Teaching the hard truth

Soul superstar Sharon Jones emotes, “I’m back in the ring with my boxing gloves” on the opener to her (“The Game Gets Old”) and the Dap Kings’ latest, “I Learned the Hard Way.”

It sets the tone for the rest of the album. She confronts an unfaithful lover on the title track and first single, with the typical line, “I heard you answer your phone with a gasp and a click.”

The funny thing is, unlike her much younger contemporaries, she doesn’t raise hood hell, lettin’ all the girls know and planning a very public R&Beatdown of said philanderer.

In “Window Shopping,” also about a man’s wandering eyes, she lets him know that he can keep doing so,  while inserting the stinger, “I no longer need you.”

The Georgia born, New York bred Jones is 53 years old. So, when she tells you that she’s learned the hard way, you’d better believe her.  She spent years working as a correction officer just got this successful, after years of trying for industry acknowledgment.

The song, “Money” perfectly captures the irony of this paradigm.  “I work like a dog for year after year, but when I need you most, you always disappear,” Jones practically shouts.

Ain’t that the truth?