| Joanna Newsom – Easy Lyrics | 13 years ago |
| Because I think it's been confirmed that HOOM is more of a narrative, I don't see this as being about a crush. The album seems to detail the dissolution of a relationship, and I see this as being the beginning of the end. | |
| Joanna Newsom – Easy Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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I do want to say that while HOOM does tell a story, I don't see why that means the narrator isn't Joanna. I think it's more complicated than that, but for example, we know, from interviews, that Ys is deeply personal and clearly about Joanna's personal life, and yet Monkey & Bear clearly has a narrator that cannot literally be Joanna ... because it's a bear. I read HOOM in the same way. There's probably a lack of literalness in much of the album, but I think ultimately, the narrative relates back to her life in a very personal way. In that way, I think the narrator can certainly be called Joanna and her commentary on it being a story seems to me to strengthen that, not harm it. |
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| Joanna Newsom – Easy Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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mindfulexportsofvine: I'm slightly confused -- was the "no offense" directed to me? I can't figure out what I would have to be offended about. It appears we came to very similar conclusions. Maybe it wasn't that clear in my post, but I agree about the "difficult man" thing. I don't think there's too big of a difference between the person I was envisioning, who I described as caring very little, and yours, who simply has trouble in relationships. I didn't necessarily mean that the emotions weren't there, but that the person wasn't interested in (or able to be) investing that much into a relationship. I really like your thoughts on easy, and how it reminds you of calming a horse. I definitely see that. I was interpreting easy in the vein of "I am easy, easy to keep," but I see that there could be a difference in the two. I suppose I just took the clear-cut usage of easy (where it seems obvious it is used to refer to a "state of being easy") and attributed that meaning to the other usages as well, but I think that was simplification on my part. Regarding the Bloody Mary legend, I played the "game" a lot as a child, but to get more information, consulted Wikipedia. Bloody Mary isn't always, or at least not explicitly, referencing Queen Mary I, and there are references to pregnancies/children, etc. in that. I assume, considering it's a folktale sort of thing, this varies tremendously. I'm slightly confused about what you're saying regarding the mirror legend, so I don't know exactly how to respond. Again, I don't think the differences are vast between our interpretations. To me, someone having difficulty opening their heart is rather similar to feeling not being wholly reciprocated. After all, if the narrators heart is open wide, and the other's isn't, regardless of it's purposeful or not, there's a lack of reciprocation. That's the sort of situation I was intending to suggest, I believe. |
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| Joanna Newsom – Emily Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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I don't think they're mixed up; I think she was intending to say something rather important with how she describes them. The meteorite is the only object of the three that resides here on Earth, that we can actually touch. She claims that this now-Earthly object is the true source of the light. Yes, it is no longer lighted, but the meteor, as it travels through the atmosphere is just what we see, not touch, and the meteoroid, though pre-light, is merely just a stone in space, and has no mark of the fire that later brings it to Earth. See? |
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| Joanna Newsom – Baby Birch Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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I'm not sure how I feel about this song now, if I still think it's about an abortion, but I wanted to add some more comments because I'm dealing with a very, very recent experience. Yesterday morning, I was 12 weeks pregnant. It was also the day of the first time I was seeing Joanna Newsom live. Just before the concert, I noticed bleeding, and this morning I found out that I've lost the baby. While Joanna was playing, I was having a hard time concentrating because I was worried. She played Baby Birch last and I kept hearing things I'd never really thought of before. The main one is what is in intended by the "runaway bunny" part. I read that book (The Runaway Bunny) just a week or so ago and that was fresh on my mind. I find it terribly sad. In the book, the mother follows the baby bunny no matter where he goes. When Joanna follows that declaration up with, "And then she ran ... " my heart breaks. It feels very much to me like the mother intended to, and wanted to, follow the baby wherever she went, but the baby ran away to a place it couldn't be followed. I'm not sure if I feel the song is about miscarriage, but I agree that the surgical/violent aspects could easily be about miscarriage, as doctors do get involved and miscarriages are bloody and painful. Not only that, but lots of women feel intense guilt, thinking they could have done something to prevent the loss. Maybe this is where some of the imagery that insinuates there was violence at her hands comes from. I'm not sure and I know I'm making this too much about my experience, but wow, to miscarry the night I hear Baby Birch live, one of my favorites, and to feel it so deeply ... it's a very sad thing. |
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| Joanna Newsom – Go Long Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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I think this song is essentially a song about men and masculinity and how women and femininity are viewed and/ or relate to that. The song begins with the set-up of a dream. I believe the entire song is meant to be a dream, made up of shifting imagery about a singular situation, told through metaphors. It seems to be about a man, “tortured” in a sense. From one view it would seem that the man is cruel (and he probably is) but the song lends a lot of sympathy, makes him sound weak and pathetic and pitiful rather than strong and secure and manly as he might imagine he is viewed. The narrator is supposed to “save” this man. The first verse looks as if she is a beautiful woman (a “princess of India”) brought in almost as an offering to this wealthy, extravagant and insincere man. It’s no secret that he goes through women quickly, as she’s