Hidden Gem: Jewel’s “A Boy Needs A Bike”

“A Boy Needs A Bike” appeared on Jewel’s album Picking Up The Pieces, released last year via Sugar Hill Records. “A Boy Needs A Bike” is storytelling and scene-setting at its finest, especially as told from the point of view of a child. “I wish that pops would just get a spine / I said I know it’s kinda little but you could borrow mine,” she sings. The song seamlessly conveys adult complexities through the narrowed view of the child, whose lack of understanding of an adult world implies simple poignancies that revise the listener’s perspective. “A man needs a car and a boy needs a bike,” the child’s father simply states.

Unsurprisingly, Jewel’s delivery of the song is exquisitely done, with a vocal at times reminiscent of the breathy, half-spoken musings of Rickie Lee Jones. The accompaniment is simple, letting the vocal and story take the front seat. Like much of the album, Jewel wrote the song solo.

Grab the song on iTunes.

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