The poet Shel Silverstein wrote this song in 1974, five years before Marianne Faithfull recorded it in 1979. Steve Winwood plays the synthesizer on this song, what could be called very early synth-pop. The song was written before the invention of answering machines or voice mail, when an unanswered telephone would ring and ring and ring until the caller gave up. The lyrics don't say or even hint at who was calling, but the detail that the phone kept ringing meant they were urgently trying to reach her. My guess is that they were worried about her well being. The line about climbing on to the roof suggests she was at risk of jumping off during a psychological break with reality. Marianne Faithfull endured similar difficulties in real life. She broke up with Mick Jagger, lost custody of her son, attempted suicide, and wound up addicted to heroin and living on the streets for two years. Her time on the streets trashed her voice, hence the lower registers she sings with here. It was during that time when she recorded a cover of Bob Dylan's "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue" that really stands out for its grit. But it wasn't released for another fifteen years! Her cover is one of the better covers of that song so check it out when you can, from her Rich Kid Blues album.
This album was so cool ,and I didn’t even like her but her anger was so relatable. Her voice sounded like she lived hard because she did, a good voice wasn’t the point. This song was about a woman going insane because of the rigid tedium of the housewife life women were forced to live
The poet Shel Silverstein wrote this song in 1974, five years before Marianne Faithfull recorded it in 1979. Steve Winwood plays the synthesizer on this song, what could be called very early synth-pop. The song was written before the invention of answering machines or voice mail, when an unanswered telephone would ring and ring and ring until the caller gave up. The lyrics don't say or even hint at who was calling, but the detail that the phone kept ringing meant they were urgently trying to reach her. My guess is that they were worried about her well being. The line about climbing on to the roof suggests she was at risk of jumping off during a psychological break with reality. Marianne Faithfull endured similar difficulties in real life. She broke up with Mick Jagger, lost custody of her son, attempted suicide, and wound up addicted to heroin and living on the streets for two years. Her time on the streets trashed her voice, hence the lower registers she sings with here. It was during that time when she recorded a cover of Bob Dylan's "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue" that really stands out for its grit. But it wasn't released for another fifteen years! Her cover is one of the better covers of that song so check it out when you can, from her Rich Kid Blues album.
There is a an official video. You should check her out a couple of decades later when she did a song with Metallica, it's pretty good.
This album was so cool ,and I didn’t even like her but her anger was so relatable. Her voice sounded like she lived hard because she did, a good voice wasn’t the point. This song was about a woman going insane because of the rigid tedium of the housewife life women were forced to live
This is the first time I've seen this great song reacted to on UA-cam. Thanks!
Africa reacts did it a week or two ago.
I hope you can listen to the Dr Hook version of this.
Great album. A hard life she's had...