Iron & Wine - Jezebel

Artist: Iron & Wine
Album (Year): UNKNOWN! Possibly from his Norfolk live album; this is NOT the version on Woman King!
Title: Jezebel

I like this version a lot more than the Woman King studio recording-- it feels more backwater country, more stripped-down and heartfelt than the brighter studio version with backup singing and so on. Anyway I hope this video stays up here. Enjoy.

A note on the lyrics: I've spent more time trying to figure out the cadence of these lyrics than on any song I can remember. I think the way I've written them is the best way to conserve both their syntax and their cadence. It was complicated for a handful of reasons, including:
- "Who's seen Jezebel?" starts with a bit of a delay on the beat, so at first I thought "Jezebel?" was supposed to be the real beginning of the verse, but the real beginning actually comes just before "Who's seen".
- the first two lines in each of the non-chorus verses are eight beats each, and then there is a pause for four beats! and THEN the third line starts up. anyone writing these verses as four lines is messing them up!
- "Roaming, saying" and "Running, saying" are sung during what is normally a four-beat break between lines (like you have between verses or between the second and third lines of the non-chorus verses), so if i was being really exact i'd put those lines between the end of the verse they terminate and the beginning of the chorus they introduce WITHOUT any empty line breaks, but this wouldn't look so pretty, so i split these between the end of the verse they terminate and the beginning of the chorus they introduce. i think that's probably the best way to do it and still have it look good, but i don't know.
ANYWAY i figured it all out, finally. so here you go.

//

Who's seen Jezebel?
She was born to be the woman I would know
And hold like the breeze half as tight as both our eyes closed

Who's seen Jezebel?
She went walking where the cedars line the road
Her blouse on the ground where the dogs were hungry, roaming

Saying, "Wait,
"we swear we'll love you
"more
"and wholly;"

"Jezebel,
"it's we, we that you are
"for
"only."

Who's seen Jezebel?
She was born to be the woman we could blame
Make me a beast half as brave, I'd be the same

Who's seen Jezebel?
She was gone before I ever got to say
"Lay here my love; you're the only shape I'll pray to, Jezebel."

And who's seen Jezebel?
Will the mountain last as long as I can wait?
Wait like the dawn how it aches to meet the day

And who's seen Jezebel?
She was certainly the spark for all I've done
The window was wide she could see the dogs come running,

Saying, "Wait,
"we swear we'll love you
"more
"and wholly;"

"Jezebel,
"it's we, we that you are
"for
"only."

//

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Education

[Cathifonly]

So beautiful it makes my insides ache...

[geesealyse]

So glad you posted this, this was the first version of this song that I heard somewhere or other and I wanted to find it so bad. I prefer this version to any other, but that's probably because I heard it first.

[mymistresseyes92]

it's not from Norfolk. but it's great, anyway