Belle & Sebastian sing duets as a matter of course, with three or four of their seven members sharing vocals on most of their albums. Lead singer Stuart Murdoch often trades lines with Sarah Martin or (previously) Isobel Campbell as well as Stevie Jackson.

But on a couple of occasions, Murdoch has teamed up with somebody outside the band. One was the EP track ‘Lazy Line Painter Jane,’ on which Scottish singer Monica Queen laid down a spirited vocal track that threatened to blow Murdoch’s thin whisper right off the tape.

Murdoch has gained confidence and presence as a singer since then, and he finds himself evenly matched with Norah Jones on this track from the band’s latest CD, Belle & Sebastian Write About Love.

For her part, Jones delivers one of those sexily smoky vocal performances that put her on the map a decade ago. Her voice has a timeless quality that transcends the MOR trappings of her albums. I think she’s a lot more interesting than most of the music she sings.

I’m open to specific interpretations of this song. Why did this couple not become lovers or friends? The title characters are, apparently, Lou Reed, Jack Kerouac and John Lennon (or at least that’s where the names came from).