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

Little Yellow Town
Rickie Lee Jones Lyrics

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Low tide tonight, low tide little yellow town
Green life teems up from the underground
Glows in the dark, sifts the sands of garbage
Reach hard in for the ragged star fish

And only her lipstick bleeds,
And the color seeds into all your paint by number schemes
What was yellow, what was white, what was day, what was night

And now in soft detective voices the past rises

And follows you in shapes of rain and dew
And you walk through the fun house,
Those sonic faces hit you like a bus
'Till you're knocked down by the doppler waves of trust

And over here I scare myself day after day,
Cube after cube, dot after dot laying down on the kitchen floor,
Tapped into the secret code she's a down girl,
The acid's eating out her mind

The altered universe, step right up
Door swings both ways and now tattooed children, two-legged potions
Follow us while lightening bugs circle overhead,
While lightening bugs circle overhead...

We tear their wings off and memorize what they said
Chasing us across summer and into sleep
It's down rain, down time, she's a real down girl,
The acid's eating out her mind...

'Till all is new and all is changed, the altered world
Spells out your name, see if it works

Overall Meaning

The song "Little Yellow Town" by Rickie Lee Jones is a beautiful, introspective song that blends together themes of memory, loss, and transformation. The lyrics describe a person walking along a beach and observing the strange, vibrant life that teems up from the underground. The vivid imagery of "glowing" life forms "sifting" through rubbish presents a stark contrast to the banality of everyday life, and sets the tone for the surreal, dream-like journey that the song describes.

As the person walks, they begin to experience a sense of disorientation and loss of control. The past rises up before them in "shapes of rain and dew," and they are bombarded by sensory overload as "sonic faces hit you like a bus." The string of disconnected phrases and images may seem chaotic at first, but the repeating theme of transformation and change ties them all together. The sense of dislocation and confusion is ultimately resolved with the final lines of the song, where the person realizes that all that was old and familiar has been replaced with something new and different.

Overall, Rickie Lee Jones's "Little Yellow Town" is a haunting meditation on memory, transformation, and the strange and beautiful world all around us. The song invites the listener to join Jones on her journey of discovery and surrender, as she explores the mysteries of existence and the power of change.

Line by Line Meaning

Low tide tonight, low tide little yellow town
The water level is low tonight in the small yellow town

Green life teems up from the underground
Vegetation grows in abundance beneath the surface

Glows in the dark, sifts the sands of garbage
It emits light in darkness, going through the rubble and trash around it

Reach hard in for the ragged star fish
Take chances, grab the opportunity despite the difficulties

And only her lipstick bleeds,
Only she expresses herself passionately

And the color seeds into all your paint by number schemes
Her influence changes everything that was previously ordinary

What was yellow, what was white, what was day, what was night
Things are no longer discernible and have lost their significance

And now in soft detective voices the past rises
The memories of the past come back up in a subtle way

And follows you in shapes of rain and dew
The events of the past still haunt you in a subtle form

And you walk through the fun house,
Life is like an amusement park, with its ups and downs

Those sonic faces hit you like a bus
The harsh reality of life smack you in the face

'Till you're knocked down by the doppler waves of trust
Until you fall victim to the betrayal from someone you trusted

And over here I scare myself day after day,
I am terrified at the thought of myself

Cube after cube, dot after dot laying down on the kitchen floor,
Everyday life is repetitive and uninspiring

Tapped into the secret code she's a down girl,
She is troubled and unwell

The acid's eating out her mind
She is suffering from the effects of drug abuse

The altered universe, step right up
Come witness the different world that exists outside of convention

Door swings both ways and now tattooed children, two-legged potions
People can go through life in different ways, and almost anything can exist

Follow us while lightning bugs circle overhead,
Join us to witness new and unusual things, and beauty in the midst of darkness

We tear their wings off and memorize what they said
We seek knowledge, and remember what we learn, despite how painful the act of acquiring that knowledge may have been

Chasing us across summer and into sleep
Memories and experiences never truly leave our minds

It's down rain, down time, she's a real down girl,
It's sad times, and she is struggling with unhappiness

The acid's eating out her mind...
She is dealing with the devastating consequences of drug abuse

'Till all is new and all is changed, the altered world
Until everything is different and transformed beyond recognition

Spells out your name, see if it works
It calls out to you to see if you can adapt to this new realm

Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., RESERVOIR MEDIA MANAGEMENT INC
Written by: RICKIE LEE JONES

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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