Ray Jones is searching for Simple Times
By Alan Shipston for Country Music News International Magazine
Ray Jones adds his voice to legions before him who question the actions of our ancestors with his new song, Simple Times. A reflective folk style protest song that contrasts the innocence of the past with the consequences of modern power, politics and division told through the eyes of a traveler moving through familiar land. The song begins with memories of childhood when wars felt distant, stories were passed down quietly and life was shaped by simplicity rather than control. Jones starts with an arpeggiated banjo roll over a bright acoustic guitar, while a lone kick drum beats out the tribal rhythm pattern. His emotional, yet controlled voice is inflected with a soft country twang as he sings,
As I travel down this road
Through the window passing by
I see a land I used to know
A familiar country side
Where the wars were just as fatal
In the books our teachers read
Or softly spoken story
While Grandad shook his head
A harmonica joins the track with a lonesome call and as the song unfolds, nostalgia gives way to reckoning. The landscape becomes marked by loss, broken voices and the aftermath of decisions made by those in power. Simple Times employs a repetitive acoustic shape as Ray questions authority, inherited borders and the cost of ideology forced onto ancient cultures, asking whether progress has come at the expense of humanity and truth.
Jones had this to offer about his latest release, “I think I wrote this tune around 2020 and at the time I was questioning the world we were becoming and the governments we were electing, this isn’t some country banger and it’s no anthem it’s just me thinking of those days where the world felt like hope. But it seems now more than ever my thoughts in this tune carry a meaning and an urgency for all Australians to wake up and ask some serious questions.”
From the moment Ray Jones picked up a guitar, it was clear that country music had found a voice that was as warm and heartfelt as the songs he would go on to write as a gifted storyteller. Hailing from Myalup Beach Western Australia, Ray Jones blends classic country influences with a modern touch, creating a sound that resonates with fans across generations. His debut album, Sleeping Rough, introduced the world to his emotional storytelling, with songs like Sleeping Rough and Die Tryin’ earning acclaim at home and in the USA for their lyrical depth and heartfelt delivery. His work has since earned him the WA country music male artist of the year in 2023 and 2024 along with being a finalist for WAM country song of the year in 2024.