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The Ballad of Lucy Jordan

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"The Ballad of Lucy Jordon"
Dutch release picture sleeve
Single by Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show
B-side"Make it Easy"
Released1974
Length3:53
LabelCBS
SongwriterShel Silverstein
ProducerRon Haffkine
Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show singles chronology
"Life Ain't Easy"
(1973) 		"The Ballad of Lucy Jordon"
(1974) 		"The Millionaire"
(1975)
Official audio
"The Ballad Of Lucy Jordon" on YouTube

"The Ballad of Lucy Jordan" is a song by American poet and songwriter Shel Silverstein. It was originally recorded and released as a single, on the CBS label, in 1974 by Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show, with the name spelled "Jordon". The song also appears on their 1975 compilation album The Ballad Of Lucy Jordon. The song describes the disillusionment and mental deterioration of a suburban housewife, who climbs to a rooftop "when the laughter grew too loud".

Dr. Hook’s version was released as a single in the USA, Canada, the UK and the Netherlands. In the Netherlands, "The Ballad of Lucy Jordan" spent 2 weeks at No. 29 in the Dutch Single Tip during November 1974.[1] Throughout February 1975 for 3 weeks in the UK, the single appeared in unnumbered breakers list.[2]

Charts

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Chart (1974–75) Peak
position
Netherlands (Dutch Single Tip) 29
UK Singles (OCC) -[a]

Marianne Faithfull version

[edit]
"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
Genre
Length4:09
LabelIsland
SongwriterShel Silverstein
ProducerMark Miller Mundy
Marianne Faithfull singles chronology
"The Way You Want Me To Be"
(1978) 		"The Ballad of Lucy Jordan"
(1979) 		"Broken English"
(1980)
Official video
"The Ballad Of Lucy Jordan" at TopPop on YouTube

Background

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The song was recorded by the English singer Marianne Faithfull for her 1979 album Broken English. This version was released as a single, on the Island label, in October 1979, and became one of her highest-charting songs.

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 psychiatric 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.[4]

The official music video for the song features Faithfull alone, smartly dressed and with coiffured hair adorned with ornate golden oak leaves. Shots with her squatting on the floor hugging herself or her standing looking tense, anxious and remote, alternate and overlap with shots of her singing the song, either in full length or in close-up portrait. An alternate promotional 12-minute music video was also created, which was directed by Derek Jarman and features the tracks "Witches Song", "The Ballad of Lucy Jordan" and "Broken English" and features Faithfull walking around the centre of London while the songs play one after another the background - the Broken English segment is interspersed with footage from World War 2.[5][better source needed]

Reception

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During the time of the release of Faithfull’s version, "The Ballad of Lucy Jordan" received a mix of positive and negative reviews by music magazines, critics and newspaper tabloids. One review by the Liverpool Echo says "Marianne has lost none of her touch when it comes to the vocal stakes… Marianne recruited people like Stevie Windwood to play on the backing tracks. The result is pleasant song that should chart if it gets the right airplay."[6]

New Musical Express gave a negative review; "This is not the time or place for a Marianne Faithfull revival, especially one which chooses to cover a ghastly Dr. Hook/Shal Silverstein collaboration. If Ms. Faithfull ever was a torch singer, her batteries are certainly flat".[7]

Smash Hits said, "The Debbie Harry of the sixties returns to vinyl with an honestly outstanding offering, a version of an old Doctor Hook number related over a swimming synthesiser. If you can handle this, it sounds like Dolly Parton produced by Brian Eno. Only better."[8]

The Kilmarnock Standard said "The song is great, considered by many to be one of Shel Silverstein's finest... Marianne has had a rough time since her couple of pop hits in '64 and her Jagger affair. Her acting career has faltered time and time again and I'm afraid I can't hear much hope of success in this production, mainly due to her vocals."[9]

AllMusic noted Faithfull's "faint vocal approach accompanied by the lone synthesizer emanates an eerie candor throughout the song's duration. This wispiness helps to build the fantasy/reality concept of the song, and shows Faithfull at her most sincere."[10] Pitchfork mentioned the, "pain in her fractured voice".[11]

The Arts Desk said, "Pin-sharp, it was laceratingly at one with the dark clouds gathering over music in the wake of punk."[12] Billboard ranked the song number two on its list of the top ten greatest Marianne Faithfull songs.[13]

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"The Ballad of Lucy Jordan" is featured on the soundtracks to the films Montenegro and Thelma & Louise. Thelma and Louise has a similar fatalistic theme.[14] The single was reissued to promote those films. The song also featured on the sountrack for the 2003 film Tarnation.

