Jessie (song)


"Jessie" is a song by American artist Joshua Kadison. It was released in May 1993 as the debut lead single from the album, Painted Desert Serenade, but did not become a hit in continental Europe until 1994 and not until 1995 in the United Kingdom. The song was a Top 10 hit in Austria, Denmark, the Netherlands and New Zealand. In an 1994 interview with Los Angeles Times, Kadison told about the song, "It's a song that a lot of people can relate to. Everybody's heart has been broken by somebody they'll always love. That's what this song is about.. It taps into a feeling that's buried in so many people."

Content

The song describes the narrator's tumultuous relationship with a woman named Jessie. The person named Jessie in this song was rumoured to be Sarah Jessica Parker, with whom Kadison was involved at the time. This has never been confirmed, and it has also been pointed out that Parker has never been known to be called "Jessie" or own a cat named Moses. In 1997, she married actor Matthew Broderick.

Critical reception

The song received positive reviews from music critics. AllMusic editor Bryan Buss noted that "Jessie" is "about the searching title heroine and the hopeful, needing narrator who gets sucked into her longing, he paints vivid portrayals of troubled and hopeful dreamers. With lyrics like "Jessie, paint your pictures/'bout how it's gonna be/by now I should know better/your dreams are never free," Kadison taps into the wanderer in all of us." Larry Flick from Billboard wrote that Kadison "indulges in a worldly, intelligent brand of storytelling that aims to place him among late luminaries Jim Croce and Harry Chapin. Poignant piano ballad actually is more along the lines of early Billy Joel. Sophisticated, complex production". The Network Forty commented that a "soulful bluesy delivery exemplifies the main strength of newcomer Joshua Kadison, who reaches new heights with this electrifying piano ballad."

Music video

The music video for "Jessie" was directed by Piers Plowden.

Track listing

;CD single - 1993
  1. "Jessie" - 4:19
  2. "Jessie" - 5:18
  3. "When a Woman Cries" - 3:31
  4. "All I Ever Ask" - 4:39

    Chart performance

Weekly charts

Year-end charts