Chit-Chat Check-In #158 • Transcript
Before I get into the song I’m going to share today, I’d like to tell you a little bit about a squirrel we know named Lil’ Pedro, who showed up at Susie’s father’s house not long after Susie’s father passed away.
I don’t know if you believe in reincarnation. I don’t know if I believe in it. I don’t know that I don’t believe in it. But I think it’s one of those things that’s similar to the story that I tell about the song I’m sharing.
What I’m talking about is a moment where you can be convinced that there’s an unknown, deeper order for things. A meaning behind it all, even if we’re just trying to apply meaning to coincidence.
But it’s sweet enough, to me, even if it’s just a reminder that we make meaning. That’s kind of what we’re here to do. And the world gives us a whole lot to work with if we’re paying attention. And sometimes it just reminds you to pay attention. To the world, or even just to the way our brains work. And I think that’s good.
The song is called “Judy Just Left.” It was shared a while ago as “Judy (Ball of Light),” and it’s been around for a while, and is still in the back of my head, so every once in a while I play it.
I’m always trying to learn to play the guitar in different ways, and sometimes some new things creep into my playing. I go back and play older songs and see if I hear anything different in how to play them. And that was the case with this song. Something about what I’ve been working on the guitar unlocked some voicings and counterpoint to the melody, which was pretty satisfying to me. And I think it sounds more finished to me.
So I thought I’d share it, and thought it might be interesting to any of you who are interested in songwriting, and revision, and how many times songs get reworked. And sometimes it’s a lot, and sometimes you get it right the first time. This one’s been reworked a lot.
The revision is at the bottom of this post, and here’s the previous post where I share the first draft of the song with some more context on the lyrics:
![Judy (Ball of Light) [first draft]](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!K2Gw!,w_140,h_140,c_fill,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep,g_auto/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F06b79a85-f323-4e73-a16b-f3cda3e08275_358x584.heic)
OxO—Jeffy
This Week in Wilco, Etc.
1997 / May 22: Scrawl and the Jayhawks open for Wilco at the Riviera Theater in Chicago. Wilco plays a 21-song set, wrapping up the night with “Color Me Impressed” by the Replacements.
2009 / May 23: Wilco plays a 21-song set at the Auditorio de Tenerife in Tenerife, Spain. “Bull Black Nova” is debuted live.
2023 / May 23: Jeff appears on the HBO Max TV series SmartLess: On the Road and performs a solo acoustic version of “I Am Trying To Break Your Heart.”
