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Lucinda Williams — Changed the Locks
Album: Lucinda Williams
Avg rating:
6.2

Your rating:
Total ratings: 971









Released: 1988
Length: 3:41
Plays (last 30 days): 1
I changed the lock on my front door
So you can't see me anymore
And you can't come inside my house
And you can't lie down on my couch
I changed the lock on my front door

I changed the number on my phone
So you can't call me up at home
And you can't say those things to me
That make me fall down on my knees
I changed the number on my phone

I changed the kind of car I drive
So you can't see me when I go by
And you can't chase me up the street
And you can't knock me off of my feet
I changed the kind of car I drive

I changed the kind of clothes I wear
So you can't find me anywhere
And you can't spot me in a crowd
And you can't call my name out loud
I changed the kind of clothes I wear

I changed the tracks underneath the train
So you can't find me again
And you can't trace my path
And you can't hear my laugh
I changed the tracks underneath the train

I changed the name of this town
So you can't follow me down
And you can't touch me like before
And you can't make me want you more
I changed the name of this town

I changed the lock on my front door
I changed the number on my phone
I changed the kind of car I drive
I changed the kind of clothes I wear

I changed the tracks underneath the train
I changed the name of this town
I changed the name of this town
I changed the name of this town
Comments (85)add comment
 debraburnham wrote:
this got me through a very bad relationship a few years ago, turned up loud, driving across the country, singing along at the top of my lungs
 
Thanks for posting this.  Schools the snipers living in a bubble how one's perspective on a song depends on whether one is oneself immersed in what is being described.
 
Nor am I impressed by their nonexistent capacity for empathy in not recognizing the cathartic value of a song that registers 5 x 5 (military sense) on what someone is experiencing at that moment.  Zeppelin's album Presence got me through a very rough time a long, long time ago, especially Nobody's Fault But Mine and Tea For One.  I remember both the experience and the music as vividly as if it all happened yesterday.
A restraining order might have been less trouble in the long run.
Currently struggling how I ever thought this was worth a 3.  
this got me through a very bad relationship a few years ago, turned up loud, driving across the country, singing along at the top of my lungs
i think she might not like him much anymore. just a feeling
lucinda is outstanding…
Just finished listening to her read her autobiography. Helpful, since so much of what she writes about happened in her world. Like so many woman musicians, she didn't get the respect or path she deserved.
Plus, I grew up in Lake Charles, so I get it.
This song desperately needs a chorus.
i love tom petty's version.
I like Lucinda Williams but this song gets pretty grating after awhile, it's a plodding number with a drawling voice that goes on and on.
i changed the track i'm playing now
 teadye wrote:

Time to turn RP off. The single most untalented performer in the playlist. I have never heard this particular song but could smell Lucinda a mile away. Oh well! Must be the fake-o Southern accent and off key pseudo country whine... Nothing worse than someone "putting on" country IMHO. I put down tools and climbed down off a ladder just to turn her off and write this complaint....



Poor guy, it must be oh so tiring standing on a ladder all day so you can look down on everyone.
.........
ugh, every time she comes on RP
yes! Please change the locks!!
 Alastair wrote:


Because it's bloody awful?


I don’t think it is at all
 jp33442 wrote:

Why is this song not an 8 or above??



Because it's bloody awful?
Why is this song not an 8 or above??
 LinThizzy wrote:

locks pick easy



she sounds drunk singing
locks pick easy
"Here's all these obsessive-compulsive things I'm doing to move past you in my life, plus a song about you."
You tell him, Lucinda! Solid 8.
An interesting thematic follow-up to "Pretty Woman", and a very nice song in its own right.
I'd change the name o' RP
to lose the imbeciles out heeeya
who dig and dig on Pink Floyd
and everything else is but a Void
lots of haters in the years here.  You should see Lucinda live and you might change your minds.  Talented song writer and soulful singer, great backup band too.  
The lyrics provide ample evidence her ex made the right decision!  I enjoy a lot of Lucinda, but this one can't end soon enough.  Maybe it hits too close to home? :-)
I had never heard of Lucinda before listening to RP and, frankly, ignorance was bliss. 
Dirge
Not a Lucinda fan. Every song of hers I hear on RP is just . . . meh.
 Leslie wrote:
kaupmees wrote:This song is from one of her older CDs (the eponymous album) which came out in 1998


I'm not familiar with her older CDs, but this one is from Lucinda Williams
don't mess with a woman who's got the power to change the name of this town...
LUCINDA ROCKS!
Stripped and simple - great!  Honest with wry humor.
Oh what we must go through to shake a stalker!  Sing it Lucinda!
 Coppertop wrote:
teadye wrote: Most probably the MOST uneducated comment I've heard yet. No. Wait. It IS the MOST uneducated comment I've heard.


