From the recordings Cowboy Simple and Seven Year Ache (feat. Xanthe)
From vocalist Roland Kapferer:
"What is a Seven Year Ache? Is it like the old 1955 Marilyn Monroe film “The Seven Year Itch” which was based on the (now) all too obviously patriarchal premise that after 7 years of marriage men grow restless and seek new sexual adventures? Maybe. Seven Year Ache is a country song written and sung by Roseanne Cash that was a crossover hit in 1981 (No 1 on the country charts and top 30 on the pop charts.) Maybe Cash is drawing on the Marilyn Monroe film but it’s an ache now not an itch and it feels more melancholy and even existential. Some say the song was written after a fight with her husband Rodney Crowell who produced the song and its about him. Maybe. Rosanne is of course the eldest daughter of Johnny Cash and maybe she was thinking about her father’s philandering ways? Who knows?
I get a bit tired of the common way we interpret songs by trying to figure out what they are ‘about’ or ascribing autobiographical significance to them. It always seems like it’s missing the point or rather the song, some-how? Why did we make a new version of this song with Xanthe Loraine? Not because it was maybe about Roseanne Cash’s love life or because it is maybe a story about an ageing cowboy still chasing girls and partying his life away.
It’s just because the song is so good. Not what its about but what it is – timeless country music. "
Lyrics
You act like you were just born tonight
Face down in a memory but feeling all right
So, who does your past belong to today?
Baby, you don't say nothing when you're feeling this way
Girls in the bars thinking who is this guy
But they don't think nothing when they're telling you lies
You look so careless when they're shooting that pool
Don't you know heartaches are heroes when their pockets are full
Tell me you're trying to cure a seven-year ache
See what else your old heart can take
Boys say, "When is he gonna give us some room"
The girls say, "God, I hope he comes back soon”
And everybody's talking but you don't hear a thing
You're still uptown on your downhill swing
The boulevard's empty, why don't you come around?
Baby, what is so great about sleeping downtown?
There's plenty of dives to be someone you're not
Just say you're looking for something you might have forgot
Don't bother calling to say you're leaving alone
'Cause there's a fool on every corner when you're trying to get home
Tell me you're trying to cure a seven-year ache
See what else your old heart can take
Boys say, "When is he gonna give us some room"
the girls say, "God, I hope he comes back soon”
Tell me you're trying to cure a seven-year ache
See what else your old heart can take
Boys say, "When is he gonna give us some room"
The girls say, "God, I hope he comes back soon"