NEW unreleased song: Jon Foreman - "Somebody's Baby"
Previously unheard. Painfully poignant. Unsparingly honest. A song that Jon played at the aftershow in Asheville on 3/18/07 (he also played it at Charleston on 3/17).
Introduction: (cleaned up--the irrelevant ums and uhs removed--to make it an easier read)
"I saw this woman this one night and she was brushing her teeth, [she was] this homeless lady down by the beach, and I was walking on the beach late at night. And I remember thinking that brushing your teeth when you're homeless must be a real act of hope, and a real act of courage, y'know: just the fact that there's--you're gonna make it through the night and--the need to take care of your teeth, y'know? And I just remembered thinking to myself, um, y'know it kind of bothered me all night and, that's when I wrote this song."
Lyrics:
she screams. she screams, well if you're homeless, sure as hell you'd be drunk, high or trying to get there, or begging for junk. when people don't want you, they just throw you money for beer.
her name's November, she went by autumn or fall, it's been 7 long years since the autumn when all of her nightmares grew fingers and all of her dreams grew tears.
she says, well if you've never gone it alone, well you go ahead, do better, throw the first stone, you got one lonely stoner, waiting, brings you her knees.
she dreams about heaven, remembering hell, the place that she visits and knows all too well, every now and again when she's hopeful, she brushes her teeth.
today was her birthday, strangely enough when the cops found the body at the foot of a bluff the anonymous caller explored and tipped off the police. they got her ID from the dental remains claimed fully intact, with the same nicotine stains... [cuts off]
*speechless*
[Credits: Taped by Vicky, for switchFeed. Lyrics transcribed by Vicky and Gellie, with minor corrections by Phil. Introduction transcribed by Phil, corrected by Gellie.]
wow. I'm also feeling a little speechless. It's amazing the way Jon Foreman can look at people the way most people don't and then put that so powerfully into words.
I feel kind of ashamed of myself after listening to this song.
@jill, i second that. It amazes me how i can live in my bubble, selfish and unaware, that the things i really don't want to hear, are really and truly happening, every day. And the living is a whole lot worse than the hearing. On a lighter note, this is going to sound absolutely ridiculous, but i really really love brushing my teeth. p.s. how are you, phil?
@sarah i'm doing better, thanks for asking. a song like this is inspiring because it makes my troubles seem like nothing. like jill said, it makes me feel a little ashamed.
Also after it cuts off: I remember Jon singing something like the nicotine stains matched her dental record. And also, why do you have Dental Remains capitalized? ; ) Further in the song I recall Jon saying "There was no one to grieve her birth or death" Which is really saddening..grieve her birth? But she didn't have a family that cared, it seems. And you can go further with that, but I just thought I'd add this bit! (He sang it in Charleston for us)
@emily haha vicky capitalized it for some reason and i somehow didn't notice - but i just fixed it. thanks. and i think "grieve her birth" could be referring to the fact that she probably would've been better off had she not been born. thanks for those additions - i don't think i'll add it to the post though, since it's not on the video. you're lucky to have been there when he sang it. i'm definitely requesting this the next time i get the chance.
This song kinda reminds me of an essay written by Anne Frank called Give. Where she says there is no difference in poor and rich. People are just people and deserve the same treatment. Both of these things are so powerful in their message.
who else thinks she might've been raped/abused (and maybe killed too) by the anonymous caller? she seems to be someone who gave her body away for money, too, if you look at the lines "when people don't want you, they just throw you money for beer". and the anonymous caller "explored" and tipped off the police. explored..what?
'Anonymous' caller could make you think that she was killed by someone, but I think she committed suicide. Just look at the description of her life. Also it was on her birthday she died. She probably did that on purpose. For 7 long years she had a life in which, yeah, she was probably abused or raped like you said Phil, and could have been a prostitute or stripper in a club: "they threw her money for beer." So on her birthday, all alone, I can see her just finally giving up hope after spending it alone for the 7th time (or more). "When she's hopeful, she brushes her teeth," she did have hope...but maybe she just had enough of this life. "She dreams about heaven." Maybe about going there by killing herself, or maybe on the flip side simply just thinking of better days...
Hmmm, when he said "throwing money for beer" I thought of the homeless people that sit by the side of the road and people hand (throw) them money. You never know what they'll spend it on, but she (the woman in the song) probably wanted/needed to drown her life away and bought beer to dull the pain.
the asheville concert was 3/18/07 not 3/17....lol anyway... I <3 this song..i was very close to crying simply b/c of the sheer truth and poignancy of the lyrics...i mean any girl who has been lost and thrown her life away...is "somebody's baby girl still."
