Born in Oakland, California, McKuen ran away from home at the age of eleven to escape an alcoholic stepfather and to send what money he could to his mother. After a series of jobs, from lumberjack, ranch hand, railroad worker to rodeo cowboy, throughout the west, McKuen began in the 1950s to excite audiences with his poetry readings, appearing with such well-known poets as Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg; during this time, he often used the pseudonym "Dor". He moved to New York City in 1959 to compose and conduct for the TV show "The CBS Workshop." By the 1960s he had achieved fame, far surpassing in sales the works of the Beat poets who preceded him. During the early 1960s he spent most of his time in France. This began his project to translate the work of legendary singer/songwriter Jacques Brel, into English.
He became an icon across college campuses for his ability to capture in verse the feelings of anxiety, love, confusion, and hope that were common during the Vietnam era. His public readings had the drawing power of a rock concert.
McKuen’s commercial success was unparalleled in the field of modern poetry. His poetic works have been translated into a dozen languages and sold over 65 million copies. Throughout his career he continued to enjoy sell-out concerts around the world and appeared regularly at New York’s famed Carnegie Hall.
As a songwriter, he contributed to the sale of over 100 million records. His material has been recorded by such artists as Love's Been Good To Me (1969), Waylon Jennings, The London Philharmonic, Greta Keller, Perry Como, and Madonna. Perhaps his most well-known song is Jean (1969).
McKuen proved to be a prolific songwriter, penning over 1,500 songs. He collaborated with a variety of internationally renowned composers, including Henry Mancini and John Williams, and a highly successful series of albums with Anita Kerr. His symphonies, concertos, and other classical works have been performed by orchestras around the globe. His suite for narrator and orchestra, "The City", was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize in Music. His work as a composer in the film industry garnered him two Academy Award nominations.
Throughout his multi-award-winning career, McKuen paired his artistic endeavors with a spirit for social reform. Before a tour of South Africa in the 1970s, McKuen demanded “mixed seating” among white and black concert-goers, opening the doors for successful tours by a variety of African-American performers, including Sammy Davis, Jr. and Ella Fitzgerald. He also spearheaded efforts to raise AIDS awareness and fund charities for children and senior citizens. His humanitarian efforts twice won him the prestigious Freedoms Foundation Award.
Jean
Rod McKuen Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
All the leaves have gone green
And the clouds are so low
You can touch them, and so
Come out to the meadow, Jean
Jean, Jean, you're young and alive
Come out of your half-dreamed dream
And run, if you will, to the top of the hill
Till the sheep in the valley come home my way
Till the stars fall around me and find me alone
When the sun comes a-singin' I'll still be waitin'
For Jean, Jean, roses are red
And all of the leaves have gone green
While the hills are ablaze with the moon's yellow haze
Come into my arms, bonnie Jean
(Jean, Jean)
Jean, you're young and alive!!
Come out of your half-dreamed dream
And run, if you will to the top of the hill
Come into my arms, bonnie Jean
Jean
La-la-la-la
The song Jean by Rod McKuen is a heartfelt invitation to a woman named Jean to embrace life and to come out of her half-dreamed dream. The lyrics are romantic and vivid, describing the beauty of the natural world as an invitation to the singer to believe in the possibility of love. The opening line, “Jean, Jean, roses are red, all the leaves have gone green,” sets the poetic tone of the song. The singer is calling on Jean to put aside her fears and step into the meadow where the clouds are so low you can touch them. He encourages her to open her arms and run to the top of the hill to embrace love fully.
The singer promises to wait for her until the stars fall around him and the sun comes up, still believing that she will come to him. The final lines, “while the hills are ablaze with the moon's yellow haze, come into my arms, bonnie Jean” reiterate his desire for her to be in his arms. The romantic setting and lush descriptions of the natural world convey a sense of wonder and hope. Jean represents the promise of love, and the singer is pleading with her to take a chance on him.
Line by Line Meaning
Jean, Jean, roses are red
Addressing Jean, the singer mentions that roses are red.
All the leaves have gone green
The foliage has turned from red to green, indicating that autumn is over and spring is here.
And the clouds are so low
The clouds are located at a low altitude, meaning that they are large and can be touched.
You can touch them, and so
The clouds are low enough to be touched by someone standing on the ground.
