In 1979 was daar ineens de Amerikaanse singer/songwriter Rickie Lee Jones met haar heerlijke eerste album met o.a. Chuck E’s In Love en Easy Money. Ik heb het toen helemaal grijs gedraaid. In haar muziek hoor je de invloed van Tom Waits terug, met wie ze toentertijd een heftige relatie had vol drank, drugs en jazz. Toen hij de relatie verbrak stortte ze in, om na een tijdje weer overeind te krabbelen met het album Pirates (1981), waarin ze haar liefde en verdriet over hem beschreef in songs als A Lucky Guy, We Belong Together en Living It Up.

Haar jazzy sound komt goed tot uiting in deze cover van het welbekende jazznummer Dat Dere. Een lied dat in 1960 werd geschreven door jazzpianist Bobby Timmons (1935-1974) en een jaar later van tekst werd voorzien door singer/songwriter Oscar Brown Jr (1926-2005). Het werd gecovered door Jones op haar album Pop Pop (1991) en hier speelt ze het tijdens een concert in Los Angeles in 1992.

Dat Dere
Hey mama, what’s that there?
And why is that over there?
Hey mama, up here!
Mama, hey look at that over there!
Hey what’s that doing there?
And where’re they going there?
And mama can I have that big elephant over there?

Who’s that in my chair?
And what’s he doing there?
Mama, up here!
Mama, can I go over there?
Hey mama, what is square?
And where do we get air?
And mama can I have that big elephant over there?

Quizzical kid!
Doesn’t want anything hid.
Forever demanding to know who what why or where!
Inquisitive child!
Sometimes the questions get wild!
Like mama can I have that big elephant over there?

Don’t wanna comb my hair.
And where’s my teddy bear?
And Mamma, oh hey look
at the cowboy coming there!
Hey can I have a pair
Of boots like that to wear?
And mama can I have that big elephant over there?

The time will march, days will go.
And little baby’s going to grow.
I gotta tell her what she needs to know.
I’ll help her along, and she’ll be strong,.
and she’ll know right from wrong.

As life’s parade goes marching by,
she’s gonna wanna know the reasons why.
I don’t have all the answers,
but I’ll try, the best as I can,
to help her make her plan.
Because that’s what you do,
you give the kid your best.
And she must do the rest.
And finally send her out
into the world somewhere.
And though she’ll be grown up,
I bet I never will forget,
when she said hey mama,
can I have that big elephant over there?

Hey how you what that there?
And why they do that there?
Mama oh hey mama,
hey what that say up there?
Hey mama, what is fair?
How come I have to share?
And mama can I have that big elephant over there?