Ian, Janis - Jesse Lyrics

I love this song.

I think this is such a beautiful song...especial this version THANK YOU .....JANIS IAN

By far one of the best song writers of the past 30+ years, this has always been my favourite...

I am here from this show. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wu38L7g_-Ag

heart-wrenching realness in the vocal....true classic love ballad.

Gorgeous. Who does "gorgeous" anymore? I'll wait..........

Jesse, come home, there's a hole in the bed
Where we slept, now it's growing cold
Jesse, your face and the place where we lay
By the hearth, all apart, it hangs on my heart
And I'm leaving the light on the stairs
No, I'm not scared, I wait for you
Hey Jesse, it's lonely, come home

Jesse, the stairs and the halls, recalling
Your step, and I remember too
All the pictures are shaded and fading in gray
And I still set a place at the table at noon
And I'm leaving the light on the stairs
No, I'm not scared, I wait for you
Hey Jesse, it's lonely, come home

Jesse, the spread on the bed, it's like
When you left, I kept it for you
All the blues and the greens have been recently cleaned
And are seemingly new, 
Hey Jess, me and you
Will swallow the light on the stairs
I'll fix up my hair, we'll sleep unaware
Hey Jesse, it's lonely, come home

My 13 year old dog Jessie died of kidney failure July 31, 2018. This song has always spoke to my heart, but now even more so. Now whenever I hear it I cry.

To be fair, no one but Ian should sing this. No one could ever bring it to life as she does, so hauntingly and beautifully and wonderfully oh so sadly.

On a soap opera, the police chief named Jesse, was shot in the line of duty, and, died in the hospiral.
This song played , his wido curled up on the empty hospital bed.

This is true,Miss Ian wrote this utterly beautiful song however Miss Roberta flack out performed and I'm done with it

The most beautiful song ever written and recorded.

This song is drawn from the still waters of the 19th Century Ballads--the songs of sentimentality, songs of laborers, songs of grief...and toil...and longing...

I bought this album when I was 16 or 17. The songs still resonate now and it's been more than 40 years.

Outstanding song. Recently discovered so good many thanks

tears in my eyes. my love will never come home again

I hear the rainy day. I took my daughter to middle school this morning.

She sounds like a sad Julie Andrews but I love it.

Ms Ian sounds soooooo good on vinyl.

Introduced. To janis by my sis never looked back, class. Beautiful artist

Apparently she is singing about her brother who did not return from war. Makes the song even sadder for me....

PAULA, COME HOME.......

I learned to sing and play this on classical guitar at age 16 (that was 1976) and it's been a favorite ever since. It wasn't until now that I learned it's a Janis Ian song. Figures...I love her work!

Listening to this again in 2018.....still as moving and beautiful as when I first heard it many moons ago.

Exquisite

This and Debbie Boone's You Light Up My Life sound so alike ....

What a Fabulous, Unreal Time in My Life, To Be Able to Share My Overnite Party WITH JANIS IAN Herself!!! SOOO TRUE!! Great Artist, ONE Of My Top 5 FABS!!Thank God For This Part of My Life, It Was A Once in a Lifetime Event in My Life ,Such Wisdom in her Songs, Thank You, Hope You Can Visit her Songs

If you haven't heard Janis' "Getting Over You", you've missed the saddest song ever written...

Lisa have you heard Janis sing "Tatoo"? That one is beyond sad.

If I'm not mistaken, Janis's father did the whistling.

Anyone recall seeing the "music video" of this song - from Roberta Flack's TV special? It will always play in my mind as I listen.

Makes me see paintings by Chagall in my mind when I close my eyes. 💛

i wish my jesse would come back

DID NOT KNOW SHE WROTE IT. ALWAYS THOUGHT IT WAS ROBERTA FLACK. VERY NICE.

See true folk music doesn’t need a drum kit, bass etc.. just a guitar and vocals, strings add nice ambience too!

One of the great story tellers

My Jim left me almost a year ago after his body had gone as far as it would take his spirit so this song hits me deep.

Everything Janis writes and sings are filled with poignant words and phrases; this song is no exception, one of her best.

Beautiful Waltz

He think he will be pleased with your thoughts and devotion

Good god, that's like a sucker punch to the chest isn't it? Breathless and quietly sobbing.

