Jane

Who is "Jane" in this song? In a Songfacts interview with Jefferson Starship bass player David Freiberg, who wrote the lyric, he said, "Let us say that it was loosely about an old girlfriend of mine whose name wasn't Jane." In the song, Jane is playing mind games, stepping out and fooling around. The singer is trying to reel her back in by telling her he knows what's best for her when it comes to love - good luck with that! Freiberg may have chosen the name Jane to protect the innocent, but it also scans well into lyrics like "you're playing a game," which helps show off the vocal range of lead singer Mickey Thomas.

"Jane" has lyrics written by David Freiberg and Jim McPherson, and music by Freiberg, McPherson, Paul Kantner and Craig Chaquico. All but McPherson - a professional singer-songwriter - were members of Jefferson Starship at the time. The group - first known as Jefferson Airplane - had an ever-shifting lineup, which at times was completely rebuilt.

The rocked-up arrangement on this song came courtesy of their guitarist, Craig Chaquico. When David Freiberg started writing it, he had a different musical direction in mind. "I was trying for the style of the Rolling Stones baroque period of the '60s," he told Songfacts. "It was Craig Chaquico who came up with the great hard rock arrangement, and thank goodness for that!"