Jolene

"Jolene" by Ray LaMontagne

"Jolene" by Ray LaMontagne is a song from one of his first albums, "Trouble". The song gained a lot of popularity for obvious reasons. It is simply just so good. The tune, the sound of the guitar, the sound of his voice, and the powerful lyrics all contribute to the well deserved fame. "Jolene" starts with powerful lines right off the bat. The first three lines are "Cocaine flame in my bloodstream/Sold my coat when I hit Spokane/Bought myself a hard pack of cigarettes in the early morning rain" The first line I think is the most powerful. Right at the beginning of the song it brings you to a place where you have to think about what had happened recently. We know it is negative because of the strong drug, and we know it happened recently because it is still in his blood. This is poetry because we took one line and analyzed it to think about what happened. Since it is about a girl, we can determine she has affected him. This is one powerful line of many, which is how most poems are. Ray LaMontagne emphasizes the negative affects this girl had on him, but also how he still loves her so much. Negatively, he sings "I found myself face down in the ditch/Booze on my hair/Blood on my lips" and then later, on a more touching note about how he may have lost her, he sings, "Held you in my arms one time/Lost you just the same/Jolene" It is clear that he is very touched by this woman. This is poetry because with very meaningful words, we are able to build a story out of it. "Jolene" is poetry in every way.