That is a good point, Daisy! I like that. I thought of it as her working in a club or bar and (drunk) men throw her money for beers (for them to continue to drink). I think the way "throw" is used further illustrates that no one really, truly cares about her personally. They just carelessly throw the money at her for whatever reason you interpret it as being.
@daisy that's what i was thinking too, though the bar/stripper idea did cross my mind, even before emily mentioned it, though i decided to stick to the idea of it being people throwing money at her begging bowl on the roadside.
@emily i don't know if a homeless person would ever hold a job in a bar, whether as waitress or stripper. i mean, they wouldn't be homeless otherwise, ya know?
I dunno...somehow that last line hits me the hardest...the 'they got her ID from her dental remains claimed fully intact, with the same nicotine stains.' it just, to me is so sad that this woman was so alone, nobody there to I guess...'claim' her. I don't think anyone deserves that. And yet again, I'm amazed at Jon's ability to take something so seemingly insignificant, and put it into perspective. It makes me feel privilaged to have a brush and toothpaste at my command...when before, I would never have considered it to be unavailable to me I think what I was trying to say was...it's beautiful, thanks for getting it, translating it, and putting it up. I'm sad, but it made my day, if that makes sense I think Im going to go brush my teeth now, to see if it feels any different...
And I tend to agree with the 'money being thrown at her for beer' and its relation to her selling herself...the line 'all of her nightmares grew fingers and all of her dreams grew tears' seems to fit with that too...the fingers part, if you take it literally.
I remember in San Diego that there was a homeless lady named Ruth.She was not well in the head, but this song reminds me of her. The lady in this story is a painful reminder of how much we are stuck inside of ourselves.
I was there. when he sang the song I felt as if I wanted to cry....you can see my hand! anyways....I liked hearing a new song that was realy meaningful, ya know? even though most of the songs Jon writes are meaningful!
1) "throwing money at her for beer." I don't think she's a stripper or works at a club. In my opinion, what it means is that when people give money to the homeless, they assume that the homeless will use it for beer, drugs, etc. That is a higly flawed idea many people hold and I think it stems from another idea, that the homeless are homeless b/c they are lazy, unwilling to work. We don't acknowledge the fact that homelessness is problem of the economy and society, which produces homelessness. Instead, we view homelessness as a problem to the economy and sociey. pretty ironic huh? I wont' get into specific facts and figures but I learned it all in Equities Studies at the University of Toronto. That course is simly amazing! it uncovers so much of history that i never learned before. If you guys ever have a chance to take a similar course, i suggest you take it. you will walk out with a different view of the world. you'll learn to look at things so differently from what the media, the governement, or even our education system tells us. what i'm about to say isn't related to jon's song but anyways, you know how some companies now have "flesh coloured bandages" ...but I ask, whose flesh colour? makes you think huh? and you know the dove's real beauty campaigns? first of all, their research (or what they're telling us) is highly flawed. Why? cause they went around asking women if they felt "beautiful" but if some women decides to say "i feel attractive/pretty" or whatever, they won't include it. they only went by the word "beautiful".and second of all, their whole campagain reinforces the idea that woman have to depend on their looks. i guess smarts don't matter. =S anyways moving on... I'm not sure if she committed suicide. I don't think she will. I mean, why would she take care of her teeth only to kill herself? brushing her teeth to me symbolizes some sort of hope and strength and it doesn't make sense that she'll commit suicide. I don't know. this one if though. I think she either got killed or somehow starved to death or maybe froze to death? I don't know how cold it gets in san diego (im assuming Jon saw her in SD. I think maybe the name november has some meaning? maybe it symbolzes that it's winter? so she might have just froze from the cold? hehe I don't know. I'm just assuming things.
"somebody's baby girl she's somebody's baby still..." to me...this means that society views the lives of certain people as not as significant as others. if a homeless person dies, then so be it. no one really cares. we values some lives over the lives of others. sad but true. why is that?
"all of her nightmares grew fingers and all of her dreams grew tear" this is my favourite line. I'm speechless.
The song reminds me of 'Cast Away' by The One AM Radio - it's got this beautiful chorus:
And every night you dream Of the same underwater scene, Where you nearly made your peace, But then the silence suddenly ceased, And placed by an unseen hand, You were brought back to the tumult of land...
