Jeanne Recommends: “Mesa, Arizona” by Jeffrey Foucault

Tucson in July is not for the weak. Summers here necessitate holing up in reverse — rise as early as possible for exercise, errands, and anything else requiring a trip out of doors, and then retreat until after dark into air conditioning or to a covered patio with misters and fans. (If the latter, make sure there is an outstanding selection of beer to complement the ambiance.) It’s ass-backwards hibernation at its finest.

I was sitting in my living room on just such a July afternoon not too many years ago, just north of 40 years old and beating my now-standard retreat from the aforementioned desert sun. I’d started playing Jeffrey Foucault’s third solo album, Ghost Repeater (already a decade old at the time), earlier in the hour as I did laundry, reconciled my checking account, and tidied up my apartment.

As I paused on my sofa, the penultimate track, “Mesa, Arizona,” started playing, and sent a revelation from my bluetooth speaker straight into my heart. People across generations remember where they were when certain momentous events of national or international significance took place; I will always remember exactly where I was and what song was playing the last time I realized I was in love.

And the sun gone downIn the pale thin pinkThere’s no one to talk toAll I can thinkIs your eyes are full of train smokeAnd your mouth tastes like rainAnd I know when I know nothingI will always know your name

“Mesa, Arizona,” a love song that came about after Foucault got lost in the concrete wilds of the greater Phoenix area, was the truth serum that catapulted me out of deep denial that summer day. I still self-medicate with this tune when I need to remember what it was like to feel such unequivocal certainty, or just to recall the one who has my heart.

You’re the one I want to talk toThe one I know to callThe one who’s going to catch meWhen my pride leads to a fallYou’re the sky all full of starlingsAnd an ax blade shining in the sunYou’re the angel touched a coalAgainst my lipsYou’re my only one

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9kLAJWNyLa0(Song recommendation by Jeanne Sharp)