I first found out about The Jayhawks in 2000 or so with a song called I’m Gonna Make You Love Me and the song Blue.
The Jayhawks formed in Minneapolis–Saint Paul in 1985 and played alternative country rock. They have released 11 studio albums and are worth checking out. The band went on hiatus in the early 2000s but soon reformed and returned in 2003 with a highly regarded album Rainy Day Music and has stayed together ever since.
This song was written by Gary Louris. The song did reasonably well when released. I would hear it on our alternative channel in Nashville. They are one of those bands that never could get over the hump to a mass audience. I always think of them, Wilco, and Big Star coming from some of the same musical territory. The Jayhawks have had a few successful albums but never became household names.
The album peaked at #75 on the Billboard Album Charts and #51 in the UK in 2016. The single peaked at #26 on the Alternative Album Charts.
Since our Kinks Weeks are coming up I thought I would mention this. They have a Kinks tie… They backed Ray Davies on his albums Americana and Our Country – Americana Act II. T
Gary Louris: Quiet Corners & Empty Spaces” started with the idea that I wanted to write a big, soaring, old-school pop song. With lyrics, I either tend to do a stream-of-consciousness or a cut-and-paste kind of thing. This one was something out of a newspaper that I cut out. I just have piles of stuff.
For me, it’s a spark to kind of throw some things together, along with other methods, like mumbling. A lot of times, when I’m writing, I sing and play and whatever comes out comes out, and these words are inferred by sounds and half-words. Then I come around and get the meaning out of that, and it’s usually coming from some place inside that is kind of revelatory in a way. It’s almost like therapy.
So, from there, I wrote a song about running away from certain things. Again, in a Proust kind of way, finding a spot where you can be introspective, away from the noise, and get your head together.
Aside the wandering eye has openedA stare all the way bare and brokenThe start of a brand new adventure
Hey nowCatch me quick before I walk awayTell me if there’s something I should sayI’ll find the quiet corners and the empty spaces
Not far a blue guitar is playingIt drew me like it knewAnd it’s saying
Hey nowCatch me quick before I walk awayTell me if there’s something I should sayI’ll find the quiet corners and the empty spaces
We drown in ups and downsNeglectingThe beauty of my sun is setting
In the end there’s no way in redemptionHey nowCatch me quick before I walk awayTell me if there’s something I should sayI’ll find the quiet corners and the empty spacesHey nowCatch me quick before I walk awayTell me if there’s something I should say
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