Chris Reali

Jefferson Lament”

In late-August 1991, I boarded a plane with my brother, J.P., and we set off for a four month gig near Nagasaki, Japan. We were hired as “street performers” to work at a cultural theme park called Holland Village where we played four sets per day, six days a week. It was a 9-5 job where played tunes by the Beatles, Bob Dylan, Jim Croce, the Grateful Dead, Paul Simon, the Kingston Trio, and others for Japanese tourists. Over the course of our stay, we amassed a rather lengthy repertoire list. After getting back to NY in early 1992, we spent a good deal of our time playing, listening, and trying to figure out what to do next. We eventually started doing shows in New York City, performing in a style similar to acoustic Hot Tuna: mostly blues (Piedmont and Delta) with a few originals. J.P. primarily did all the finger picking and slide guitar work, while I played rhythm guitar and electric bass. We were playing songs by Rev. Gary Davis, Bo Carter, Willie McTell, and Blind Blake, but I was also closely listening to songwriters like Lyle Lovett and Tom Waits, artists who were clearly influenced by the blues but not beholden to the “traditional” styles. I wanted to write songs rooted in the blues that also reflected my numerous musical influences.

By the fall of 1992 something clicked in my songwriting process, and I was able to write quite a few tunes, many of which I still perform. “Jefferson Lament” was written on December 14th and 15th, 1992. The song title, some of the imagery, and characters were influenced by my obsession with William Faulkner, especially The Sound and the Fury. I don’t recall how I came up with the guitar part, but I was likely just messing around with the open G tuning when the riff just emerged. Because of the intimacy of “Jefferson Lament,” I have only been played the song in public a handful of times since noisy bars don’t always provide the right vibe. Maybe now that the song is out in the world, I’ll start playing it more…