Come out to the meadow, Jean
The singer invites Jean to come out to a meadow.
Jean, Jean, you're young and alive
The singer addresses Jean again, telling her that she is young and full of life.
Come out of your half-dreamed dream
The singer encourages Jean to snap out of her half-asleep state and join him in reality.
And run, if you will, to the top of the hill
The singer suggests that Jean run to the top of a hill, if she desires.
Open your arms, bonnie Jean
The singer implores Jean to open her arms, indicating a desire for love and affection.
Till the sheep in the valley come home my way
The singer will wait until the sheep in the valley come his way, indicating a willingness to wait for Jean to join him.
Till the stars fall around me and find me alone
The singer will wait for Jean until the stars fall around him and leave him alone in the darkness.
When the sun comes a-singin' I'll still be waitin'
The singer will continue to wait for Jean, even if the sun rises and greets the day with song.
For Jean, Jean, roses are red
The singer repeats the beginning of the song, emphasizing his desire for Jean's company.
And all of the leaves have gone green
The singer repeats the second line, indicating that spring is in full bloom.
While the hills are ablaze with the moon's yellow haze
The hills shine with a yellow glow from the light of the moon.
Come into my arms, bonnie Jean
The singer urges Jean to come to him and embrace him.
(Jean, Jean)
The song repeats Jean's name, as if calling out to her again.
Jean, you're young and alive!!
The singer repeats his earlier comment about Jean's youth and vibrancy.
Come out of your half-dreamed dream
The singer repeats his earlier encouragement for Jean to awaken from her dreamlike state.
And run, if you will to the top of the hill
The singer repeats his earlier suggestion that Jean run to the top of a hill, if she wants.
Come into my arms, bonnie Jean
The singer repeats his earlier request for Jean to join him and embrace him.
Jean
The song ends with a final mention of Jean's name.
La-la-la-la
This line is a nonsensical repetition of syllables, adding to the song's melody but not to its message.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner Music India Private Limited, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Rod Mckuen
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@cassandrastetson8379
My dad always sang Jean to me as a kid, so when they made my adoption complete at 9yrs old I was allowed to change my name. Instead, I made my middle name Jean. That was 40 yrs ago. Dad is now with Jesus and I know he's still singing it to me. Love, your Bonny Jean.
@2379pamela
What a wonderful story. It reminds me of listening to the radio while doing dishes with my Dad. I'm glad that you have an angel looking over you. <3
@walterknutsen6514
So nice
@maxalberts2003
Lovely. God bless you.
@teresitarousseau5217
Amen
@sandrakenney567
@@2379pamelabeautifully said .👍rest in peace to your dad.🙏🕊🦋🌹💖
@ChrisWilburn-bushey
Sharing this to honor E. Jean Carroll.
@jacklowe3429
I recently read an article about Rod McKuen. The most interesting takeaway: McKuen died in 2015. The rights to his recorded work then passed on to Ed Habib, his partner. Habib died in 2018; McKuen's rights and master tapes then passed on to Habib's family. Evidently, the Habib family either can't agree on what to do with McKuen's tapes or simply don't care about them. Whoever was storing the tapes for McKuen got tired of holding onto them. All of McKuen's master tapes---twenty years of music and spoken word material---were literally marked for destruction.
At this point, a gentleman (I don't recall his name; the article was in Slate magazine online) involved in the recording industry, who'd been a McKuen fan as a teenager, heard of the fate of McKuen's master tapes and intervened. He purchased the master tapes and they are now safe in storage. But the story doesn't end there. Edward Habib's heirs don't own the tapes, but they still own the rights to the music and spoken word material on them. And as I wrote earlier, they are either in conflict over what to do with this content or are simply indifferent to it. So you won't find McKuen's music or poetry streaming anywhere. And those tapes, as of this writing, aren't being used to make new cd's or LPs. They're just sitting in storage. The recording industry guy has tried to donate the tapes to the Library of Congress and several universities, with no success. It's a perfect storm of unfortunate circumstances.
So for now, all that's left are YouTube videos like this and old LPs, cassettes or cd's in second-hand stores. This is how the work of an artist dies. And that's a shame.
@DuartMaclean
I wrote him a letter expressing my appreciation for his masterpiece, 'Jean'.
He wrote me back! A great guy.
@seed1usa865
Lucky...was one of my favorites...and still is.