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.[15]

Personnel

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Charts

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Chart (1979–80) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[17] 48
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[18] 2
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[19] 7
France (SNEP)[20] 17
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[21] 19
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[22] 20
South Africa (Springbok Radio SA Top 20) 4
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[23] 5
UK Singles (OCC)[24] 48
West Germany (GfK)[25] 5

Other versions

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  • 1980: Marie Bottrell, on her album The Star, reached No. 10 on the Canadian Country chart[26]
  • 1995: The Barra MacNeils, on their album The Question, reached No. 50 on the Canadian AC chart[27]
  • 2000: Dennis Locorriere, on his album Out of the Dark (as the singer for Dr. Hook, he performed on the original version of the song)

Notes

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  1. ^ "The Ballad of Lucy Jordan" did not chart in the UK Top 50 Singles chart but spent 3 weeks in the unnumbered Longer List of Breakers.

References

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  1. ^ "Dutch Charts - dutchcharts.nl". www.dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 12 December 2025.
  2. ^ Music Week (PDF). 15 February 1975. p. 57.
  3. ^ MacDonald, Bruno (2016). "Marianne Faithfull - Broken English". In Dimery, Robert (ed.). 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. London: Cassell Illustrated. p. 437.
  4. ^ Podcast The South Bank Show Archived 14 August 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ https://www.facebook.com/mariannefaithfullofficial/videos/the-complete-broken-english-short-film-by-derek-jarman/10150260693685802/
  6. ^ "Liverpool Echo from Liverpool, Merseyside, England". Newspapers.com. 26 October 1979. Retrieved 12 December 2025.
  7. ^ Bell, Max (3 November 1979). New Musical Express (PDF). p. 27.
  8. ^ David Hepworth (14 November 1979). "Singles". Smash Hits. No. 25.
  9. ^ "The Kilmarnock Standard from Kilmarnock, Strathclyde, Scotland". Newspapers.com. 23 November 1979. Retrieved 12 December 2025.
  10. ^ Mike Degagne. "The Ballad of Lucy Jordan". AllMusic.
  11. ^ Lindsay Zoladz. "Broken English: Deluxe Edition". Pitchfork.
  12. ^ Kieron Tyler. "Reissue CDs Weekly: Marianne Faithfull, Françoise Hardy, Pia Fraus". The Arts Desk.
  13. ^ Lynch, Joe (29 December 2021). "Marianne Faithfull Turns 75: Celebrate With Her 10 Best Songs (Critic's Picks)". Billboard. Retrieved 26 November 2024.
  14. ^ Bernie Cook (January 2010), Thelma & Louise live!, University of Texas Press, ISBN 9780292782501
  15. ^ Hanks, A. E. (14 January 2016). "American Horror Story' Season 5 Finale: The Real Lady". New York Times. Archived from the original on 22 April 2023. Retrieved 26 November 2024.
  16. ^ "MOJO Time Machine: Marianne Faithfull Releases Broken English". Mojo. 24 April 2023.
  17. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (Illustrated ed.). Sydney: Australian Chart Book. p. 114. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  18. ^ "Marianne Faithfull – The Ballad of Lucy Jordan" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 15 April 2016.
  19. ^ "Marianne Faithfull – The Ballad of Lucy Jordan" (in French). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 15 April 2016.
  20. ^ "Marianne Faithfull – The Ballad of Lucy Jordan" (in French). Le classement de singles. Retrieved 15 April 2016.
  21. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Marianne Faithfull" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 15 April 2016.
  22. ^ "Marianne Faithfull – The Ballad of Lucy Jordan". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 15 April 2016.
  23. ^ "Marianne Faithfull – The Ballad of Lucy Jordan". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 15 April 2016.
  24. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 15 April 2016.
  25. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Marianne Faithfull – The Ballad of Lucy Jordan" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 21 May 2019.
  26. ^ "RPM Top 75 Country Singles - October 25, 1980" (PDF).
  27. ^ "RPM Top 60 AC - April 8, 1996" (PDF).
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