@ teadye: maybe get into your pickup and pop in a Lynyrd Skynyrd casette?

Great song. She weaves the tale indirectly how desperate the guy made her.  And if she did put on an accent to punch the point about maybe how she sees good ole boys, well, it worked.
Go girl !!
My wife asked 'who told this guy he could sing' for the preceding Blues Traveller track, and I'm afraid Lucinda has just trumped (in all senses) that for this household. Shame - I like most of her work, but have a hard time justifying that to 'er indoors with this one. 
 Ihatethissong wrote:
yeah well I gave it a 10
and RP ain't going to stop playing it no matter how much you whine
and yeah I said ain't so bite it
 
wavering at 8, now its a 10.
Not so good...EH?
 carlos65 wrote:
Poor vocal, but doesn't she sound young on this. I think she got better as she got older. 
 

She has the kind of voice that just works with the music perfectly.  
angry chick. 
Hey! What's my ex wife doin out here?
Gah! This is horrible!
Lucinda is awesome.
I'm glad later versions improved this good song because this one is painful.
 teadye wrote:
Time to turn RP off. The single most untalented performer in the playlist. I have never heard this particular song but could smell Lucinda a mile away. Oh well! Must be the fake-o Southern accent and off key pseudo country whine... Nothing worse than someone "putting on" country IMHO. I put down tools and climbed down off a ladder just to turn her off and write this complaint....
 

 bobcouch wrote:
It sounds like maybe she should just move.
 

Yeah right? An awful lot of changing things in her environment, may as well. Or, she might just change her thought patterns and keep all her stuff!
It sounds like maybe she should just move.
Too repetitive for my ears.  PSD.  Chrissie Hynde she's not.

edit:  Followed by "Middle of the Road"...  shows how it should be done.
Poor vocal, but doesn't she sound young on this. I think she got better as she got older. 
Great song, but Lucinda isn't quite pulling it off vocally. I think she got better at using her voice as time went on.
CHANGE the song... Baaad!
 easmann wrote:
The "Live @ The Fillmore" version is more raucous and is superior I think. An obviously polarizing song from a polarizing artist and I like it very much.

 
Totally agree with this.  Studio recordings of Lucinda dont show her real talent... the first time I heard the double CD set of The Fillmore concert, I was sold on her awesome ability to perform.     'Got my mojo workin' now!'
I love(d) Lucinda until she burned her voice out (same thing we all partook in in the 80's -- well most of us) but once her voice was gone I just could not stand to hear her.

And this song in particular really grates me the wrong way.  One of the top ten 100 songs I leap across the room to turn  down.  

Sorry Lucinda.
Here I am complimenting easmann again, this time for taking the time to type out the full lyrics of the song - which will stay with me
like a poem
(as I've stated elsewhere in my comment on Lyle LovettThe Road To Ensenada ).

While I just don't dig her singing them, the lyrics are haunting and beautiful. I'd like to hear someone else having a shot at them. I don't know who. Maybe Chrissie Hynde, maybe Janis Joplin... I know, I know, but she'd do them justice...

