Song of The Week: Feb. 5, 2007 - Jukebox On My Grave

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danaj
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Song of The Week: Feb. 5, 2007 - Jukebox On My Grave

Postby danaj » Mon Feb 05, 2007 1:44 pm

Jukebox on My Grave
from the album Ellis Paul Essentials




When I'm gone
on my judgment day
please put a jukebox upon my grave
don't want no headstone
no cold tears
just a jukebox to say
a music man lays here

And all my friends, when they drop by
can drop a quarter down
and hear Robert Johnson's cry
A flood of memories
come wave by wave
carried by the voice
inside the jukebox
on my grave

You can hear Hank Williams
some George Jones
some Beatles songs
some Dylan
some Rolling Stones
Joni Mitchell and Marvin Gaye
and Johnny Cash risen
from the ashes on my grave, my grave
That's Johnny Cash there
singing "Ring of Fire" upon my grave

When I'm gone
on my judgment day
put a quarter in the jukebox
upon my grave
I don't want no headstone
claiming I was brave
Just a jukebox singing songs
upon my grave, my grave
Just a jukebox singing songs
upon my grave


Copyright Ellis Paul Publishing SESAC


The first time I ever heard Jukebox... There I was, sitting crosslegged on a sun-warmed concrete seat in Andrews Park, the late afternoon sun slanting from behind to shine like some bright, celestial spotlight in the faces of the two barefoot performers on the hot stage. Ellis joked with Don Con a little, spoke his pre-song bit and then... launched into a song that is, more than any other song of his I've heard, an anthem for my life. And my mind and soul took flight, held aloft by the strum of guitar strings, tapping feet and that lovely, raspy voice.

Music is my passion. I live and breathe to my own personal soundtrack that plays in my head. There is not one minute of my day that is not permeated by music. Be it my favorite artists' music playing from the CD player while I hum along as I work, or my own hands running across the keyboard, trying to do justice to Beethoven or Chopin, to a musical in the DVD player, or even just a song running constantly in my head... Music. All Day, Every Day.

And all my friends, when they drop by
can drop a quarter down
and hear Robert Johnson's cry
A flood of memories
come wave by wave
carried by the voice
inside the jukebox
on my grave


This is what I want... when I die, no mourning. Come by and visit me, plug some silver into that monument to the sounds that my heart beat to when I was on this earth... No sad marble angels. Just a neon-lit jukebox filled with voices that nudge those memories of our times together to the forefront of your mind and make you smile.

Once again, Ellis Paul has worked magic with his nimble fingers and melodic croon. What an anthem to the soul that loves music...
8)
“Life has got a habit of not standing hitched. You got to ride it like you find it. You got to change with it. If a day goes by that don't change some of your old notions for new ones, that is just about like trying to milk a dead cow.” -Woody Guthrie

madwoof
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Postby madwoof » Mon Feb 05, 2007 8:59 pm

I would love a jukebox on my grave as well. And you can be sure it will be filled with Ellis tunes. :D

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KarenZ
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Postby KarenZ » Tue Feb 06, 2007 7:55 am

Thanks Dana for tossing out this week's SOTW.

"Jukebox" is a perfect song - perhaps because Ellis Paul was simply the instrument in bringing it to earth. He says it was one of those songs that just "came" to him in a matter of minutes. I've heard several songwriters say they believe songs are out there somewhere in the ether....and anyone is open to receiving them. Thnakfully for us, our EP is a song magnet. :)

I love how the cast of characters in the lyrics changes just like on a real jukebox...(except for when Johnny Cash sings "boy named Sue".) ;) Love when the jukebox spins Barry Manilow, though. That would be B1 on the jukebox. :)

"Jukebox" is a love song to music. Simple. Sincere. Beautiful. Like love, you want to wrap yourself in the feelings it evokes...and for 3 minutes the song does just that.

What a great song.

