Music Review: Kool & the Gang "Jones Vs. Jones"

Kool & the Gang

Jones Vs. Jones

Album: Celebrate! 

Year: 1981

          James “J. T.” Taylor officially ends his marriage in the adoring  “Jones Vs. Jones.”

           A soft keyboard opens the single, setting a devoted tone. The peas land on the floor. He puts his head down and for a second and asks his daughter to get him some more napkins. His wife (well soon-to-be ex wife) wouldn’t have let this happen. She could keep one eye on the kids and whatever else she was doing. At 8 pm, she knocks at his door. When he opens it, she glares at him and steps inside, calling for the kids. She opens her arms wide to them and kisses them, asking them how their day was. It’s as though he’s not even there. He realizes she’s hurting. He kisses his kids goodbye and nods to her. However, she simply stares at him and leaves, adjusting their son’s coat on the way out. (“ We don't feel like talking/There's nothing to be said/I guess it's just confusion/Rolling 'round our heads/Still, we know there's love here/The hardest part of all, babe/It breaking up and out.”)

           In the chorus, he says they both have to move on with their lives. He thought he would return to live with his family again. The talk with children left him in tears once it was over. (“So here is where we let go/So here is where we step out/The hardest part of all, babe/It breaking up and out.”)

           The first five years of their marriage was wonderful. They had date nights and talked all the time. Then, slowly, it as though their lives became separate. On his lunch break, he calls back his lawyer. He said to stop his office to fill out the paperwork. He tells him he will be there after work. Just like that, one signature erases ten years of his life. (“We had a love so strong/Tell me, where did we go wrong/'Cause I received a notice/They called me on the phone/To come and sign the papers/Of Jones vs. Jones.”)

        In the bridge, he says their relationship is over. There is no chance of a reconcilation. (“Gone are the days of me and you/Me and you.”)

         They were once both on each other’s side. But the last year of their marriage was a constant fight. He remembers how they used it to be. He didn’t ever think she would file for a divorce. She kept telling him he wasn’t listening to her and that he didn’t understand. His responses of “let me try” were usually shut down. (“You believed in me once/Girl, I believed in you/And, and woman/Love's so beautiful/Still we know there's lovin'/We just can't work it out/When the hardest part of all, babe/It breaking up and out.”)

         Part of the chorus ends the single. (“So here is where we let go/So here is where we step out.”)

           Taylor’s longing vocals wishes for his old life. With downcast eyes, he tells her to call her off the proceedings. But she has given up on him. Nonethless, he promises to remain on good terms with her and not to interfere in any of her relationships.

               Jones Vs. Jones is a creative title for a breakup song. The court case doesn’t give it away. It could very well be about anything. There’s a finality by mentioning the paperwork involved. It’s actually done and once he signs his name, he’s single again.

             The dulcet “Jones Vs. Jones” hopefully will find love again. In the meantime, though, it will need a shoulder to bawl on during the bad days.