Dunno - just reminds me of it because of the similar sense of despair in both songs. Great song, although the repetition of the chords kinda got to me a little. There's just more that can be done with it is all.
By the way, I've been hearing of all these "aftershows" - do the guys do it at every location? I'm curious because I'm seeing them next week, and if the answer is yes, then I'll be crapping my pants :p
hey am! I'm not sure but I think they do it..or at least they try their very best to. If you can find a coffee shop nearby, then Im pretty postive jon would be happy to do an aftershow there (unless they're really in a hurry to leave). if there isn't a coffee shop neearby (Which was what happened in toronto) some guy gave his guitar to Jon and Jon played a mini aftershow for us. In the COLD! isn't he amazing! such a cool guy.
anyhoo you should definitely stay after the show to meet the guys anyway even if there isnt an aftershow! hope there will be one though! remember to record a nice clip for us!
Will do - yeah, they have 2 shows in LA, and I'm going the first night, so I'm guessing they're not gonna be in a huge hurry. I'll try to scope out the area beforehand and see what's around.
And I'll be taking my little digicam with 2 gigs of memory for at least 45 mins of recording time exclusively for the aftershow :p
Daisy, Phil... I can definitely see her just sitting at the side of the road with a cup begging for money... "they just throw [her] money for beer." I guess I haven't fully made up my mind about that part.
And Mabel... Yeah I think the setting of this song is in Cali (possibly San Diego or nearby) cause there are steep 'bluffs'/cliffs on the ocean shore there.
What about "Her name's November, she went by autumn or fall." Her name is November probably because she was born in that month. No one cared to creatively name her..? She went by Autumn or Fall (which should probably be capitalized, since referred to as names in the song). Hmm I don't know about this part. Why did she go by these names? She didn't care to correct people when they called her 'close enough' names like Autumn or Fall?
^I never have either, stonelegacy. (technically it's the girl in the song saying it, but) i think it adds to the harsh truth of the statement, and the girl's attitude about her homeless life. Phil - I think the intro, where you wrote that brushing your teeth must be "a real happy chore, and I realized her courage..." I think he actually says, "must be a real act of hope, and a real act of courage, y'know? just the fact that, you're gonna make it through the night and you need to take care of your teeth, y'know?" doesn't really matter, but i'm just a dork, so...
thanks, vicky for the video, and thanks, jon for the song.
sounds like: "she says, well if you've never gone it alone, well you'd go ahead, you'd better throw the first stone. you got one lonely stoner, waiting, to bring to her knees"
I feel like this song evokes so many emotions in me that I don't know how to put into words. I remember a couple of summers ago I was waiting at a train station downtown to meet up with my youth group to help out at the Salvation Army. I remember standing there looking at the homeless walking by and wondering how it was that no one close to them cared enough to help them pick them selves up and put them back on their feet when things went out of control, or that there may have been no one there. It broke my heart. While we were there we watched a video about homelessness and my friend had the relization that if she hadn't had her parents to help her out when things got fincinally difficult, she probably would have been homeless. I think that can be said for another person I was friends with at the time. I think we disconnect our selves emotionally form the homeless because we don't want to see the pain and uglyness that is there. To see that, in all honesty, it's not that difficult of a place to fall. I took an anatomy class, and we had to work with cadavers. I just coudn't handle it at all, all I could see was someones Grandma. People kept telling me to not think of it that way, to disconnect myself enotionally. But it's true, and your lying to yourself it you don't think that person was at one time loved by someone (or I guess, sadly, in the case of this song maybe never at all). I guess I've been thinking alot lately of how judgemental we are, how judemental I am, before we even give a person a chance, before we learn their story. "she says, well if you've never gone it alone, well you go ahead, do better, throw the first stone".
I guess those are my random thoughts on the song so far. I kind of wonder if the name thing has to do with not actually knowing someone. You can give this facad (sp??) of who you are to people so easily, and never let them in. Maybe she didn't have anyone who truly knew her. To make a somewhat dis-jointed connection, it's kind of like on the boards. We all sort of know each other, but not really. I mean how many of those people do you know their actual name? (which is usually the first thing you ask a person when you meet them). Or people at school who have always gone by a nick-name and people don't know their real name, unless they are close to that person. I guess that's my thoughts for now. (Somewhat randomly, sorry)
@mukta And I tend to agree with the 'money being thrown at her for beer' and its relation to her selling herself...the line 'all of her nightmares grew fingers and all of her dreams grew tears' seems to fit with that too...the fingers part, if you take it literally. - very good point. there's a few other things in the lyrics that make me tilt towards that explanation, though i'm hesitant to point it out.