Williams just sound almost like she didn't write this herself - she can't bring those words to life. Maybe it's just me.
I love this song!!!!  Gets me feelin good!  Love it!
The (YouTube: Changed The Locks), Live @ The Fillmore version is more raucous and is superior I think. An obviously polarizing song from a polarizing artist and I like it very much.
Admit it, all you haters, Lucinda can do no wrong.
strick wrote:
Normally, I can tolerate her, maybe even like some of her stuff...but this is godawful !!!!
I wouldn't go quite that far, but it's definitely unpleasant, IMO.
teadye wrote:
Time to turn RP off. The single most untalented performer in the playlist. I have never heard this particular song but could smell Lucinda a mile away. Oh well! Must be the fake-o Southern accent and off key pseudo country whine... Nothing worse than someone "putting on" country IMHO. I put down tools and climbed down off a ladder just to turn her off and write this complaint....
Most probably the MOST uneducated comment I've heard yet. No. Wait. It IS the MOST uneducated comment I've heard.
Horrible. White trash without the pathos.
Wow, lots of negative comments on this one. Gee, I kind of liked it myself...">
tg3k wrote:
Nope. Doesn't work at all for me. Plodding, repetitive, somewhat out of tune, with all of 2 chords in the progression.
Plodding! That's the word I was looking for.......
bostonbeerguy wrote:
I remember this being a much more uptempo tune. Is there another version of it?
There is; a version by Tom Petty on the "She's The One" soundtrack. It is leaps and bounds more enjoyable.
And I changed the channel.
teadye wrote:
Time to turn RP off. The single most untalented performer in the playlist. I have never heard this particular song but could smell Lucinda a mile away. Oh well! Must be the fake-o Southern accent and off key pseudo country whine... Nothing worse than someone "putting on" country IMHO. I put down tools and climbed down off a ladder just to turn her off and write this complaint....
teadye wrote:
... Must be the fake-o Southern accent and off key pseudo country whine... Nothing worse than someone "putting on" country IMHO....
Well, it seems to work for Dwight!
Not terrible, but Tom Petty does it so much better.
Normally, I can tolerate her, maybe even like some of her stuff...but this is godawful !!!!
Time to turn RP off. The single most untalented performer in the playlist. I have never heard this particular song but could smell Lucinda a mile away. Oh well! Must be the fake-o Southern accent and off key pseudo country whine... Nothing worse than someone "putting on" country IMHO. I put down tools and climbed down off a ladder just to turn her off and write this complaint....
Kurt_from_La_Qui wrote:
HEY! an accepted upload!
Thanks Kurt for the upload. Made me come in from the kithen to see who was playing. A 9.
I changed the station on the radio So I don't have to hear this song no mo' Ok, sorry. Couldn't resist. Just don't much care for her voice. Saw her live once (she was opening for the Jayhawks, who were amazing) and she was just *sloppy* -- all over the place pitch-wise. (Which, admittedly, might be a "styling", but it's one that doesn't do anything for me.)
kaupmees wrote:
I like the lyrics. Thanks for the new Lucinda :nodhead: And this is my first first comment. Too bad it's not that insightful, but hey.
This song is from one of her older CDs (the eponymous album) which came out in 1998
Nope. Doesn't work at all for me. Plodding, repetitive, somewhat out of tune, with all of 2 chords in the progression. She could be singing the best lyrics known to man, and it wouldn't change any of the above. I like a fair number of Lucinda's songs, but this piece isn't one of them. :roll:
Well... So much for getting the lyrics together... Wish she had found some music to go/with. :(
I remember this being a much more uptempo tune. Is there another version of it?
What CD is this on? (Or did she change the name? LOL!)
jerseygirl wrote:
can't stand this woman. she is so fucking pretenious!! yuck.
kettle to pot, "You are black!" oh, and that's pretenTious....
anniebear wrote:
Lucinda Williams R O C K S!!!!! Frelling fantastic artist! God damn she is one powerful artist! LoveloveloveLOVE her!
Ditto.
Lucinda Williams R O C K S!!!!! Frelling fantastic artist! God damn she is one powerful artist! LoveloveloveLOVE her!
can't stand this woman. she is so fucking pretenious!! yuck.
BGGA wrote:
Nope, I still don't like her, even if she is covering Tom Petty.
You have that a bit backwards.
Nope, I still don't like her, even if she is covering Tom Petty.
I like LW, but Tom Petty did a MUCH better job on this, even if she wrote it.
kaupmees wrote:
I like the lyrics. Thanks for the new Lucinda :nodhead: And this is my first first comment. Too bad it's not that insightful, but hey.
Wow, I was about to say, "isn't this a Tom Petty song," but All Music tells me it's actually a Lucinda Williams song, I've just never heard her doing it before...nice.
No wonder she can't find her "Joy"! :P
HEY! an accepted upload!
I like the lyrics. Thanks for the new Lucinda :nodhead: And this is my first first comment. Too bad it's not that insightful, but hey.