4 “Jane” Songs That Are Anything but Plain

There’s something about a song with a person’s name in the title that draws the attention of the listener even before they hear a note. Songwriters often use these songs to create profound character sketches.

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The name “Jane” has popped up in several excellent songs over the years. Here are four that belong in the “name-song” Hall of Fame.

“Queen Jane Approximately” by Bob Dylan

Even when he was going electric, Bob Dylan still composed songs of eloquent longing and deep emotion. “Queen Jane Approximately” appears on Highway 61 Revisited. It features extremely pretty music, with Paul Griffin’s fluttering piano and Dylan’s impassioned harmonica gaining special distinction. The “Jane” in this song sounds a little like the antiheroine of “Like A Rolling Stone”. Only in this case, her numerous travails and humiliations haven’t yet occurred. Dylan’s narrator is also much more sympathetic in this one, offering a haven to Jane when all goes wrong for her.

“Sweet Jane” by The Velvet Underground

The Velvet Underground always operated on a volatile edge. That explains how “Sweet Jane”, arguably the closest thing to a signature song that they have, helped to cause their ultimate implosion. Lou Reed, who wrote the song, complained about the mix and that it was edited down without his permission. “Sweet Jane” came out at a time when the band was desperate for something resembling a hit, which might explain why it was truncated. Yet even in its shortened form, the song shows off Reed’s signature combination of deadpan acidity and unexpected sweetness. But he was gone from the band by the time it started making the rounds on the 1970 album Loaded.

“Jane” by Jefferson Starship

Point to any random time in the history of Jefferson Airplane/Jefferson Starship/Starship, and you’re bound to discover some turmoil. Freedom At Point Zero, released in 1979, arrived after the departure of Grace Jones and Marty Balin from the band. Balin had dominated their sound during the previous few years with his ballads. But with new lead singer Mickey Thomas in tow, the band decided to cut loose and rock out a little bit. Written by band members David Freiberg and Jim McPherson, “Jane” finds Thomas belting out his pleas to the titular girl around a bouncy piano riff and stinging lead guitar from Craig Chaquico. The song crashed the Top 10 for this iteration of Jefferson Starship in 1979.

“Fulton County Jane” by Brandi Carlisle

The Americana community already had known about Brandi Carlisle’s brilliance for a while. But the 2018 album By The Way, I Forgive You gave her a strong foothold in the mainstream. “Fulton County Jane Doe” is one of the reasons why. Although credited to Carlisle and brothers Phil and Tim Hanseroth, the song came primarily from an idea by Phil. He based the song on an actual Jane Doe case in Georgia, as an unidentified woman was found beaten to death. In the song, the narrator identifies with the woman’s plight and also insists there was a time when she was more than just a crime statistic. With Carlisle’s vocals guiding the way, the song comes off as both unbearably tragic and subtly uplifting all at once.

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