`A bloody funny nun you are'. So went a line in Jake's song `Sister Josephine about a bloke who dressed as a nun to escape the law. a bloody funny man he was who sang it .I remember the next to closing line for its perfect cadence.
`No longer will the cloister toilet seat stand upright.'
Jake popped up on various shows as I was growing up with very clever narrative songs sung to his own guitar. He had a distinctive baritone voice and broad Yorkshire accent which led critics to title him the British Jacques Brel or Georges Bressons and it was true that he had a lot in common with those chansonniers. To me he was a witty funny dry and personable northern version of Noel Coward.
Jake had the wordplay of Coward without Sir Noel's effeminate quality.When Noel sang `Matelot' it sounded slightly sleezy. I couldn't imagine Jake in a dressing gown being all louche. Not at all. And amid all his funny songs were some heartbreakingly lovely ones too. Jake died in 2002.A poet in song.And a bloody funny one at that.
No comments:
Post a Comment