"Feed Jake" is a song written by

Danny Mayo Daniel Mayo (October 2, 1950 – October 2, 1999) was an American songwriter, primarily known for writing country hits for artists such as Alabama, Tracy Byrd, Pirates of the Mississippi and Confederate Railroad. Byrd's "The Keeper of the Stars", ...

, and recorded by American country music band Pirates of the Mississippi. It was released in February 1991 as the third single from the band's self-titled debut album. The song is also the band's highest chart peak, having reached number 15 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' Hot Country Singles & Tracks (now

Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data from Nielsen BDS along with digital sal ...

) charts.

Content

"Feed Jake" is a ballad accompanied mainly by guitar and synthesized

strings String or strings may refer to: *String (structure), a long flexible structure made from threads twisted together, which is used to tie, bind, or hang other objects Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Strings'' (1991 film), a Canadian anim ...

. In the chorus, the male narrator reminisces on his childhood friend, a dog named Jake ("If I die before I wake / Feed Jake..."). The narrator also addresses societal stereotypes toward

homeless Homelessness or houselessness – also known as a state of being unhoused or unsheltered – is the condition of lacking stable, safe, and adequate housing. People can be categorized as homeless if they are: * living on the streets, also kn ...

people and

homosexual Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to peop ...

s, of whom the latter are addressed in the final verse. Guitarist Rich Alves said of the song that it "means something different to everyone who hears it."

Music video

Deaton-Flanigen Productions directed the song's music video, which was one of the first of its kind in the country music industry to not feature the artist at all. Most of the music video was filmed southwest of Nashville, Tennessee on Tennessee State Route 100 as well as on Highway 70 in White Bluff, Tennessee. It tells the song's story through two men, who are childhood friends, as shown in flashbacks. Later on, one of the men is attending the other's funeral, and the surviving man goes to meet his dog Jake, a Labrador which he and the deceased friend adopted together, at the cemetery. Upon its release, the music video was believed by some members of the gay community to have a gay theme; the two men were said to be lovers, one of whom dies from

AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual m ...

at the end. Kimberly Lansing, then the executive producer of Deaton-Flanigen Productions, said that the video was "not meant one way or another" regarding the back story or the one man's death. Lansing also said that the video is about returning home and not fitting in anymore. Additionally, because of the Persian Gulf War, some people have also assumed that the man's death is war-related.

Critical reception

In the book ''The Encyclopedia of Country Music'', Tom Roland wrote that the final verse, with its theme of tolerance towards homosexuals, showed a shift in political beliefs for the typically conservative country music audience. In 2019, Rolling Stone ranked "Feed Jake" No. 37 on its list of the 40 saddest songs in country music.

Chart performance

"Feed Jake" debuted on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot Country Singles & Tracks for the week of March 16, 1991. It spent 20 weeks on the ''

'' Hot Country Singles & Tracks (now

) charts, peaking at number 15 the week of June 8, 1991.

Other versions

A live recording appeared on the band's 1995 album '' Paradise'' for

Giant Records In folklore, giants (from Ancient Greek: '' gigas'', cognate giga-) are beings of human-like appearance, but are at times prodigious in size and strength or bear an otherwise notable appearance. The word ''giant'' is first attested in 1297 fr ...

. This version was produced by

David Malloy David Ernest Malloy is an American country music and pop songwriter, record producer and A&R executive with 41 number one hits. He had received multiple Grammy nominations, as writer and/or producer, and has worked with many artists and proj ...

References

{{authority control 1991 singles Music videos directed by Deaton-Flanigen Productions Pirates of the Mississippi songs Songs written by Danny Mayo Song recordings produced by James Stroud Capitol Records Nashville singles LGBT-related songs Song recordings produced by David Malloy 1991 songs Songs about dogs Songs about homelessness