your green paint
With a pin to pull
At the fingertips of gravity
Gravity

I'm telling you where it is
Gravity

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Rickie Lee Jones's song Gravity explore the theme of feeling alone in the world and the weight of our emotions. The first stanza depicts a young girl standing alone under the "L" train, feeling as though no one knows where she is or understands her pain. The metaphorical language of "The small things float to the top of gravity" suggests that even the things we consider insignificant can be magnified by the forces of life that weigh us down. Gravity - symbolized as both a physical force and a metaphor for the weight of our feelings - is a key theme in the song.

The second stanza switches to a different setting, where the singers are walking through a chaotic city that is burning down around them. They encounter three girls running away and are confronted with the "remedies that you call random" - implying that the challenges we face may seem random or arbitrary, but they have a name and a reason behind them. The final stanza adds a personal touch, as the singer wishes to be somewhere else, somewhere where she can be free from the weight of her anxieties and where everything she does matters. The green paint and pin suggest a desire to escape - using art to create something new and different.

Overall, the lyrics of Gravity are a powerful commentary on the human experience, suggesting that we are all weighed down by our emotions and the challenges we face in life. The song invites us to imagine a different reality, while acknowledging that we must navigate the world we live in, even when it feels heavy and oppressive.

Line by Line Meaning

There are wounds that stir up the force of gravity
Some wounds are so deep and painful they make you feel like you are being weighed down by an indescribable force

A cold that will wipe the hope from your eyes
This cold feeling will take away any glimmer of hope you have left

Young girl standing underneath the "L" train
A young girl standing under the elevated train tracks

Standing there, watching the trains go by ...
Witnessing trains pass by while standing still

You think that nobody knows where you are, girl
Thinking that no one knows where you are or how you feel, girl

You think that nobody knows how this feels
Feeling like no one could possibly understand how you're feeling

Alone, in a world of your own
Being completely isolated in your own world

There you are girl
There is the girl, in this situation

The small things float
Small things have a tendency of rising to the top

To the top of gravity
To the top of this force weighing down on you, making things feel worse

I'm telling you where it is
Explicitly stating that this force holding you down is gravity

We walk in easy snakes
We move in a languid, serpent-like manner

Through the roulette rattling of the ethyl
We're navigating through the chaotic, unpredictable sounds of the gas station

And now the arson smell of moon
There's now an intense smell of moonlight that smells like arson

Polishes a newsstand
The smell cleanses the newsstand

They empty the gas can
Someone is emptying a gas can

The watch the fire
They're watching the fire burn

If there are three girls running
If there are indeed three girls running

There are three girls running nowhere
They are running aimlessly, with no specific destination or goal in mind

From remedies
Running away from or rejecting potential cures or solutions

That you call random
Things that you perceive as being random or meaningless

We call by name
We identify them specifically and personally

And ask them to explain why
Demanding an explanation from these remedies for their actions

Oh, no I heard somebody
Realizing that you heard someone

Hush up
Telling someone to be quiet

Don't say nothing
Warning someone not to say anything

I thought I heard someone
Thinking you heard someone who is no longer there

Well we walk when we want to go
We choose to walk when and where we want to

Nobody's gonna be there
There will be no one there to stop us or accompany us

Seen somebody, somebody
Spotting someone somewhere

Be quiet
Asking someone to be silent

Nobody's there
There's actually no one there to begin with

I could not say no to the light of my desire
Unable to resist the temptation of what they truly desire

I'm not asking so much
Expressing that their demands or requests aren't asking for a lot

But you roll-call the passion
But they are able to precisely name and identify the object of their passion

His lips ?
Asking if his lips are the object of someone's affection

No
Answering in the negative

His back ?
Asking if his back is the object of someone's affection

No
Answering in the negative

His face?
Asking if his face is the object of someone's affection

No, no, no
Repeatedly turning down every possible answer to their question

I try to imagine another planet, another sun
Asking if his face is the object of someone's affection;

Where I don't look like me
Trying to imagine a different version of themselves

And everything I do matters
Everything they do will have significance or importance

Where you are, girl
Symbolically linking the girl in the beginning and this girl they are singing about now

In your green paint
Painted in green

With a pin to pull
Holding a pin to prick a balloon or similar object

At the fingertips of gravity
Balancing on the edge of the force known as gravity

Gravity
Explicitly stating again what this force is

I'm telling you where it is
Repeating this explanation one more time

Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: CATHY DENNIS, CIARAN JEREMIAH, KEVIN JEREMIAH, RICHARD JONES, DANIEL SELLS, PAUL STEWART

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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