brought in on a bed of their sacrifice to him. These women too hoped to be the one to “save him,” to end his cruelty, to make him love truly another person. Instead, he has continued to live a life of extravagance, of freedom, and therefore, of great loneliness. It seems that maybe with each new woman (who I believe, as the princess changes from an Indian one to a Kentucky one, are meant to be all the same, to embody this femininity that is out of reach for these men.) the man truly does believe he is being “saved,” he will no longer have to prove himself as a man, he will sink into the sweet bliss of domesticity and care from a woman he loves, and when he still does not feel fulfilled, with his disappointment, kills these women. The narrator is the newest addition, and they both hope for him. She recognizes though, as he does not, that when he kills these women for their failure, it is his failure, and his violence, which is truly causing him such pain. He can’t own this. He thinks that when he leaves his palace, his woman, disappears, takes advantage of his wealth and freedom, he will again be free, but he is forever stained by the remains of the women who have loved him and who he has torn up. He does not change by leaving; leaving does not save him. The list of attributes these lonely men have: jaws, fists — to represent violence, masculinity, fighting; guitars and pens — artistic and intellectual endeavors; and then sugarlip, a way of being irresistible to women. These men value these things and focus on them so entirely, seeing that men and only men can have these aspects, and gather around firepits to celebrate their manliness. No women are allowed, no women could be as violent, have such a great mind, as these men believe they have. And no woman has ever been invited, or crossed the threshold, into this burning and sad manliness, isolated in its surety of isolation. The narrator is concerned and sad for the man, wondering how he got this way, if he will ever have children, if he will ever have a wife that will care for him when he needs it. In his stark independence, his refusal to need anyone (ironically while needing someone so badly) he will end up alone. Worried for him, almost like a mother, the narrator is telling him softly how miserable he will be, and that soon enough, he won’t have a chance. No one will love him. Instead of mellowing himself, forgetting his quests for valor, he repeatedly goes on them; he tortures himself to prove himself. However, the sympathy is there. As a man, he’s repeatedly been failed by those who raised him, those around him, from his birth. It becomes a cycle, everyone just hurting each other. Again, softly, maternally, yearning for a simple domesticity, the narrator asks him about his clothing, wondering about his choices, teasing him. At this point though, he has almost destroyed himself. Covered in the remnants of him trying so hard to prove himself, he acts like a delirious and senile old man, groping at the women around them, not even able to respect or understand the women that are paid to care for him. The narrator likens herself to a horse, to something men watch and use for a sport. She tries to appeal to him, saying look at your princess now. She is also failing him, she has not saved him, and he will kill her soon. She attempts to get him to look at his life spiritually, to show him his fear, and his ignorance and betrayal of women and how he is hurting himself. She tells him that though he’s looking, he’s blinded himself. He’s sunk further into isolation and as she tries to pull him out, she wonders if she’s does the right thing, or if she’s made it worse. He leaves then, as he leaves them all, trying to embrace his freedom, off to the firepits probably, off to do something terrible to himself just to ensure that he can. He leaves his home and his comfort to punish himself, and she is left there. It is then of course that she realizes the true extent of the women he has used and deserted in his attempts for salvation, their sacrifice, and the sadness of it all. She realizes she too will die because she has not saved him either. Though he is lonely and sad and terrible, she has loved him, like all other women have too, and forever they feel his kiss, and he is forever kissing, asking for something he won’t accept. He is far away, lonely and alone, with all the other men, begging for and refusing help in the same breathe. She accepts it then, and speaks of him, of every man like him, the ones that are on an eternal quest to be something that doesn’t exist. They understand nothing about themselves and are always moving. The narrator knows now that they cannot be helped. She hopes only for the next best thing: that he becomes what he wants to be in a true sense, that, like he’s been doing his whole life, he will love, and then he will cast away, and then he will do it again, until he’s let everyone go, and it is only him, only the men, in one place, all together, steeping themselves in isolation and a journey that they refuse to let end. |
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| Joanna Newsom – Easy Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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Really, really interesting! It also clears up some things. However, my first thought is that "Does Not Suffice" is, I think, without a doubt, about a mere mortal breakup and refers quite obviously to this song. This seems to support the idea that this song is also just about a human relationship. However, your interpretation makes it far more interesting in my eyes. I'm not sure if I totally agree, but lots of it works really well. Also, I always wondered why "One" was capitalized, and really, if this is meant to refer to God, that makes sense. |
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| Arcade Fire – In the Backseat Lyrics | 14 years ago |
| This song is so so sad. I just don't ever want to go through this. The lyrics are so very simple and yet beyond powerful. I can't even listen to it. It breaks my heart. | |
| Regina Spektor – Chemo Limo Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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"Oh my god, Barbara, she looks so much just like my mom." I think this line is one of the saddest I've ever heard sung. The entire song is somewhat sad, seems to be about a woman coming to terms with her death, and when she begins talking about her children, it just kills me. The way she sings it makes me think her mother is most certainly already dead, and seeing the face of the woman who once protected her in the young girl she is supposed to be protecting is such a powerful image. If she is to die, she will be leaving her four children behind, and lingering on the fact that Barbara looks like her mother (the way it's sung, with the "oh my god" is heart wrenching) seems to insinuate that these children, soon to be without a mother, will have to become mothers to themselves. I cry just thinking about it. |
