Some love songs – many, in fact – are about the ‘I’ and what the ‘other’ can do for that I. This is completely understandable, given that love is a feeling and we can only know our own feelings. But those songs stand in stark relief to ‘Lady from Doreen’, the new single from Victorian singer-songwriter Jess Parker, which is having its premiere here today. It is the second single from Parker’s forthcoming fifth album, Blue Collar Tanline.
Listen to ‘Lady from Doreen’: https://jessparkermusic.bandcamp.com/track/lady-from-doreen
‘Lady from Doreen’ is a song of worship of the other in which love and lust are in the details, and while there is desire (laced with frustration), the focus is always on that lady from Doreen and not on Parker needing something from her. Even the chorus – ‘When oh when are you coming back around/Why oh why can’t it be now’ – makes no demands. It’s a question imbued with what Parker wants, but the agency is with the lady from Doreen.
The lyrics are simple because Parker’s voice fills in between the lines. Accompanied by one instrument, it is strong and nuanced, and thus we are given a whole lot of story in three minutes of song.
‘“Lady from Doreen” is a lonesome yearning lament written for the woman I love,’ says Parker. ‘It’s about the limerence and longing you feel when a lover leaves a room, the heady absence that hangs in the air. It’s a nod to all the sapphic folk predecessors and storytellers before me, and my attempt to keep the poetic fire burning – it’s for her.’
One could say, confidently, that is no attempt – it is a success. And it brings with it the release of Parker’s last album, Wholesome Prison Blues, on vinyl and streaming services for the first time. The album features Parker and her band, and is a collection of honky-tonk, Tex-Mex, and barn-stomping country blues.
‘It is such a joy to finally be releasing this album,’ says Parker. ‘We cut this thing three years ago straight to tape, in an old Castlemaine barn, in just five hours. It fell out like a fever and the whole band was cooking – all seven of us sweating over our instruments like a group exorcism. You can hear the urgency, it felt like we were playing like our lives were on the line – I’ve never been more proud of a record!’
https://jessparkermusic.bandcamp.com/track/lady-from-doreen
‘Lady from Doreen’ will be released on 1 September 2026
Written and performed by Jess Parker
Recorded, mixed and mastered by Mitch Dillon at Ragged Gum Records, Castlemaine VIC
Artwork by Ruby Armstrong / Artist photograph by Suzanne Phoenix
\Single launch
6 September, Merri Creek Tavern (Victoria)
with Claire Spooner and Hark Verity
