Greetings!
Today I decided to pay tribute to (in my opinion) one of the greatest Rainbow songs – “Jealous Lover”. The idea came up to me last night before going to sleep – I was just listening to the playlist I have on my phone and this song was the last one I played before falling asleep. Needless to say, it’s a song I’ve known for many years and a song I truly love and appreciate. Besides, as much as we all love Ronnie James Dio (oh hell yeah, we all just adore him, I know…), I wanted to remind some of you guys about Joe Lynn Turner who also possesses extraordinary vocal abilities and who also performed and wrote great songs such as “Jealous Lover” and many more awesome songs during his Rainbow days, after the departure of Dio. He is indeed, one of the finest voices of rock music and with just one listen of this song we can understand why – he’s beyond talented.
Before getting into it, I just wanted to introduce some background information about the song. “Jealous Lover” was released as a part of a four-track, same-titled EP, back in 1981. Among the songs from the EP, the title song “Jealous Lover” received the most recognition and turned into a fan-favorite. The friendly, unobtrusive but yet solid-rock sound, the lyrics and the vocal performance were just a few of the reasons why this song received a tremendous airplay on AOR radios back in the day. Both Joe Lynn Turner and Ritchie Blackmore are credited as writers of this song – great collaboration between those two right there! Interesting fact, the song runs for 3 minutes and 10 seconds and was recorded on Ritchie Blackmore’s birthday – so it does have some spiritual significance and was destined to succeed, I guess. “Jealous Lover” reached 13 on Billboard, however the EP didn’t performed that well, unfortunately – it only got to #147 on Billboard top 200 albums and honestly I can understand why. The song also features in their greatest collection album.
Furthermore, it is said that vocalist Joe Lynn Turner wrote the lyrics himself for about 5 minutes in a “flash of inspiration” – (I wish I have those…). According to www.songfacts.com, Joe was arguing with the lead guitarist – Mr. Blackmore over a different song. During their fight, Joe thought about a recent quarrel he had with his girlfriend and immediately took a pencil, a piece of paper and wrote the song in an instant. I guess it’s true what they say – some inspirations may be sudden, but they never come without a reason.
In terms of lyrics, the title of the song pretty much sums it up all – it’s about a lover being too jealous to understand the truth and who only sees “black and white”. There is no gender-specification in the lyrics, so anyone can interpret in based on their own situation, relationship or person of interest. The lyrics are very straightforward, catchy, captivating and easy to sing with. In my opinion, the words also manage to create a perfect balance between simplicity and sophistication – especially in the last verse –“… In the day it’s the same, the faces and the names, how long can I go on playing this game, so I live for the night, salt and the lights, to really love you and tomorrow they might…”
What else can I say? – It’s an awesome song and Joe performed it so brilliantly! I’m absolutely inlove with his voice! The guitar riffs remind me a lot about Led Zeppelin and some early Deep Purple works – not so disturbing or perplexed, rather familiar and receptive.
Lyrics:
Lost and lonely, clouds hide the sun
Out on a highway, it’s all you can run
Cold empty nights, devils in my head
It’s something I’ve been, oh baby something you said
And it’s hard to discover
That you’re just another jealous lover
And it’s so tough to take
That you’re making no mistake jealous lover
Oh girl don’t want no other
Shades of red, eyes of green
She’s got me waiting, there’s no in between
Ask me no questions, I’ll tell you no lies
Still you keep thinking that it’s all paradise
And it’s hard to discover
You’re like any other jealous lover
And you say I’m afraid
That you’re making no mistake, oh
In the day it’s the same, the faces and the names
How long can I go on playing this game
So I live for the night, salt and the lights
To really love you and tomorrow they might
But it’s hard to face
No one else tales your place jealous lover
And they say that’s the breaks
But I got what it takes jealous lover, oh
I’m a jealous lover
Jealous lover
Don’t need no, don’t need no, don’t need no other
Jealous lover, yeah
Jealous lover, oh
Jealous lover.
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P.S I do not own any audio or visual material in this publication. All the credits go to the owners or publishers.
Credits:
“Jealous Lover” by Rainbow, retrieved from http://www.songfacts.com
“Jealous Lover” [Blackmore / Turner] LYRICS by Rainbow, retrieved from http://www.azlyrics.com
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