SONG DuesWRITTEN BY Ronee Blakely
PERFORMED BY Ronee Blakely
APPEARS ON Ronee Blakely (1972); Nashville: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (1975)
When Ronee Blakely's character Barbara Jean sings "Dues," she provides the emotional epicenter of Robert Altman's film Nashville. Barbara Jean's heart-wrenching account of her tortured marriage connects with her fans at the same time that her preoccupied, insensitive husband remains oblivious. Hence the marvelous lines
It's the way that you don't love meBetter than almost any song I know, "Dues" depicts the anguish of a spouse who wants to leave the marriage almost as much as she wants to "love you the way I used to do." As much as she wants to "walk away from this battleground," what she'd sacrifice for ("I'd give a lot to love you") is to have things the way they were. Whipsawed between wanting to go and needing to stay, she's reduced to the plaintive entreaty of "how long must I pay these dues?" Sacrifice has become unbearable, too.
When you say that you do, baby
While consistent with Barbara Jean's character, Blakely's use of the vernacular also enables a universal expression of desperation: Fraught, complex, co-dependent relationships can and do happen to anyone. In that sense, "Dues" reaches out to anyone who knows deep down that their spouse has retreated so deeply into their "own private world" that they are "hidin'" their "blues" and "pretendin' what" they "say," to anyone in that fearsome place where communication is dead but the need to connect with that one person remains.
LYRICSIt's that careless disrespectI can't take no more, babyIt's the way that you don't love meWhen you say that you do, babyIt hurts so bad, it gets me down, down, downI want to walk away from this battlegroundThis hurtin' life, it ain't no goodI'd give a lot to love you the way I used to doWish I could...You've got your own private worldI wouldn't have it no other wayBut lately you've been hidin' your bluesPretendin' what you sayIt hurts so bad, it gets me down, down, down
I want to walk away from this battleground
This hurtin' life, it ain't no good
I'd give a lot to love you the way I used to do
Wish I could...Writin' it down kinda makes me feel betterKeeps me away from them bluesI want to be nice to you, treat you rightBut how long can I pay these dues?It hurts so bad, it gets me down, down, downI want to walk away from this battleground
This hurtin' life, it ain't no good, no
I'd give a lot to love you the way I used to do
Wish I could...
I totally agree with everything you say. Her performance in Nashville is was of my all time best for any actress in a movie ever! But the every single person in the film is brilliant. Clearly my favorite Altman film of all time. Thanks for alerting people to Ronee. Sure would be nice to hear her voice again.
ReplyDeleteThanks! My wife and I watched Nashville recently, the first time in years for me and her first time. (She was blown away.) I had forgotten what a great scene Barbara Jean's breakdown is and what a great song "Dues" is.
ReplyDeleteI'm with you on Nashville. The other two Altman films that I would say are top of the line are MASH and McCabe & Mrs.Miller. I thought Short Cuts was well done and well acted, but the characters wore on me. It's not a great movie, but Cookie's Fortune is enjoyable throughout.
The thing about Altman is that even his weaker efforts are worth seeing. About the only other director I'd say that about is Roman Polanski.
sounds to me like she sings "this hurtin' match, it a'int no good"
ReplyDeleteMy bad! I couldn't find the lyrics anywhere on the web, so I transcribed them as best I could. A close listen proves you right. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteLovely, simply lovely! How do you pronounce Ms. Blakley's first name?
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by, Anon. I looked into your question and couldn't find a definitive answer. Her father's name was Ronald, so if I were going to guess, I'd guess "Ronnie."
ReplyDeleteI found this after watching to the youtube clip, which I found while looking for the scene in 'Nashville' where Ronee sings "In the Garden" (which I still haven't found). So glad I took this little journey! "Dues" ought to be a country classic, so true, bittersweet and unique, but it seems to be confined to the movie, I wonder why? Thanks for posting the lyrics.
ReplyDeleteGood question, as all the ingredients for a country classic are there. My bet would be that Blakely herself had a limited career and never established a canon of beloved work, something that seems important in country music. Had she accomplished that, my guess is that "Dues" would have long ago received the widespread acclaim it deserves.
ReplyDeleteJust found the studio version on Amazon, you can listen to a sample of it, http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00258JLG4/ref=dm_mu_dp_trk1. I think I like the movie version better.
ReplyDeleteMaybe it never became a hit because the lyrics aren't quite 'country'?
None of the songs in "Nashville" had a chance of becoming a country hit because "Nashville" was reviled by people in the country music business at the time of its release. The way the film portrays country music singers was seen as being satirical and mean-spirited, which is a pretty fair observation. Although "Nashville" is one of my favorite films, I can see why people in the country music business had a problem with the characterizations, of which most are mocking and caricature-like. Your observation here about "Dues" being the emotional epicenter of the film is dead on, and I think the selection and presentation of the soundtrack music shows this was deliberate on Altman's part. I'm not crazy about most of the other songs in the film, even those sung by Barbara Jean. "Tapedeck In His Tractor" is utterly bizarre and too abstract to have been an authentic country song of that era, and even "My Idaho Home" doesn't sound quite right for country radio. "Dues" sounds more soft rock to me than country, but the sincerity of the lyrics sets it apart from the rest of the soundtrack, and that was probably deliberate. Ronee Blakely's delivery is powerful and moving, it's the greatest moment in a wonderful film. She sometimes brings me to tears when I watch it. The kind of support that would have been necessary to make "Dues" a hit would never have come from within the country community, though, because of the critical and unflattering tone the film takes with country performers, and country music culture in general. I realize I'm several years late in commenting on this, but thanks for posting your thoughts about this great song.
ReplyDeleteI was happy to find this blog and its appreciation of "Dues" and Ms Blakely. Everything you say about the scene is right, in my opinion. For years I said that "Dues" should have been at least nominated for Best Song Oscar...but now I understand that the song had existed on an album by Blakely before "Nashville" so it was not a legitimate contender. I've seen this movie many times, since it was new and I always look forward to Barbara Jean's great scene and singing. This is one of the great American films, not to be missed.
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