@rachel sure, i'll make an mp3 out of it and let ya'll know when it's posted.
@stonelegacy i don't see what do you mean by that, but i guess you mean the "like hell" part. i don't understand that as cursing, or even if it is, no big deal. either way, technically speaking, jon is quoting the lady. and jon has referred to himself as a "selfish bastard" in a myspace blog in the past. i wouldn't judge him for that. words are just words - merely symbols - it's what you mean by them that counts. it's society that decides what's a "cuss word" and what isn't...and the whole idea is pretty hypocritical, so i don't care for it. but that's just my opinion. and i think it would be a shame if we miss the point or the beauty of the song because jon used a particular word that SOCIETY considers a "cuss word". big deal, it's just a word, ya know? it's what's being communicated that's important.
@emily i don't think "autumn" or "fall" were her names, but i think jon means that, that's how she had a sense of time. she couldn't afford a watch, so she counted the years going by, by observing the seasons. know what i mean? and dontcha think "to bring to her knees" doesn't make as much sense as "to bring you her knees" (as in, to kneel and plead to you)?
@gellie i don't care if that's dorky, but i'm glad you brought up that correction cuz i was unsure about that bit too :) i'll change it now. it's good to have someone around who's dorky in that way :p
@katrina thanks for sharing your thoughts, it was worth reading.
^i know what you mean... but i think that might be a good thing. i personally think "squeaky clean" is overrated, and i'd prefer it more balanced with honesty.
Who cares about the image. I admire people who will put their image or reputation on the line to try and make a difference, to make people care about things they usually don't, to seek answers. The choice of words perfectly fits the song so i don't think its a problem.
ya, I don't think it's a problem either. In this context, I don't think it's a "swear" word. if you tell people to "go to h---" then ya, it's swear word. but here, i don't think it's vulgar in any way. "sure as hell" to me just means "certainty". Since he is a Christian, I suppose he believes in a hell..so sure as hell just means certainly. that's my opinion! =)
I was at the show when he played it in Asheville, and I remember being a little suprised when he said the "sure as hell" line but it didnt bother me. This song was so beautifully tragic, and I just remember driving home thinking how many times I've seen someone on the street and just felt sorry for them and brushed off their actions. I would probably never give a second thought to one of them brushing their teeth or trying to get hope from it. This is one of those songs that for the moment makes you put everything into perspective. It's just too bad that we cant be moved like this every moment of the day. Only someone like Jon would be able to effectively put those emotions into such an amazing song.
He also played another song called "Love is Made" (or something like that), and he prefaced it by saying that he was in Florida recording a song and he was the only one there b/c the studio didnt want to pay to bring the rest of the guys out. So the song was about being alone in this big city without his friends. And I amd still kicking myself for not having extra batteries for my camera to record it.
Hey guys, if he plays "Somebodys baby" at an aftershow in your city, try and write down the last part of the last verse. as mentioned above, it did say something about no one to grieve her birth or her death, but it would be nice to have the full song. Just a thought.
His use of 'hell' doesn't phase me. Not a big deal. It's in context, like stated above.
Moving on...Phil: i don't think "autumn" or "fall" were her names, but i think jon means that, that's how she had a sense of time. she couldn't afford a watch, so she counted the years going by, by observing the seasons. Yeah I get that, that's a really good insight. Also you can see it like: she counts time particularly by each autumn/fall because that's the month her birthday is in (probably?..November is her name..) so she goes by time like that. OR something extremely significant happened "7 long years" ago in autumn/fall. I have a theory on that. Want to discuss? But I'm still partially teetering back to the fact that she goes by Autumn or Fall, like by name.. Not as much as before, though.
dontcha think "to bring to her knees" doesn't make as much sense as "to bring you her knees" (as in, to kneel and plead to you)? Definitely. I didn't think of it that way. Thanks. It just sounded like "to bring to her knees," but hey, it's hard to tell every word, and that does make more sense.
I love all the comments that people are leaving, it's amazing to see how such a simple song, with a few verses can this much discussion.
