The Ballad of Lucy Jordan

"The Ballad of Lucy Jordan" is a song by American poet and songwriter Shel Silverstein. It was originally recorded by Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show, with the name spelled "Jordon". The song describes the disillusionment and mental deterioration of a suburban housewife, who climbs to a rooftop "when the laughter grew too loud".

"The Ballad of Lucy Jordon"
Single by Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show
B-side"Make it Easy"
Released1974
Length3:53
LabelCBS
Songwriter(s)Shel Silverstein
Producer(s)Ron Haffkine
Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show singles chronology
"Life Ain't Easy"
(1973)		 "The Ballad of Lucy Jordon"
(1974)		 "The Millionaire"
(1975)

Marianne Faithfull version
"The Ballad of Lucy Jordan"
Single by Marianne Faithfull
from the album Broken English
B-side"Brain Drain"
Released26 October 1979 (1979-10-26)
Recorded
  • May–July 1979
  • Matrix Studios, London
GenreNew wave
Length4:09
LabelIsland
Songwriter(s)Shel Silverstein
Producer(s)Mark Miller Mundy
Marianne Faithfull singles chronology
"The Way You Want Me To Be"
(1978)		 "The Ballad of Lucy Jordan"
(1979)		 "Broken English"
(1980)

Background

The song was recorded by the English singer Marianne Faithfull for her 1979 album Broken English. This version was released as a single in October 1979, and became one of her highest-charting songs. It is featured on the soundtracks to the films Montenegro, Tarnation and Thelma & Louise. Faithfull also performed the song during a guest appearance in the episode "Donkey" from the fourth season of Absolutely Fabulous, in which God (Faithfull) sings the song in a dream to a miserable, dieting Edina. In 2016, the Faithfull version was used in the finale of American Horror Story: Hotel.

In an interview on ITV's The South Bank Show aired on 24 June 2007, Faithfull said that her interpretation was that Lucy climbs to the rooftop but gets taken away by "the man who reached and offered her his hand" in an ambulance ("long white car") to a mental hospital, and that the final lines ("At the age of thirty-seven she knew she'd found forever / As she rode along through Paris with the warm wind in her hair ...") are actually in her imagination at the hospital.[1] Thelma and Louise has a similar fatalistic theme.[2]

Charts
Chart (1979–80) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[3] 18
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[4] 2
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[5] 7
France (SNEP)[6] 17
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[7] 19
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[8] 20
South Africa (Springbok Radio SA Top 20) 4
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[9] 5
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[10] 48
West Germany (Official German Charts)[11] 5

Other cover versions

References
  1. Podcast The South Bank Show Archived 14 August 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  2. Bernie Cook, Thelma & Louise live!
  3. "Australian-charts.com – Marianne Faithfull – The Ballad of Lucy Jordan". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 15 April 2016.
  4. "Austriancharts.at – Marianne Faithfull – The Ballad of Lucy Jordan" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 15 April 2016.
  5. "Ultratop.be – Marianne Faithfull – The Ballad of Lucy Jordan" (in French). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 15 April 2016.
  6. "Lescharts.com – Marianne Faithfull – The Ballad of Lucy Jordan" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved 15 April 2016.
  7. "Nederlandse Top 40 – Marianne Faithfull" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 15 April 2016.
  8. "Charts.nz – Marianne Faithfull – The Ballad of Lucy Jordan". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 15 April 2016.
  9. "Swisscharts.com – Marianne Faithfull – The Ballad of Lucy Jordan". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 15 April 2016.
  10. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 15 April 2016.
  11. "Offiziellecharts.de – Marianne Faithfull – The Ballad of Lucy Jordan". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 21 May 2019.
  12. Per Magnusson (22 September 2017). "Kikkis självhjälpscountry urstark" (in Swedish). Aftonbladet. Retrieved 31 March 2018.
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