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
MAGAZINE
Rickie Lee Jones Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Calling from the corners
Station to station
For the magazine
But her pages are turning
Out the lights in the windows
And all that you're reading
Is the braille night
I can't come out
And play Paddy with
The Precinct boys no more
But you and me baby
We'll be lovers again
But she's walking to the A
Walking to the be
Walking to the see now,
Where are you going?
I'm just going with him
He could be anywhere
I don't know where he is
I know he's coming
I know he's coming to me
It could be anyday
I will know right away
I'll know he's Coming
I'll know he's Coming to me
I'll know he's Coming
I'll know he's Coming to me now
I don't think you know
What you're doing
I don't think you know
That she'll make him cry
Make my baby cry
'cause you'll break my heart,
Carol, Carol, Carol
There's a flagboy
Calling danger
Watch you're back now
Hey you. Flagboy,
Let'em come, let'em come
'cause I can see them there
I can see them coming
I can see it all now
Hey you, Flagboy
Let'em come
They don't know where I am
I could be anywhere
I know they're coming
I know they're coming to me
It could be anyday
I will know right away
I know they're coming
I know they're coming to me
I know they're coming,
Everything's Coming
Everything's Coming to me
Everything's Coming
Alive
The lyrics to Rickie Lee Jones's song "Magazine" paint a picture of city streets at night and the loneliness and danger that can come with it. The opening stanza references "homeboys" calling from the corners, likely a reference to young men hanging out on street corners. But their attention and focus are not on each other or their surroundings - they're calling for the magazine. The magazine likely refers to drugs, as the singer of the song observes that the person reading the magazine is doing so in the dark, using their fingertips to read the words like braille.
The song then shifts focus to a personal relationship. The singer notes that they can no longer play with the Precinct boys, but they and someone else will be lovers again. The woman in the relationship is walking to the A, B, and C (subway lines?), and the singer lets her go, saying they're "just going with him." There's a sense of fatalism in these lines, as though the singer doesn't have a choice but to let her go with the other person.
The song ends with a triumphant note, as though the singer has overcome danger and loneliness. They know someone is coming to them - someone who may make their baby cry but will still break through their isolation. The final chorus emphasizes this sense of hope and energy, as everything comes alive and everything is coming to the singer.
Line by Line Meaning
Homeboys
The guys on the street
Calling from the corners
Shouting from various street corners
Station to station
Moving from place to place
For the magazine
Trying to earn money by selling magazines
But her pages are turning
The pages of the magazine are flipping over
Out the lights in the windows
The streetlights are going out
And all that you're reading
The only thing you can feel is
Is the braille night
The darkness
I can't come out
I can't play
And play Paddy with
And hang out with
The Precinct boys no more
The cops are no longer my friends
But you and me baby
But we'll be together
We'll be lovers again
We'll be romantically involved again
But she's walking to the A
But she's walking to the A train station
Walking to the be
Walking to the B train station
Walking to the see now,
Walking to the C train station
Where are you going?
Where are you headed?
I'm just going with him
I'm going with my lover
He could be anywhere
My lover could be in any location
I don't know where he is
I'm uncertain about his whereabouts
I know he's coming
I'm confident he'll come back to me
It could be anyday
He may come back any day now
I will know right away
I'll sense it immediately
I'll know he's Coming
I'll know he's returning
I'll know he's Coming to me
I know he'll return to me
I don't think you know
I believe you're unaware
What you're doing
Of what you're doing
That she'll make him cry
That she will hurt my lover
Make my baby cry
Make my lover upset
'cause you'll break my heart,
Because you'll cause me emotional pain
Carol, Carol, Carol
Talking to Carol
There's a flagboy
There's a traffic controller
Calling danger
Warning about the danger
Watch you're back now
Be alert and cautious
Hey you. Flagboy,
Hey you, traffic controller
Let'em come, let'em come
Let the cars come through
'cause I can see them there
Because I can see them approaching
I can see them coming
I can see the cars coming
I can see it all now
I can visualize the whole scene
Everything's Coming
Everything is returning
Everything's Coming to me
Everything is coming back to me
Alive
Full of life
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., RESERVOIR MEDIA MANAGEMENT INC
Written by: RICKIE LEE JONES
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@yaelleibovitz7289
Homeboys
Calling from the corners
Station to station
For the magazine
But her pages are turning
Out the lights in the windows
And all that you're reading
Is the braille night
I can't come out
And play Paddy with
The Precinct boys no more
But you and me baby
We'll be lovers again
But she's walking to the A
Walking to the be
Walking to the see now,
Where are you going?
I'm just going with him
He could be anywhere
I don't know where he is
I know he's coming
I know he's coming to me
It could be anyday
I will know right away
I'll know he's Coming
I'll know he's Coming to me
I'll know he's Coming
I'll know he's Coming to me now
I don't think you know
What you're doing
I don't think you know
That she'll make him cry
Make my baby cry
'cause you'll break my heart,
Carol, Carol, Carol
There's a flagboy
Calling danger
Watch you're back now
Hey you. Flagboy,
Let'em come, let'em come
'cause I can see them there
I can see them coming
I can see it all now
Hey you, Flagboy
Let'em come
They don't know where I am
I could be anywhere
I know they're coming
I know they're coming to me
It could be anyday
I will know right away
I know they're coming
I know they're coming to me
I know they're coming,
Everything's Coming
Everything's Coming to me
Everything's Coming
Alive
@Melvinm549
The background vocal arrangements are beautiful, on this song, and the entire record.
@davidbanner9344
can't ever get enough of this amazing song, thanx for posting. and' thank god for youtube, a place where we can still listen to great, phenonmenal artist.
@edwardfarmer4230
Beautiful, unique, about the highest quality of a voice that you'll ever hear. This song has a beautiful loneliness about it
@kahlodiego5299
So haunting.
@yaelleibovitz7289
Homeboys
Calling from the corners
Station to station
For the magazine
But her pages are turning
Out the lights in the windows
And all that you're reading
Is the braille night
I can't come out
And play Paddy with
The Precinct boys no more
But you and me baby
We'll be lovers again
But she's walking to the A
Walking to the be
Walking to the see now,
Where are you going?
I'm just going with him
He could be anywhere
I don't know where he is
I know he's coming
I know he's coming to me
It could be anyday
I will know right away
I'll know he's Coming
I'll know he's Coming to me
I'll know he's Coming
I'll know he's Coming to me now
I don't think you know
What you're doing
I don't think you know
That she'll make him cry
Make my baby cry
'cause you'll break my heart,
Carol, Carol, Carol
There's a flagboy
Calling danger
Watch you're back now
Hey you. Flagboy,
Let'em come, let'em come
'cause I can see them there
I can see them coming
I can see it all now
Hey you, Flagboy
Let'em come
They don't know where I am
I could be anywhere
I know they're coming
I know they're coming to me
It could be anyday
I will know right away
I know they're coming
I know they're coming to me
I know they're coming,
Everything's Coming
Everything's Coming to me
Everything's Coming
Alive
@adammeredith2117
My all time favorite record.
@bobbygoodman2875
Rickie must have experience a tragic experience that broke her heart. She sings many songs about a lover coming back or now she longs for another's company. I suspect we all know who she's singing about...damn him for breaking her heart. God bless you Rickie Lee Jones and thank you for your sharing yourself (voice, song, verse) to the world. You, Baby Girl, are a Treasure.
@g.tucker8682
What a visionary.
@straypacket
00:45 to 00:52. This still breaks me after 36 years.
@Marktewk
my momma's eyes were blue