KarenZ
"Some people are born to make great art and others are born to appreciate it. It is a kind of talent in itself, to be an audience, whether you are the spectator in the gallery or you are listening to the voice of the world's greatest soprano. Not everyone can be the artist. There have to be those who witness the art, who love and appreciate what they have been privileged to see." -- Ann Patchett in Bel Canto.

paddyinthepub
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Postby paddyinthepub » Tue Feb 06, 2007 10:32 am

Love this song. I especially love the way Ellis lets you know about the music that resides within. It's cool that he can change the lyrics when he sings it LIVE, from one influential song or artist to another.

It's surprising to learn today that this song came so easily to Elllis. It does happen that way sometimes, for example, with the song Yesterday by the Beatles. Paul has often told the story about waking up and the song almost writing itself in about 20 minutes.

I must say, upon initially hearing this song the first several times, that I thought Ellis might actually be serious about the Jukebox being placed upon his grave. You know, crazy as it sounds, it would be cool. So naturally I asked Ellis if it was something he needed to put down in writing. You know, last will and testament type documentation. His response was to chuckle, and say, Nah, but it would be cool. It was then that I knew Ellis had done it again. I like it when he fools me that way. Just so believable when he sings it, I thought for sure he meant every word.

To hear him say in concert recently that he should have titled the song:

Ipod On My Grave :lol: Just cracks me up. He said you'd get more songs and digital quality. This song is a testament to what music has meant to Elllis. I'm grateful for such a song. It reminds me how important music can be in someone's life. Like mine. I just love the way Ellis shares his love of music in this song. 8)
"once we're inside, it's a carnival ride" ~ ellis paul
paddy

Patti
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Postby Patti » Tue Feb 06, 2007 11:29 am

This is another great song and speaks to the music lover in all of us. My dad was a music lover of gigantic proportions!! When he passed away we put some tapes of his favorite music (opera) in his casket and told him "just in case there is a cassette player where is going!!" On his tombstone there are three symbols... A cross, (he was Catholic) the lamp of knowledge (he was an educator) and a some musical notes, ( he was a lover of music)...

He passed away long before the IPods were invented or the internet was common place but he was always on the cutting edge of music technolgy...He sure would have had a blast with all the music that would have been at his fingertips today :)

Richard + Jela
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Postby Richard + Jela » Thu Feb 08, 2007 3:38 am

If my memory serves me correctly I first heard this song sung live, Passims Dec 2004 and it struck me immediately.

The very first thing it brought to mind was the grave (stone) of a musician, Ollie Halsall, who died of an overdose in 1992. His gravestone in Deia, Majorca has a very simple inscription 'Ollie Halsall 1949 - 1992' and is 'decorated' with buttons like you have on an electric guitar.

In 1996, we had stayed in Deia for a short holiday and visited the graveyard because the writer, Robert Graves, is buried there so found the musician's gravestone purely by accident. At the time it just struck me that it was a very appropriate memorial for a musician, and I can't listen to 'Jukebox' without thinking of it.

If you are interested in seeing some detail about him - here's a link which has a photo of the stone.

Ollie Halsall

I've since heard the song sung live a few times and I, like others, love the way that Ellis changes the lyrics to fit the occasion for example when he played Cheltenham, England he sang 'Brian Jones' as he'd visited the grave of the former Rolling Stone and at this last New Year, he sang 'James Brown' in memory of the singer who passed away on Christmas day.

'Jukebox' is one of my favourites.

Jela

wendy
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Postby wendy » Thu Feb 08, 2007 7:51 am

To me this is a lullaby. It has that lovely, lilting cadence that makes you want to settle down to listen... and, as with all EP songs, you are never disappointed with the words!
Yup, a lullaby for "sleeping" musicians and those who love their music...
Great song.
-wendy

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KarenZ
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Postby KarenZ » Thu Feb 08, 2007 9:15 am

Jela,

Thanks for sharing that wonderful memory (and the link to the picture of Ollie's headstone) with us.

KarenZ
"Some people are born to make great art and others are born to appreciate it. It is a kind of talent in itself, to be an audience, whether you are the spectator in the gallery or you are listening to the voice of the world's greatest soprano. Not everyone can be the artist. There have to be those who witness the art, who love and appreciate what they have been privileged to see." -- Ann Patchett in Bel Canto.


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