Jet Lag

Album: Mind, Body & Soul (2004)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This song is about a love that's so physically intense and overwhelming, it leaves you feeling like you're jet-lagged or experiencing the effects of a hangover. In an interview with YM in 2004, British soul singer Joss Stone commented: "It's how you feel when you're in love. Sick, but in a good way."
  • "Jet Lag" was one of the first songs Stone wrote. Having won the British television talent show Junior Star for a Night, the teenager was invited to a songwriting session with Conner Reeves and Jonathan Shorten. She explained to Songwriting Magazine in 2020: "I was about 14 when I wrote that and really I was still in the learning process of writing, so the leaders in those writing sessions were Conner Reeves and Jon Shorten, and I still write with them today."

    Stone was subsequently signed to S-Curve Records and released the covers album The Soul Sessions in 2003. As a result, "Jet Lag" wasn't heard in public until 2004, when Stone released her first collection of originals, Mind Body & Soul.
  • According to Stone, "Jet Lag" is one of the songs she's most proud of from Mind Body & Soul. She noted to Official Charts in 2015: "I like some of the songs on that album. Songs like 'Jet Lag' I still love today, but some of the songs I really don't like. It was more of me than The Soul Sessions was so I was pleased that they were putting something out that I had a hand in. That was a real confidence boost for me. I felt like I was an artist rather than just a singer."
  • Mind Body & Soul soared to the top spot in the UK, making Stone, at 17 years and five months old, the youngest woman to achieve such a feat. This record remained unbroken until 2019, when Billie Eilish, at 17 years and three months old, went to #1 with her debut album, When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?. In the US, meanwhile, Mind Body & Soul reached #11. The album also earned Stone three Grammy nominations: Best New Artist, Best Pop Vocal Album, and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for "You Had Me."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Rick Springfield

Rick SpringfieldSongwriter Interviews

Rick has a surprising dark side, a strong feminine side and, in a certain TV show, a naked backside. But he still hasn't found Jessie's Girl.

Joe Ely

Joe ElySongwriter Interviews

The renown Texas songwriter has been at it for 40 years, with tales to tell about The Flatlanders and The Clash - that's Joe's Tex-Mex on "Should I Stay or Should I Go?"

Curt Kirkwood of Meat Puppets

Curt Kirkwood of Meat PuppetsSongwriter Interviews

The (Meat)puppetmaster takes us through songs like "Lake Of Fire" and "Backwater," and talks about performing with Kurt Cobain on MTV Unplugged.

Tim Butler of The Psychedelic Furs

Tim Butler of The Psychedelic FursSongwriter Interviews

Tim and his brother Richard are the Furs' foundation; Tim explains how they write and tells the story of "Pretty In Pink."

Part of Their World: The Stories and Songs of 13 Disney Princesses

Part of Their World: The Stories and Songs of 13 Disney PrincessesSong Writing

From "Some Day My Prince Will Come" to "Let It Go" - how Disney princess songs (and the women who sing them) have evolved.

The Punk Photography of Chris Stein

The Punk Photography of Chris SteinSong Writing

Chris Stein of Blondie shares photos and stories from his book about the New York City punk scene.