Her voice perfectly reflects the sordid and sorry subject matter of the songs.

Marianne Faithfull – “The Ballad of Lucy Jordan”

“The Ballad of Lucy Jordan” (1979 – original from 1974)

Originally recorded in 1974 by Dr Hook & The Medicine Show, that version barely made a dent in the music scene. Just 5 years later, however, Marianne Faithfull’s haunting version reached the charts in 10 countries, peaking at Number 2 in Austria.  

Boring as Hell

Faithfull gives us a disturbing depiction of middle-class hell. Trapped in the tedious routine of her “white, suburban”  home, Lucy Jordan is slowly going crazy. She dreams of escaping, maybe to a romantic European city.    

However, her only escape seems to be suicide. But even that fails. Instead, she’s carted off to a mental hospital. There, her dreams turn into complete delusions.

No Escape

Lucy imagines that she’s riding “through Paris, with the warm wind in her hair.”  She’s finally “escaped”  her home, and she won’t be going back anytime soon.  _{(Image source)}

Marianne Faithfull

Marianne Faithfull is a UK singer / songwriter / actress. She became famous in the 1960s, first with her hit single “As Tears Go By,”  and subsequently as the partner of Mick Jagger.  

Broken, but Strong

Towards the late 1970s, Faithfull overcame various personal problems, including heroin addiction and homelessness. In 1979, she released the album “Broken English,”  which soon attracted both critical and commercial acclaim. Her voice had become broken and raspy, but it perfectly reflected the sordid and sorry subject matter of the songs on that album.   

Faithfull has continued to work with many musicians of various genres, including Patti Smith, Emmylou Harris, Roger Waters, and Nick Cave. 

Masoch-istic, but Not Meek

On VH1’s 1999 list of  “The Greatest Women of Rock and Roll,”  Faithfull ranked at Number 25. In 2007, the European Film Academy nominated Faithfull for “Best Actress”  for her work in the film “Irinia Palm.”  

In 2009, Faithfull received the “World Arts Award for Lifetime Achievement” at the Women's World Awards, for her “contribution to the arts over a 45-year career.”     _{(Image source)} note – Faithfull’s maternal lineage includes the 19th-century Austrian nobleman and writer Leopold von Sacher-Masoch, who wrote the novel “Venus in Furs,”  and from whose family name we get the term “masochism.”  

The morning sun touched lightly on the eyes of Lucy Jordan
In a white suburban bedroom, in a white suburban town
As she lay there 'neath the covers, dreaming of a thousand lovers
'Til the world turned to orange, and the room went spinning round

At the age of 37, she realized she'd never
Ride through Paris in a sports car, with the warm wind in her hair
So she let the phone keep ringing, and she sat there softly singing
Little nursery rhymes she'd memorized in her daddy's easy chair

Her husband, he was off to work, and the kids were off to school
And there were, oh, so many ways for her to spend the day
She could clean the house for hours or rearrange the flowers
Or run naked through the shady street, screaming all the way

At the age of 37, she realised she'd never
Ride through Paris in a sports car, with the warm wind in her hair
So she let the phone keep ringing, and she sat there softly singing
Little nursery rhymes she'd memorized in her daddy's easy chair

The evening sun touched gently, on the eyes of Lucy Jordan
On the roof top where she climbed, when all the laughter grew too loud
And she bowed and curtsied to the man who reached and offered her his hand
And he led her down to the long white car that waited past the crowd

At the age of 37, she knew she'd found forever
As she rode along through Paris with the warm wind in her hair            _{(Image source)}

        Dr Hook & The Medicine Show – “The Ballad of Lucy Jordan”    
          _{(Right-click to hear on YouTube)}

Lyrics by Shel Silverstein, courtesy of – AZLyrics.com
Reference – Wikipedia
Reference – Wikipedia

Into your ears … through 5 channels

 The various posts are categorized into 5 channels _{(Right-Click to see details)}
         1 – “Music to Your Ears” (MTYE)
         2 – “Cover Versions”
         3 – “Honor Roll”
         4 – “Documentaries”
         5 – “Mock’n’Roll”

More “Cover Versions” ...

         Cover Versions – Music to Your Ears – "Posts 1~20"  
         Cover Versions – Music to Your Ears – "Posts 21~40"  

Links to my other series ...

          Lou Reed – "Anthology of Memorable Lyrics, Part 1"
          Lou Reed – "Anthology of Memorable Lyrics, Part 2"

          Great Lyrics, a compilation – “Part One – My Lyrics Posts 3~30”
          Great Lyrics, a compilation – “Part Two – My Lyrics Posts 31~60”  

          Vocab-Ability – "Introduction to Vocab-Ability"  
          Vocab-Ability – "Index"  to all Chapters and Sections  

          Notes from Under the Tatami Mats – "Part One – Notes 1~50"  
          Notes from Under the Tatami Mats – "Part Two – Notes 51~87"