Dislike・Hair（　＾ω＾）・・・（♡）　From　Ishiya~n

何か落ち着きますねこの曲

A great voice and a beautiful song xxxxxxxxx 😃😘♥♥♥♥♥♥🎈🎈🎈 love from the u.k

This song is hauntingly beautiful

God I’ve loved this ladies voice forever

I have just recently seen a 1970s, saturday night live show where janis ian was the musical guest...

Jesse there is a hole....

:_e#mmm.because jelpmeat mas)who77th*

know what's out there 4 yuh

he said H@veur wfy

beyond words.....

Cet album est un trésor culturel.

I never tire of this song, it moves me every time I listen to it - and that has possibly been thousands of times over the years. Just beautiful x

My parents introduced me to folk music but I found Janis by myself. She has always been and always will be my first love as singer/songwriter. To all the girls at 17...

What a beautiful touching song oh my heart

Never knew of her until now, she was mentioned in a novel I am reading and looked her up. Talented.

what is the title of the novel?

Please answer Best Of’s question. If you only just heard of Janis Ian, I must assume you are very young.

I wasnt prepared for where this song went...tore me up...damn...

Roberta Flack, hits it too.

Stunning!!!

tHIS son is also sung by joan baez.

This lady is so talented & so beautiful

"All the blues and the greens have been recently cleaned" is the line I love. It so won't solve anything, but it's what we cling to for hope.

Yes.  I had an early relationship that ended and it was hard to accept (until another girl's voice was on his ansafone!).  But I had a bedspread (I was playing home) which I religiously washed and ironed and it became a sort of symbol.  Mind you, I still love that palette of colours.  My home now is full of them.  Just as an aside, I had a landlady years ago who lost a son and she continued to set a place at her table for her dead son until the day she died.  This song is powerful on denial and how hard it is to accept loss.

メロディー・アレンジそしてジャニス自身の歌どれも美しいです。

Superb.Her best song in my opinion.

Bean K6 months ago
Jesse come home
There's a hole in the bed where we slept
Now it's growing cold
Hey Jesse
Your face
In the place
Where we lay by the hearth all apart
And it breaks my heart
I'm leaving light on the stairs
No I'm not scared
I wait for you
Hey Jesse I'm lonely come home

This song breaks my heart.

Jesse Janis Ian

Jesse come home
There's a hole in the bed
Where we slept
Now it's growing cold
Hey jesse, your face
In the place where we lay By the hearth, all apart
It hangs on my heart
And I'm leaving the light on the stairs
No I'm not scared - I wait for you
Hey jesse, I'm lonely, come home
Jesse, the floors and the boards
Recalling your step
And I remember, too
All the pictures are fading
And shaded in grey
But I still set a place
On the table at noon
And I'm leaving the light on the stairs
No I'm not scared - I wait for you
Hey jesse, I'm lonely, come home

instrumental break

Jesse, the spread on the bed
Is like when you left. ..I've kept it up for you...
and all the blues and the greens have been recently cleaned , and are seemingly knew.
.Hey Jesse me and you, we'll swallow the light on the stairs..will do up my hair..and sing from the rail..hey Jessie I;m lonely...come home.....…

Panda Broad will do up my hair and sleep unaware

I've heard this done by Joan Baez but this is first time I heard it done by its writer.

The finest pop song ever written.

Beautiful. Brings back a lovely time in my life.

Just beautiful!

Sad, so sad

Joan armetrading

Jesse come home
There's a hole in the bed where we slept
Now it's growing cold
Hey Jesse
Your face
In the place
Where we lay by the hearth all apart
And it breaks my heart
I'm leaving light on the stairs
No I'm not scared
I wait for you
Hey Jesse I'm lonely come home

*it hangs on my heart :P

That post about Jesse was from Kords grandma :). We both miss him

This song is very special. My Jesse, the love of my life for over 48 yrs, died a month  ago. From 1975 onward this beautiful song would describe the pain and longing in my heart when he  was away. He was a loyal husband and best friend, a very rare find today. Jesse, I'm lonely, come home

Kord Sandford So sorry

Kord Sandford. My heart goes out to you as I know what you are going through. I too lost the love of my life, my bride of 47 years to cancer. It leaves a void in your life that for me will never be filled again. Here's hoping that you heal more quickly then I have. Take care. T

