The Ballad of Jack and Haley

Album: Hard Luck Stories (2009)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Reilly is a singer/songwriter from Illinois who various publications have described as "genre-bending" and "outlandish." When we asked him to write about some of his songs, Reilly replied, "To be honest I can't really remember inspiration or much from the time I wrote these songs. Having said that I will make some s--t up that is mostly true."

    With that caveat, here's his description of this song:

    "I wrote a song and called it 'The Ballad of Jack and Haley.' It was certainly inspired by a friend of mine whose name is Jack. See this friend of mine, Jack, was growing weed in his basement. Jack had a lot of talents, really. Could do just about anything so I enlisted him to help me organize my garden. One day last summer, he was going to come over because I was putting up some fencing and he was gonna help me lay out some vegetables... kinda help me map out my garden. While I was waiting for him to show up, I was playing the guitar and when he walked up to me I jokingly sang, 'Well Jack he grew an indoor garden in the basement of his home.' After he left, I continued to think about Jack and what he was doing to provide for his family. I finished the song... it's really about a father and daughter... kind of a straight-ahead story. David Lowery from the band Cracker was storing some gear at my studio and I asked him to sing on it with me. He had to say yes or I would have thrown his gear out in the f--king street. He did say yes and I love the way the choruses sound with Lowery croaking away with me. Two smooth croakers."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Alan Merrill of The Arrows

Alan Merrill of The ArrowsSongwriter Interviews

In her days with The Runaways, Joan Jett saw The Arrows perform "I Love Rock And Roll," which Alan Merrill co-wrote - that story and much more from this glam rock pioneer.

Dave Mason

Dave MasonSongwriter Interviews

Dave reveals the inspiration for "Feelin' Alright" and explains how the first song he ever wrote became the biggest hit for his band Traffic.

Peter Lord

Peter LordSongwriter Interviews

You may not recognize his name, but you will certainly recognize Peter Lord's songs. He wrote the bevy of hits from Paula Abdul's second album, Spellbound.

Rock Stars of Horror

Rock Stars of HorrorMusic Quiz

Rock Stars - especially those in the metal realm - are often enlisted for horror movies. See if you know can match the rocker to the role.

Bill Withers

Bill WithersSongwriter Interviews

Soul music legend Bill Withers on how life experience and the company you keep leads to classic songs like "Lean On Me."

Al Kooper

Al KooperSongwriter Interviews

Kooper produced Lynyrd Skynyrd, played with Dylan and the Stones, and formed BS&T.