Teach Me How To Stay
Cris Cohen: For the new version of “Teach Me How To Stay,” it has been almost 30 years since you originally wrote this song. You’re playing it with a very different singer in Jenny Langer than you originally had. And it’s an acoustic version. From your perspective, what about it is the same and what has changed over that time?
Randy Jacobs of The Boneshakers: When we did it with Sweet Pea (Atkinson), it was a little more mid-tempo. We had this whole concept with horns answering back. When Sweet Pea sings something, it sometimes sounds like an ultimatum. The difference is Jenny is probably a little more emotional.
Jenny learned the song, but she didn’t tell me she learned it. We were performing somewhere. It was just an acoustic thing. And she said, “Let’s do ‘Teach Me How To Stay.’” Her love for the song is what got us back to doing it. And it’s amazing. People find something in that lyric. “Teach me how to stay.” When all else fails and I can’t figure it out, can somebody help me? Can you teach me how to be in a relationship? That’s really the gist of the line.
When Jenny sings this version, we cut it way down: just cajón, a little pedal steel, a little mandolin, and acoustic guitar. It just feels genuine. You feel like (we) really mean this. And Jenny’s such a great singer. Her talent is evident every day. I’m very lucky to find someone who can convey the emotion in a song, because it’s all about that.
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