NORAH JONES- UNDEFINABLE!

Norah Jones- Undefinable!

I would love to think that she needs no further introduction because of her wide popularity but unfortunately, in the Indian subcontinent she is known more by her father’s name, late Pandit Ravi Shankar than by her exceptional talent. Ah, well, in this article I’ll talk about my favorite Norah Jones’ songs which are a must listen to everyone who is into Jazz and Soul music. Norah Jones started her career with the critically accalimed album- ‘ Come away with me’. She won 15 Grammy awards for it! That alone speaks of her talent.  Anyone who has heard her, knows that her voice is undefinable. She is like the warm winter sun shining, like snow falling, like waves touching your feet… Too many similies, I guess. But that’s what you’ll find in her songs. Her songs always have this imagery borrowed from nature, so vivid yet so vague that you can almost imagine yourself in the song. And that is what makes it easier to connect to her songs. The lyrics are so simple yet they touch something deep within you and you are like woah! Is something like this even possible? Well, that’s Norah, lovely and dreamy.

I had thought of giving a list consisting of five songs but it’s impossible to have a list of five songs. So the list has expanded into seven songs.

7- Thinking about You-

Yesterday, I saw the sun shinin’,

And the leaves were falling down softly,

My colds hand needed a warm, warm touch,

And I was thinkin’ about you…..

This song is from Norah’s solo album ‘ Not too late’ realeased in 2006. This song, like most of her song, is very nostalgic. One just can’t help closing the eyes and getting lost in the magic of Norah’s voice.The music is quite exceptional. The special thing about this song is the music differs cosiderably  from Norah’s other songs. There is that ‘jazz’ element that takes one back to the 60s but it is also quite ‘pop’ like.

6-Seven Years-

Spinning,laughing, dancing to

Her favorite song

A little girl with nothing wrong

Is all alone…..

With acoustic guitar and drums softly palying in the back, Norah’s voice touches a discordant note deep inside. This song, to me, looks very autobiographcal in nature, somewhere connected to her childhood. Brooding, sad yet so simply said! That is what is most amazing about her.

5- I don’t miss you at all-

As I sit and watch the snow

Fallin’ down

I don’t miss you at all

I hear children palyin’ laughin’ so loud

I don’t think of your smile….

This song is sooo Jazzy! Electronic piano and her voice that is not that deep, not that high,like a whisper yet so tangible this song really makes you miss the One, the name of the song is just a misnomer! In this song, she is trying hard to hide her loneliness and that she is fine but this all a façade.  ‘ And then I wonder who am I without our warm touch’ reveals her intense loneliness and that she really needs ‘his’ company. Ah, this song really makes you curl in your bed and curse all those whom you don’t want to remember but can’t help remembering.

4- Come Away With Me-

Come away with me in the night

Come away with me

And I will write you a song

 

Come away with me on a bus

Come away where they can’t tempt us

With their lies……

In the album with the same name, this is the song that made Norah. Lovely, this is sung in her trademark way and you can picture yourself in the song. This song is really romantic and you actually want to do all the things mentioned in the songs- to escape to a place where noone can intrude, on a mountain top or fields where the knee length yellow grass grows. This song  is really something.

3- Chasing Pirates-

In your message you said

You were going to bed

But I am not done with the night

So I stayed up and read

But your words in my head

Got me mixed up so I turned out the light

And I, don’t know how

Yo slow it down

My mind’s racing

From chasing pirates…..

This song is from her fourth album- ‘The Fall’ and is very different from the songs that she had been singing. The lyrics are different and the music is more ‘pop’ like than Jazz. Nevertheless, it is my most favorite Jones’s song. You might not get the meaning the first time but when you keep listening to it, you start to love the song and interpret it in your own way.

2- Little Broken Hearts-

Liitle Broken Heartsof the night

Slowly picking up their knives

On the way to the fight

Tonight they want revenge….

This is one of the later songs of Norah and is quite dark. This also marks a shift in her singing. You might not like it on your first listening but gradually, you begin to love it. The music is very different, not only from Norah’s usual music but also from other music that you must have heard. It’s one amazing song that everyone should listen to.

1-   Don’t know Why-

I waited ’til I saw the sun

I don’t know why I didn’t come

I left you by the house of fun

I don’t know why I didn’t come

I don’t know why I didn’t come

 

This song features in the first album- ‘ Come Away with Me ‘. It is number one because of Norah’s voice. It’s so touching and appealing. It’s unlike any other love song and sometimes you even wonder whether it’s a love song or not! She didn’t go to meet Him although she waited but she didn’t.  It is precisely this element that appeals to me- the uncertainity. It has her usual jazz touch, with beautiful music, with her voice- airy, cracking beautifully at  some points, going deep at another point that makes you love and appreciate this piece.

These are just seven songs and there are a lot more amazing songs. Ofcourse, it was a very tough task selecting just seven songs and leaving songs like ‘ Sunrise’ and ‘I think it’s going to Rain today’. Norah Jones shouldn’t be missed at any cost. She is one of the few singers that can help you put to sleep when you are suffering from insomnia, when you are feeling nostalgic, when you are lost in reminiscing and also when you are doing maths!

Deeksha Yadav

A literature kid.

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