"I've Got To See You Again" / Norah Jones

Come Away With Me was one of those breakthrough albums that was played everywhere for a season. I was crazy about that CD at first, until the PR saturation made it turn sour for me. It happens sometimes.

But now I finally can hear Norah Jones fairly again. I'm not saying she's a great singer -- her voice is a little too breathy and nasal for that -- but she pulls off a nice dramatic range of textures, from kitten coyness to langorous vamp, and she delivers lyrics with real intelligence. (It helps that her lyrics are intelligent, and nicely understated.) Add to that some jazzy piano technique and a talent for blending genres, and -- well, how could I dislike Norah Jones? Is it her fault if her record company overexposed her?

"I've Got To See You Again" is an addictive little treat, with a samba-like rhythm, a sweetly scolding fiddle counterpoint, and a story line that recalls that old Roberta Flack classic, "Killing Me Softly With His Song." From what I can tell, it's about a woman hanging around a performer, going back to see his show night after night. ("Just to watch you be seen...No I won't go to share you with them.") It's just cryptic enough to tantalize me; I love it when a song is so deep inside the emotion, it doesn't spell out all the particulars. He's certainly older than she is -- the very first line of the song refers to "the lines on your face" -- but somehow that seems to be part of his charm, part of the mysterious hold he has on her.

Whether or not she's actually slept with him isn't clear -- she certainly moans with pleasure as she recounts him "dancing over me" and rhapsodizes about touching his skin, but she also says "I could almost go there / Just to live in a dream." Jeez, any fangirl worth her salt has fantasies so vivid, you'd mistake them for reality. Am I right, girls?

Maybe I'm imposing my own meaning on this song -- but I'm digging it so much, don't stop me now. It's like Norah used to be the homecoming queen I despised, but lately she's sitting next to me in English class and we've discovered we have a lot in common. She's speaking for me now, and I love it.

I've Got To See You Again sample