MY FIELD



performed on:
Constantly confused by the press with "My Friend" in early press for CHILD, this Kieran/Parker composition was written in 2002 and recorded on the now-legendary LOVE tape; that version is included on the "Ex" single and is as good as anything that made it to LOVE itself. It's one of six songs from that demo tape presented by Nick and Janet to Plaastik at the start of the CHILD sessions in 2002, and was, in Janet's words, "the clear favorite." Nick remained fond of the demo and wanted it included on LOVE but was vetoed.

The CHILD version has been cited by many fans as woefully overproduced. It contains a long stretch of sound effects of crickets at the beginning and later features an explosion of brass; though melodic and delicate, the song goes on for nearly eight minutes. Critics were receptive (as were many others; Christina Singleton considers it the best song on CHILD), fans generally were not.

A performance of the song on SNL was very stripped-down, as were full-band acoustic takes in 2004 and electric versions with Jay's harmonica in 2005. All three live versions are cited by many as superior to the album recording, along with the LOVE demo.


I went walking across my field
it's what I do when I feel like this
I walk my route for whatever problem
is getting me so far down

and I went out the corner of the fence
and I walked out on the train tracks
thinkin' about how much I wish I had a girl
about how much it would fix me
if I could complement
your affections with hers

I was thinkin' about how
I don't know how to find anybody
and I don't even really trust
the people I could ask

they're all so different from me
and they wouldn't understand
why I stay in my field

I love my solitude
but it gets so old sometimes
and today I was walking on the track
ahead of me, a stranger
I was amazed to see him

and I didn't know what to do
didn't know what to say
enclosed on both sides
so I slipped into the bushes
and out the other side
and ran away from my stranger
and we never said a word