E.mail from Trish Alexander
"One of the memories someone sent you talked about 'Song for His 'n Hers'. Following are my own recollections about it and the lyrics to use or excerpt or toss as you see fit.
"About the song 'When You've Got Nothing to Hide, You've Got Nothing To Lose,' which was written by singer/songwriter, Jeff Jones. This is the story ( as I remember it--as always, with gratitude to Marge Summit ) : His 'n Hers was rising in popularity and rapidly becoming one of THE primary intimate concert spaces in Chicago--just as the Earl of Old Town ( Chicago's previous primary concert space ) was fading away. Marge Summit's Sunday night open mike had become one of the three top open mikes in the city at that time. The other two were in straight clubs: the Barbarossa on Dearborn and the No Exit in Rogers Park.
"Since open mikes ( and the Chicago music community in general ) are by nature their own micro-community, it was evident almost immediately who was avoiding coming to His 'n Hers and who was embracing it with the same excitement as the other two rooms. It finally got to the point where there were only one or two folkies left standing on the outside ... Jeff Jones ( an amazing singer/songwriter/performer ) was among the last to join us there. I'm thinking that this was in 1979.
"It was a packed house--everyone was there because they had come to listen to the music ( every performer's dream come true ) . We introduced Jeff to Marge, he signed up for the open mike and when it was his turn --he performed brilliantly as always.
"He was an incredible writer and guitarist with a gorgeous voice and gentle folk style. He spoke about being sorry that it took him so long to finally get there and how glad he was that he finally made it. People went crazy, applauding and whooping and hollering. A week or two later, he came back in for the open mike and performed the new song he'd written. He titled it:
'Song For His 'n Hers'
Well I walked into that bar like it was poison
Afraid of all the evils I might find
Well imagine my surprise, when I looked into people's eyes
And didn't see a single soul that was out of their mind
Chorus: When you've got nothing to hide, you've got nothing to lose
You can be anything or do anything you choose
Don't let society give you the blues
When you've got nothing to hide
You've got nothing to lose.
Well, I grew up with lotsa guys that hate 'em
And folks who'd beat 'em up outside this door
I've heard of others still--who would arrest 'em for a thrill
Until they promised they wouldn't act that way no more.
Chorus: But when you've nothing to hide ...
Now like many songs to this one there's a moral
In looking past our fears it's plain to see
Why by our shells are we defined--when inside we're all one mind
So let the you in you let the me in me just be
Chorus: 'Cause when you've nothing to hide, you've got nothing to lose ...
"The response was explosive and gigantic. People were on their feet cheering and stomping their feet and applauding. The applause went on and on and on. They might still be applauding if Marge hadn't gotten up on stage and got the room under control again by putting her arm around Jeff who was on stage grinning from ear to ear. As the room quieted down, Marge stood with one arm around Jeff's shoulder and turned to look at him--then ON MIKE said, 'You know hon, if you were hung like a donut, I could really go for you.'
"The room went up for grabs--laughing, cheering, whooping and more applause. Jeff turned a shade of red I'd never seen on a person's face before. Slowly as things quieted down, Marge asked him to sing another song, which he did. In the months that followed, he did several concert dates at His 'n Hers.
"Lori [ Noelle ] and I got permission from him to sing that song almost right away. We created an arrangement with vocals, piano and guitar. We got requests to sing it everywhere we went and we did. And everywhere we sang it, people sang along. It was wonderful.
"Before a year passed Jeff quietly vanished from the Chicago music scene. Some folks said he traveled out west and got religion, but I never really knew for sure. Then one day I got a very strange phone call from him. He was angry and abrupt and adamant. He said he didn't want me singing his song anymore. I said, 'But Jeff, it's really popular with folks here and I get asked to sing it all the time.' He said he didn't care--that under no circumstances was I to EVER sing his song again.
"The energy of the call felt frantic and mildly psychotic--and since I didn't know where he was calling from, I just said, 'OK, well I'm really sorry you feel that way, but I promise you as long as you live, I won't sing your song.'
"And right up to this day--with the exception of two concerts, where I just couldn't find it in my heart to refuse the people who were requesting it, I've kept that promise.
"Hey, it just now occurred to me that nobody's heard anything from Jeff in a REALLY long time ... you don't suppose that could mean ... . "
