What happens to the social lives of two people after they’ve broken up? It’s not a topic that’s too often been explored in pop songs. Luckily, James Taylor and JD Souther covered the subject effectively and thoroughly in the 1981 song “Her Town Too”.
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The song suggests that the aftermath can be even more devastating, in its own subtle way, than the event. At least Taylor and Souther offer the hope of new romance on their way out.
JT and JD
It’s not a foregone conclusion that two songwriters of note will have success when thrown together to jointly compose something. Luckily, James Taylor and JD Souther proved simpatico on “Her Town Too”, a Top 10 hit for the pair in 1981.
In some respects, they were both writing on a topic with which they were familiar. Taylor’s marriage to Carly Simon was crumbling at the time. Souther had recently endured a difficult breakup in his own right from Linda Ronstadt.
Yet, to their credit, they delivered a song that sympathizes with a woman who has just gone through the dissolution of a relationship. It’s extremely possible that the two men were actually referencing an entirely different situation than their own, although they certainly could have sprinkled bits of their own experience into the lyrics.
In any case, the compassion that they display is what makes the song so touching. And it’s not only evident in the lyrics. You can hear it clearly in the way those two distinct voices come together throughout “Her Town Too” in bittersweet harmony.
Exploring the Lyrics of “Her Town Too”
“Her Town Too” begins with the protagonist quite literally paralyzed by her new status. “She’s been afraid to go out,” the narrator begins. “She’s afraid of the knock on her door/There’s always a shade of a doubt.”
For whatever reason, she’s enduring the majority of the gossip from commenters on the breakup: “Seems like even her old girlfriends/Might be talking her down.” “She always figured that they were her friends,” the narrator shrugs. “But maybe they can live without her.”
The tradeoff of the break doesn’t seem particularly like a win for either principal. “She gets the house and the garden,” the narrator explains. “He gets the boys in the band.” Nor does the setting help: “Lord knows that this is just a small town city, yes/And everyone can see you fall.”
It’s at this moment, however, that the narrator breaks out from being a passive observer and reveals himself to be someone who knows the couple. And he reaches out to the woman, perhaps with romantic ideas, perhaps just as a friend. “You never know until it all falls down,” he says. “Somebody loves you, somebody loves you.”
Maybe that explains why the narrator had been so insistent throughout the song about claiming, “It used to be her town too.” James Taylor and JD Souther delivered a set of lyrics that doesn’t try to place any blame. But they offer warm solace to a person who might be suffering a bit trying to navigate their new normal.
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