Rickie Lee Jones blog
  • Tour
  • Rickie Lee in New Orleans
Home » tour » A Day Off
A Day Off

Here at the airport in Eugene. We drop off our truck for a young man to drive to Minneapolis while we fly to Denver for a show tomorrow night, then on to the Twin Cities for that sold out show. Sold out shows.

I’ve long had a thing about… well what is it about? Vanity? Success? Self-loathing? Self-appreciation? What is the deal? As I face the full theaters or the filled up clubs I notice, I take stock. I have to tell myself, it’s ok, really, no big deal, not even a question of ‘deserving’. It’s been hard for a long time. Now it’s not quite so hard. Don’t make a big deal of it.

Yet I have heard that when people are run over and get crushed it’s when you take the weight off them that they crumble. We can, we do adjust to unmeasurable pressures and we keep going, feeling like we are made for pressure, some of us, we say I do best under pressure. And when things go better, when we get some of what we have worked for, fought for, hoped for, we start to throw it away. Like, it’s extraneous. Only the bare minimum for me.

It takes a lot for us to remember that the hard times are not the norm. We are soldiers so long that we forget there was ever a time when we weren’t soldiers. We cannot remember that there was some reason we did this, a long time ago. Whoever that was, why ever they did it, it fades away and doesn’t matter anymore. We do it because we do it. It’s a desert because it’s a desert.

Made this way, fired by pressures we do not name, we bring home our paychecks, we feed the dog, put out the cat, and try to… be content to be home. I like being home, but I often just dig in and don’t come out. Home overtakes me like the road. I don’t know how to balance. Extreme heat and cold seem to be what I need. I am isolated, or I am public.

The balance I will find speaks to me even now. Here in the airport in Eugene, they have rocking chairs, and I wanted to take a picture of one, so you could see that even in bureaucratic institutions like the airport someone won out, and made a little human corner for people to rock back and forth and watch the airplanes. I think of that line in Fahrenheit 440 or whatever it was – Julie Christie says People used to sit with them in the evenings, and just rock back and forth… and speak to each other… how a chair might be the instrument of gathering.

I’ve been meeting lots of people after the shows. This instrument of gathering, the meet and greet, I thought it ought to be the greet and meet.. hello! I am Rickie Lee! I hear the same story… I grew up with you. You are part of who I am. I think, let that in, that’s ok to let in. But I know better. It’s the music that is part of who you are.

Not me, really.

And yet that might be a vanity to be so humble. yes yes, too much thinking. But maybe I am meant to have that little bit of… what is it? When someone gives back to you, what is that called? That courtesy-glory-kindness- is something that I guess I know. It Is me who is part of them. The songs are made of me. I am in them. so yes, I supposed I am in … in other people, too.

I’m holding up alright out here. I must say my body seems to be… a bit more sore than I remember it before. Well, this is a challenging bit of work. I don’t get to walk around for days, just getting out of a car, walking to my room, walking to the car, walking into the dressing room, walking on stage, to the piano back to the guitar, and then to the dressing room, back to the car, back to the room. That’s it really. So on a day off like today, when my mind has just a few minutes to wander, and I can put my feet up on an empty chair, and my crew are nearby, I feel kind of pleased with myself. I am so glad to be alive.

That trauma when I was small, my brothers accident, it tuned me up high. I wait for trauma every day of my life. I try to tell myself not to do this, but I can’t help it. With anything I love, I am waiting for the call that it has been taken away.

I am sure many people have received those calls, have survived a devastating event. I don’t know if they all end up on the rocking chair watching the planes Not crash. But I am aware, and teaching myself that nothing evil is coming. and if it does when it does we will gather together to sing it away, to cry it away, holding tight to each other no matter what. me and the strangers I am a part of. And by habit, each day that passes, maybe it can reshape that one day that echoed across my life. And there will come a time when I will not… fear… and I will be at peace with whatever is coming, loud or quiet, big or very small.

I wonder sometimes what it is like to be a bug. Do they have rocking chairs in Bug land? Are they always afraid? Do they sing?

I’ll betcha they sing. A lot.

Recent Posts

  • Back in New Orleans
    Back in New OrleansMarch 27, 2016
  • A Day Off
    A Day OffFebruary 27, 2016
  • Traveling
    TravelingFebruary 18, 2016

Popular Posts

  • who are the 25 most influential singers in pop music today?
    who are the 25 most influential singers in pop music today?September 10, 2008
  • new recording
    new recordingJanuary 22, 2009
  • recording… Day 1
    recording… Day 1January 12, 2015
← Traveling
Back in New Orleans →

3 Responses to A Day Off

  • Randalyn Vasquez March 2, 2016

    Rickie we wanted to Thank You for a wonderful show Feb.19, 2016 Pasadena. It was such an awesome feeling seeing my husband tell you his story about “Chuck E. In Love” and the connection with his Dad. He will cherish that night forever. Wishing you a wonderful & safe tour, Mr. & Mrs. Manuel Vasquez

    Reply
    • Michael Simpkins June 19, 2016

      This day I wanted to write a note to Rickie Lee Jones. Searching for a conduit failed to yield. Found my way here instead, posting a note to a reply board. It’s a bit of a let down but it ain’t cancer and it ain’t falling off the cliff. One or the other of those awaits I suppose, but I’m not there yet.

      Typically I steer clear of famous people. Sat on planes with one or two over the years. When this occurs I ignore them. It’s the only courtesy I can think to offer. Today I am breaking this rule because you string all these words together in your songs and the words write pictures across my mind. I don’t always know what you mean to say with these words but I know what these words are saying to me. By the way I read a couple of your blogs today. Same sensation. It’s nice. That’s all I want to say. You’re not mine, your just a breeze while I’m working a pole line in August, a beach after the rains. Your just a rose growing out of cinders. It’s nice when it comes along but you don’t get to own it.

      I’m going to see your show in Washington DC. I’ll be working there in August. By the way I tried buying a ticket via your site. It failed to work.

      Best of luck Rickie Lee Jones. Thanks for stringing all those words together and painting all those pictures in my mind.

      Michael

      Reply
  • Cathy C July 11, 2020

    Ms. Jones, I’m so glad people have told you the same thing that I have always wished to tell you; your music has been the soundtrack of my life. You’ve delighted me with each new direction you’ve taken. It’s nice to read your blog and see that you, too, are insecure just like any “normal” person is. We all judge ourselves far more harshly than others do. What I have felt for you, honestly, is awe at your talent and gifts. Of course I don’t know you personally, but I’ve feel like we’ve walked alongside one another, with you speaking to me through your music, since 1979. Be grateful for your gifts, and keep telling your truth.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recent Posts

  • Back in New Orleans
    Back in New Orleans March 27, 2016
  • A Day Off
    A Day Off February 27, 2016
  • Traveling
    Traveling February 18, 2016
  • Nice for Mardi Gras
    Nice for Mardi Gras February 11, 2016
  • Especially at the crosswalk
    Especially at the crosswalk February 9, 2016

Archives

  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • January 2015
  • February 2014
  • July 2012
  • October 2011
  • September 2011
  • December 2009
  • October 2009
  • January 2009
  • September 2008
© Rickie Lee Jones and rickieleejones.com. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Rickie Lee Jones and rickieleejones.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

links

  • Online Store CDs
  • RLJ Tourdates
  • Tour
  • Rickie Lee in New Orleans
Copyright © rickieleejones.com. All photos by Rickie Lee Jones. All Rights Reserved.