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
The Last Chance Texaco
Rickie Lee Jones Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Bends into I-9
Tiptoe into truck stops
And sleepy diesel eyes
Volcanoes rumble in the taxi
And glow in the dark
Camels in the driver's seat
A slow, easy mark
But you ran out of gas
Down the road a piece
Then the battery went dead
And now the cable won't reach...
It's your last chance
To check under the hood
Last chance
She ain't soundin' too good,
Your last chance
To trust the man with the star
You've found the last chance Texaco
Well, he tried to be Standard
He tries to be Mobil
He tried living in a world
And in a shell
There was this block-busted blonde
He loved her - free parts and labor
But she broke down and died
And threw all the rods he gave her
But this one ain't fuel-injected
Her plug's disconnected
She gets scared and she stalls
She just needs a man, that's all
It's her last chance
Her timing's all wrong
Her last chance
She can't idle this long
Her last chance
Turn her over and go
Pullin' out of the last chance Texaco
The last chance
Texaco is a song by Rickie Lee Jones that observes the desperate journey of a truck driver who's trying to make it through a long stretch of the interstate with an ailing truck. The opening line "a long stretch of headlights, bends into I-9" represents the lonely path ahead of the driver, with the night stretching out before him. The "sleepy diesel eyes" refer to the truck drivers who rest at truck stops, also seeking refuge from the dark.
The truck driver in the song faces several problems on his way, including the rumbling of his truck's engine which feels like a volcano about to explode. The driver tries to fuse in with his environment, like the camel in the driver seat of a taxi, but it's apparent that he's no match for the mechanical issues his truck is experiencing. The songwriter uses vividly descriptive language to represent the driver's sense of hopelessness, as she tells the tale of the truck's engine running out of gas, the battery dying and the cables not reaching.
The chorus of the song, 'Last Chance Texaco' refers to the final refuge the drivers can take, finding a skilled mechanic that can fix their ailing trucks. However, it's clear that the driver's truck is far from a fixer-upper, making it his "last chance" to make any headway. In conclusion, the song 'Last Chance Texaco is a narrative of the persistence of a truck driver who endures prolonged hardship in hopes of making it through the night.
Line by Line Meaning
A long stretch of headlights
The view while driving down I-9.
Bends into I-9
The road is curvy and bends.
Tiptoe into truck stops
Driving carefully into the truck stops.
And sleepy diesel eyes
Tired truck drivers with eyes that are about to close.
Volcanoes rumble in the taxi
The car is shaking badly and it sounds like a volcano.
And glow in the dark
The engine is overheating and it gives off a red glow.
Camels in the driver's seat
The driver is exhausted and might as well be replaced with a camel.
A slow, easy mark
The car is easy to steal because it has broken down and is abandoned.
But you ran out of gas
The car ran out of fuel.
Down the road a piece
A short distance down the road.
Then the battery went dead
The battery died and the car won't start.
And now the cable won't reach...
The jumper cables won't reach the other car's battery.
It's your last chance
This is the final opportunity to fix the car.
To check under the hood
Inspect the engine and try to diagnose the problem.
She ain't soundin' too good
The car sounds terrible and is in bad shape.
To trust the man with the star
The mechanic at the last chance Texaco station.
You've found the last chance Texaco
The only gas station around for miles and the final hope for saving the car.
Well, he tried to be Standard
The mechanic tried to fix the car to meet Standard Oil's standards.
He tries to be Mobil
The mechanic tried to fix the car to meet Mobil Oil's standards.
He tried living in a world
The mechanic tried to adapt to the changing times and technologies in the car industry.
And in a shell
He tried to be more like Shell Oil.
There was this block-busted blonde
The mechanic was in love with a car that had engine problems.
He loved her - free parts and labor
He loved the car and fixed it for free.
But she broke down and died
The beloved car eventually gave out and couldn't be fixed.
And threw all the rods he gave her
The engine had so many problems that even new parts couldn't save it.
But this one ain't fuel-injected
The car doesn't have a fuel injection system.
