Juice Bar Girl’s genesis is a poem written by John after buying a juice from a girl who’d clearly been crying. The next step was to imagine why she was crying and why her day had turned to shit. Steve took the poem one step further, imagining the effect of this girl’s emotional outpouring on her customers, picturing a queue of regulars who returned to by a juice off the girl, because she reminded (validated) them of their own futility.
Steve and John both live in Central Victoria, a place known for its dry and harsh summers and this dryness is echoed in the Steve’s conversational chorus with lines like ‘would you like a little lime, coz your lips are looking dry’ and ‘I don’t think it will rain do you?’ … a distinct metaphor for the dryness of the spirit which her customers are seeking to soothe.
lyrics
JUICE BAR GIRL
(words: John Holton/Steve Lane. music: Steve Lane)
she always smiled
through red eyes
I thought she was allergic
to mangoes
but in the end she cried
so many tears
that the sweetest of fruit
tasted like bloody marys
would you like a little lime?
because your lips are looking dry
and I don’t think it will rain
do you?
some kale to make it green
and swamp the brown it seems
to go on forever
don’t you think?
she always works on a wednesday
and the sun it never shines
in that concrete shrine
and I always see the same faces
standing in the queue
for that taste of melancholy
always gets you through
would you like a little lime?
because your lips are looking dry
and I don’t think it will rain
do you?
some kale to make it green
and swamp the brown it seems
to go on forever
don’t you think?
credits
from The Revenge Of The Lawn,
released July 7, 2017
words: John Holton/Steve Lane. mjusic: Steve Lane
Recorded by Steve Lane and David Carr at Rangemaster Studio (The Patch, Victoria) and Trouble Waters Studio (Emu Creek, Victoria)
Mixed by David Carr at Rangemaster.
Mastered by Joseph Carra at Crystal Mastering (Thornbury, Victoria)
A sprawling, 25-song set from Pete Yorn complete with covers of Springsteen and The Smiths capture him at his unguarded best. Bandcamp New & Notable May 16, 2020
This live album from Pete Yorn, recorded over two nights in 2009, includes a link to watch and download the performance in its entirety. Bandcamp New & Notable Oct 26, 2020
Lars Bygdén has a rich, evocative baritone, and it’s surrounded by lush ambience in songs sure to appeal to fans of Tindersticks. Bandcamp New & Notable Jan 29, 2022
Released in 2001, “The Convincer” is a gentle gem in the Nick Lowe catalog; an anniversary edition provides opportunity for rediscovery. Bandcamp New & Notable Sep 20, 2021
The Ohio songwriter navigates gender, queerness, class, and privilege through a powerful mix of country rock, folk ballads, and bluegrass. Bandcamp New & Notable Jul 14, 2021
Irish singer-songwriter Sarah E. Cullen bares her heart over pastoral folk arrangements enshrouded in a dream-pop haze. Bandcamp New & Notable Apr 29, 2021