Songs About Jane

Chapter 2- Songs About Jane

Now is most likely a good time for introductions.

My name is Jane, and I'm 24 years old, and right out of music school. My favorite color is blue, I love ice cream, and my favorite animals are dogs and salamanders. Don't ask me why, I don't really know why exactly I love salamanders, I just like their vibrant colors and cute little heads. I love to travel, to paint, to read a good book, and, of course, to write and perform my songs. Music is a huge part of who I am; one of my favorite places in the world is in a little record shop downtown called Sounds About Right. The owner there, Joe, is almost like an uncle to me, and he always knows what I'll like best. I know records and CD's are old and out-of-date, but hey, they can be highly collectable. And there's something about the smell and the feel of an old record in your hands... I just love it.

I remember the first time I came into his shop; I was about 13 or 14 and searching for nothing in particular, just looking around. Selena and Kelsey had come shopping with me, but they had gone into some makeup store and in no way was I interested in that. I was in the 'D' section of the Country CDs, when Joe, with his curly moustache (like Mario, I swear), tattoos, and strong build, came up to me and asked politely, "Can I help you find something, kiddo?"

I was petrified of the guy, and a voice in the back of my head, most likely my father's, nagged, "Don't talk to strangers!" But then I turned and looked up into Joe's eyes, and all I saw was kindness and love. Like an uncle. I smiled in return and replied, "No, just looking, thanks."

He gave me a wide, toothy grin and asked, "What's your name, kiddo? The name's Joe."

I hesitantly shake his hand and whisper in reply, "Jane."

"Jane? Really?"

I nod slowly in confusion.

He taps his chin for a moment in thought, then says, "I think I have just the album for you, if you've got an extra minute."

"Sure," I reply, following him down the aisles to wherever this album was.

"You like pop and rock?" He asks. I nod, "It's okay. Some of the songs out on the radio these days are kind of meaningless, though..."

"Ah, that's my kind of kid, Jane. Most of today's stuff is pointless, and I have a feeling that it'll only get worse (and, boy, was he right about that!), but when you look hard enough, sometimes-" we stop in front of the 'M's in the pop/rock section, "-you'll find a keeper."

I raise an eyebrow at this, not sure what he was trying to say. I examine some album with some band name I didn't recognize, The Purple Petunia Squad? What the heck? It had a crying baby on the cover. I quickly placed it back on the shelf, creeped out. Joe rummages through a stack CDs until he finds the one he's looking for.

"Ah-HA!" He shouts in his booming voice. "I knew I put it out & didn't leave it in the box!" He holds up a maroon-colored CD. "This is the one, kiddo. Brand-new, right outta the box. I'll tell ya, kid, you're gonna love it." He holds it out to me, and I waver for a moment, but then take it out of his hands uncertainly.

I flip it over, expecting to see another crying baby or something in that vain on the cover, to reveal a drawing of a woman holding a jeweled box with- what is that, smoke?- coming out of it. The only thing covering her privates was her long, billowing red hair. There were maroon flowers scattered throughout her hair, and her eyes were closed, she had full lips, and a mole on the side of her face. I look to the top right corner of the cover to see what I presumed to be the band's name in thin, large letters: MAROON 5. Then, I notice in e bottom corner three little words that would forever change me: SONGS ABOUT JANE.

I smile and look up at Joe, who stares at me expectantly. "So?" He demands, "Whaddaya think, kiddo?"

"You didn't pick this because of my name, did you?" I ask, looking at his sly grin spread across his face.

He waves it off. "Nahhh, you just have that musical spark in your eye, kid. I know that sounds weird, but try and understand. Most kids your age ARE into that sad excuse for music on the radio, but you kid, you've got taste."

"Umm, thanks, I guess."

"It's a compliment, kid. You're welcome."

I smile shyly. "So is any good?" I ask timidly, holding it up in the air for emphasis. "Have you listened to it?"

He nods. "Actually have, kid. Well, I'll admit, only one of their songs, but it was amazing. Blew me away. And I'm more of a classic rock guy, so this surprised me. It's cool, like a mix of a bunch of genres, but yet they all come together and it's good."

"Where'd you hear it? Which song was it? What kind of genres? Who's is Jane? Why's it called Maroon 5?"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Calm down, kid. I dunno, think it was called 'Harder to Breathe' or sumthin'. Don't 'member where..."

"Oh," I reply simply.

"Trust me, kid," he says, lookin me right in the eye, "If you're anything like me when it comes to music, you're gonna love this. Plus, you've even got the same name," he adds, gesturing toward the CD.

I glance down at it one more time. Songs About Jane...

"Okay," I answer confidently. "I'll take it!"

"Yeah! That's the spirit, kid!" He says as he heads towards the register to ring it up. He told me to come back and tell me what I thought of it, and to check any other records and CDs of his. And of course, I did.

When I finally came out of the store, my CD in a little paper bag in my hand, Selena and Kelsey raced up to me. "There you are! We thought you were abducted by aliens or something! Where were you!?"

I looked down at my bag. "Oh, just at the record store-"

"There's my mom." Selena points to her mom's minivan out in the parking lot. "C'mon. Let's go."

When I finally got home, I raced upstairs, stopped by my dad's office to check in, and sped off to my room. I opened the new CD and placed it into my clunky CD/tape player. That song Joe was talking about, 'Harder to Breathe' came on, and I was immediately hooked. A few songs later, a soft, sweet tune came on, and a voice I had learned from the little booklet thingy inside the CD that belonged to the lead singer, Adam, sang:

Beauty queen of only eighteen

She had some trouble with herself

He was always there to help her

She always belonged to someone else...

I found myself swaying to the music, falling more and more in love with is album by the minute, as Joe predicted. The chorus came on:

I don't mind spending every day

Out on your corner in the pouring rain

Look for the girl with the broken smile

Ask her if she wants to stay a while

And she will be loved

And she will be lo-o-o-ooved...

I will be loved. And I love the raw emotion, the meaningful message that she will be loved, against all odds. That's why I've always loved this album, because my name is Jane, too, and I like to imagine that those songs were written just for me, because I'm loved. 'She Will Be Loved' is my all-time favorite song, and it always will be.

Someday, I will be loved. I am sure of it.