Still tragically beautiful. I wish you well, Kord.. 'I wait for you", but he'll never take another step on this earth. XO

I understand, my love died in 2010

Tears in my eyes...I’m actually sobbing

for emmly my first love

nasa pjesma

I met Janis at Juanita's in Little Rock on my birthday in 1998. First thing I thought was, she's very short (4'10"). I told her it was my birthday and she presented me with a copy of her Between The Lines CD on which she had written 'Happy Birthday, Janis Ian." I still have it, of course.

já havia escutado com Roberta Flack, mas com essa cantora ficou espetacular.

such a sad heart break song

Great song...from a great voice. Though I like Roberta's version better...with ' the lonely violin'...
Marianne De Meyer

A wonderful song, one of my favorites. This one and Goldfrapp's old songs are special.

exquisite voice

Jessie, come home!

my love one is named Jesse and i miss him so much.

I hope time has help heal you since you wrote this

Hey pal, we could be related, Ha Ha.

TENDERNESS

I love this song

of course y'all know this is about a Vietnam Vet

firebase delta , I did not know that! Is there more?

firebase delta No I wasn't aware. Puts a whole new meaning on the song.

That's the feeling I've always gotten from this song. Jesse went to Vietnam and never returned. Whether or not she knows he died, she still waits for him. I don't know if that's what Janis Ian intended, but it's how the song strikes me. This song haunts me more than any other.

firebase delta - "I was 14 or 15 when I started that song," Ian told Songfacts. "Originally Jesse was going to be about a Vietnam War vet coming home. But then that was limiting."

While the song could apply to a Vietnam veteran, Ian wrote it to have a more universal meaning, as the song could relate to anyone wondering when - or if - a loved one will return home. This is typical of her songwriting, as she likes to tell stories that listeners can extrapolate with personal experience. "At Seventeen," for instance, was inspired by her adolescence, but written for anyone who has felt out of place. ~Janice Ian https://www.songfacts.com/facts/janis-ian/jesse

探していた曲!!

My favorite song by Janis. I hope to hear her sing this the next time I attend her concert. This is one of the reasons I fell in love with her voice.

Jesses and Memories come home
From a long way- or so we've been told
Memories are not cold... just
The floors and the Boards
Will always echo of You
Whatever your 'Kind'
You were a friend of mine
Jesses come Home
So that... We can Best Remember You...

Haunting beautiful song

It doesn't get better than this

This is one of the most beautiful songs .................

Beautiful rendition...but, I have to say Joan Baez's version is so much more soulful...and the musical arrangement will give you goosebumps.  You need to listen to it and see for yourself.

She sings it like no one else could because she wrote it.

+Janice R I think sometimes others can sing better what you write. I think Linda Ronstadt and Party Girl and Alison (Elvis Costello) and Willing about a big rig driver. She made those songs and their authors. She did it too with her backing group members. No-one is talented in every direction.

+una mckillen I agree. I always think the bee gees write good pop songs, but I prefer when other people sing them. In this case though, I don't think anyone sings this song as well as Janis Ian. Her voice has a vulnerable, lamenting quality that is just so perfect for it.

+Mike Smith I agree. This is Janis's song.

lmo linda ronstadt is a average singer and could never match the emotion of janis sandy ect

This is not only my very favourite Janis Ian song - it is also one of my very most favourite songs of all time

Same here.

On this day in 1973 {June 19th} Roberta Flack performed "Jesse" on her own ABC-TV special 'Roberta Flack: The First Time Ever'...
A little under three months later on September 16th, 1973 it entered Billboard's Hot Top 100 chart at position #83; five weeks later on October 21st, 1973 it would peak at #30 {for 1 week} and it stayed on the chart for 9 weeks...
It reached #3 on Billboard's Adult Contemporary Tracks chart and #19 on Billboard's R&B Singles chart...
The song was surrounded by #1 records; her two previous releases, "First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" and "Killing Me Softly with His Song", both peaked at #1; then "Jesse" was succeeded by "Feel Like Makin' Love", which also reached #1...
"Jesse" was composed by Janis Ian; and Ms. Ian would record it herself for her 1974 album 'Stars'...

Beautiful. I love seventeen and toujours gai mon ami