Her plug's disconnected
One of the spark plugs is disconnected, causing the car to misfire.
She gets scared and she stalls
The car is unreliable and might randomly shut off.
She just needs a man, that's all
The car needs someone to fix it and take care of it.
Her timing's all wrong
Something is wrong with the timing of the engine.
She can't idle this long
The car can't sit and run for too long without stalling out.
Turn her over and go
Start the car and drive away as quickly as possible.
Pullin' out of the last chance Texaco
Leaving the gas station and the last opportunity to fix the car behind.
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., RESERVOIR MEDIA MANAGEMENT INC
Written by: RICKIE LEE JONES
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Gillian Humphreys
This is also one of my all time favorites from this album, though Company comes a close second. I was first introduced to this album when I was 18 (1981)and had just met my husband to be. We were great RLJ fans and even saw her in concert in Perth Western Australia around 1982-3 just after her Pirates Album came out. Being so young and naive many of her lyrics - especially on the Pirates album (We Belong Together) didn't make a whole lot of sense to me at the time until I developed the experience and maturity to understand the true value of the metaphors in her lines.
Well my marriage didn't last longer than three kids and 7 years and I then spent the next 20 odd years as a single parent struggling to bring up three children on my own with no familial support. It was just me and them and a succession of broken relationships, tried and failed career moves, a return to mature age college study until I finally had what seemed the perfect career, working 120hrs/week in Asia with another not so perfect relationship (again). Then that too collapsed in my mid forties and I returned home from living and working overseas, emotionally devastated with my professional international career suddenly ended, - the kids all having left home by now. My health was shot to smithereens and to say I was burned out is one hell of an understatement. With acute adrenal exhaustion I pretty much collapsed into a major physical and mental health crisis which left me incapacitated to the point I could no longer work and found myself completely alone. I have spent the last 10 years totally alone recovering from this, reviewing and healing from multiple compounded traumas (CPTSD) over my lifetime.
Music has always always been my memory trigger. So going back to all the old music I have grown to love all through my life (there's so much) has been one of the ways to re-access old repressed or denied emotions associated with those time frames I heard and loved the music in. It has been the way to bring up and finally fully feel those emotions I'd simply swallowed as a younger mother/career woman who didn't have the time or maturity to process or deal with at the time. Lyrics in songs such as this one now, through metaphors are particularly stunning as a new depth of understanding and wisdom comes to me. Going through my second Saturn return at age 58 now, I find Last Chance Texaco utterly perfect as the metaphor for where I've been and where I am at now.
But you ran out of gas
Down the road a piece
Then the battery went dead
And now the cable won't reach...
It's your last chance
To check under the hood
Last chance
She ain't soundin' too good,
Your last chance
To trust the man with the star
(this describes my burnout career and health crisis perfectly)
Well, he tried to be Standard
He tries to be Mobil
He tried living in a world
And in a shell
There was this block-busted blonde
He loved her - free parts and labor
But she broke down and died
She threw all the rods that he gave her
But this one ain't fuel-injected
Her plug's disconnected
She gets scared and she stalls
She just needs a man, that's all
(this describes my failed relationships perfectly)
It's her last chance
Her timing's all wrong
Her last chance
She can't idle this long
Her last chance
Turn her over and go
(and this describes where I am at now perfectly...this is my last chance)
apache king
Lyrically and metaphorically, one of the greatest songs ever written. Absolute genius!
Laura Tompkins
Could not agree more.
Ernie Ficklin
Agreed. I got goosebumps the first time I really listened to this
NefersGuy
I couldn't agree more Apache!!!
socksumi
And production value is off the scale.
chris geary
wow!! i bought this album when i was 13 because i thought she looked so cool on the album cover. ended up being one of my all time faves, especially this song! my friends thought i was crazy! lol what 13 year old kid in 1979 listens to rickie lee jones? well i did ! thanks rickie for an amazing album!
Trejo Mark
@Greenman Wood i
Aya Kab
I did!!! 1966 baybee
Robin Sanders
I did too! I was 13.
Tanya
I did too, same age. Would play this album over and over again.