And in relation to the 'sure as hell' I admit that the first time I read/heard that line, I thought...'he really just said that'...but then I realized that I was more surprised at myself for being surprised...if that makes sense. I don't think it's a bad thing for him to use the word hell, since it's in context, and it's serving it's own lyrical purpose.
After reading all these stories about homeless people, I remembered a story my sister once told me, of this homeless man she saw frequently on the street. He couldn't speak english, and used to sell newspapers. She told me one day that he wasn't there in the morning. And at that point, it seemed sad, and I found myself hoping that he wasn't there because he'd found a place to live or a job...however unlikely that might have been. I didn't think of him again till just now, but it made me realize that we're so careless with the way we feel, and our emotions. We're so busy with our own lives that we're sad/happy/angry for a few moments, and then it's gone. It's sad that we're able to interact with so many people in our lives, but never really get to know them on a personal level. I think it's songs like these that make me realize this the most...it's sad, but it's also amazing to know that there's people out there who feel the same way.
@phil...hesitant why? If you don't mind I'd like to hear them, unless you think they'd be inappropriate, it which case, forget it.
@emily...I think that '7 long years ago' was the time when things went bad for her so to speak. Because right after that line, he goes on to say 'all of her nightmares grew fingers...' From what I get from the song, it didn't always used to be the way it is now for her, escpecially since a main part of the song revolves around her wanting to brush her teeth, something which I doubt she'd place importance on if she hadn't always been homeless or poor.
Mukta I definitely agree that 7 years ago was, at least somewhat, of a turning point in her life. And good point about her brushing her teeth.
Okay here's my theory. I may be the only one who thinks this, but let's give it a try.
Going along with what Mukta and Phil were saying earlier I was thinking about how it seems that this woman was selling herself.. Her body. "They throw [her] money." So if she was selling her body (prostitution?) she could possibly get impregnated, yes? Then "it's been 7 long years since the autumn when all of her nightmares grew fingers and all of her dreams grew tears." Makes me think something significant happened 7 years ago. Why would this event that happened 7 years ago be mentioned if it wasn’t important? So maybe she did get pregnant. That would be a nightmare for someone who could barely provide for herself. So "her nightmares grew fingers" - the fetus growing (fingers) inside her.
At first I didn’t think this, I just figured “all of her nightmares grew fingers and all of her dreams grew tears” was a great visual metaphor depicting how her life seemed to her. Feeling closed in. Tears instead of dreams. But today I thought of this, and maybe it’s farfetched, but I like to speak my mind and I’d like to see what you guys think.
@emily...hmmm...I dunno. It makes sense I guess, but I'm just not sure whether he meant to be as explicit, in terms of actually telling us what happened when he said 7 years ago. In my opinion, he was just commenting that something significant happened then. But on the other hand, I didn't associate fingers with a fetus, but it's a possibility. And I guess if you think about it, the lines 'she's somebody's baby girl' fit in nicely with your theory then...but yeah, it's an interesting idea!
Once again..Jon has amazed me at his wonderful, breathtaking lyrics. This might be a big statement but.. this is probly the best thing I've heard in a while, not saying his other songs are great too. I seriously couldn't talk after reading the lyrics. Jon.. you're stinkin amazing!!
woa. what a fantastic song. very jon foreman-ish. so i think i've figured it out. the first verse is her telling jon (or someone else even) not to judge her. a lot of people think that if you're homeless, then you're a total bum or you are on crack or whatever else. but she's telling us to do better, given her situation. second verse: shes been homeless for 7 years. i liked what you all said about her name. jon, being respectful, gave her a name ulike anyone else. chorus:jon's reminding us that everyone has a name, a family and parents. someone who cared about them at some time. they're still somebody's baby. rest of the song: jon rewords john 8, the story of the prostitute who jesus befriended. the religious leaders were going to stone her. bu jesus said that we've all sinned, so what right do we have to kill her? this lady's been through hell (practically) and all we can do is point out whats wrong with her. and then she died! and they found out who she was by her dental remains. no family respected her after she died. wow...such a cool song.
i think that when jon said "her name is november she went by autumn or fall" the first thing that struck me was the power and significance of having a name. her name. and her name was november. but it's as if she traded it in. she'd settle for less. because november is one specific part of autumn or fall, she had one specific purpose, but she'd go by something more general. she let people call her something less than what she was... just thinking out loud
wow. I'm also feeling a little speechless. It's amazing the way Jon Foreman can look at people the way most people don't and then put that so powerfully into words.
I feel kind of ashamed of myself after listening to this song.