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| Joanna Newsom – '81 Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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There are official lyrics to this. So, for instance when you said you've seen A.D. 1, those are the official lyrics. They're just not here for some reason. (Also, just a note, A.D. 1 wasn't marked by the death of Jesus! Rather it is somewhere around his birth -- which helps when you realize Joanna was conceived in '81 as well; it makes a bit more sense that way, though I'm not certain on what it means.) While the religious allusions are obvious, I truly doubt the lyrics are meant to be a narrative about The Fall. Rather, I think, Joanna has taken the imagery surrounding the myth and weaved it into something personal. |
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| Joanna Newsom – Have One On Me Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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I'm not sure about the accuracy of my source, but the book I read made it seem that Lola was very reluctant to leave Bavaria. When she finally did, she kept returning, disguised, until the king finally announced that she no longer had any government power and, I believe, allowed for her to arrested if she re-entered (I may be remembering that wrong). Given that, I've been thinking the line you quoted is more of a rumor, and much of the song is Lola's anger at her perception. Not sure though. By the way, thanks again for your poisoning addition. I get a little crazy over song interpretation and that clears up so much, so I really appreciate your insights. |
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| Joanna Newsom – Have One On Me Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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!!! I think it's no accident that the song begins with a poisoned drink, and then near the end, is absolutely wrought with alcohol. Brilliant. I can't believe it's taken me this long to make this connection! I'm not sure who was being poisoned here (I don't think it's out of the question to say "and I died" could be from the perspective of either Lola or the king considering the narrative is so jumpy) but someone was. Urging someone to "have one on me" when we're dealing with poison is a really deliberate and angry twist to the normal jovial act of toasting and buying someone a drink. I think that's a huge theme in this song: something that is normally beautiful and/or friendly is just wrecked. But I'm still curious about how Lola ultimately feels about the king, her sugardaddy. Is it her asking the king to "have one on me"? If so, then isn't it entirely possible it is her that poisoned the king in the beginning? Your theory is interesting too. I doubt Joanna intended to make this a song to teach us about Lola Montez, so I think it's possible she changed the story up. Perhaps the king needed to get rid of Lola and she just wouldn't go. He poisons her, and the song is narrated in this sickly, dying state while she darkly jokes about "will you have one on me?" maybe in order to gain revenge, or to scoff at the fact that the king is killing her with such a kind gesture. There's still so much to understand, but it feels good to be considering something new. |
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| Joanna Newsom – Baby Birch Lyrics | 14 years ago |
| Esme was a friend's child, as far as I know, not Emily's, but that doesn't invalidate your point -- pretty sure the friend (Jamie, maybe? I remember reading that name...) lives in Nevada City. Interesting thought. | |
| Joanna Newsom – No Provenance Lyrics | 14 years ago |
| Oh, but to be honest, the very first thing I thought of when I heard "Big Return" was The Rapture. Ha. | |
| Joanna Newsom – Baby Birch Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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Some new thoughts ... It's been bothering me that, if this song is about an abortion, the violent scene at the end can become almost nauseating. The skinning of a bunny already is unpleasant, but one can assume it is meant to represent something else. However, when that something else is a child, it can easily become disgusting. And I'm just not sure how I feel about relating the skinning of a bunny to the aborting of a fetus. But I still think it needs to be justified if this is not what the image is meant to invoke. The scene reminds me of the line, "Blessing all the birds that died so I could live," and that line reminds me of reading an interview where Joanna eats a hamburger and explains that she used to be a vegetarian, and now that she wasn't anymore, feels like she should hunt or something, like if she can't kill an animal she feels like a hypocrite for eating meat, but she doesn't really think she could do it. I guess that idea of killing an innocent creature is definitely important here. At some point Joanna felt it was wrong to take an animal's life for food (assumed based on the talk about feeling like a hypocrite and what not, but I'm not quoting here) but then she changed her mind a bit, and instead, blesses the deaths so that she can continue to live (the "blessing" line can be applied to pretty much any sacrificial element of life). This bunny in Baby Birch is dying, presumably so that she can go on and live. It's could be that the narrator needed to skin the bunny in some way to sustain herself, promote her own life, like a meat-eater might. And it's interesting to note that Joanna has considered the necessity of death in order to feed her, but is still greatly uncomfortable with being the one to cause that death. Yet, in this song, the narrator does it, almost without hesitation. Yet, the bunny is technically left alive and runs off. What does that mean? Is it left skinned, and the narrator is just standing there with a rabbit pelt? What exactly does that mean? Is the narrator harming the bunny out of necessity or cruelty? I don't think the album is beyond thinking of a woman as cruel, considering Joanna's relations of herself to Lola from Have One On Me, and the way Lola was not the calmest, most loving woman. Anyway, just some ponderings. Oh, someone on Milky Moon suggested the image that a skinned bunny almost looks like a baby. I agree that many small animals, when devoid of fur/feathers, take on a very eerie look like a tiny human body (I'm thinking of chicken specifically here, which looks so much to me like a headless baby on its back when cooked whole, I can hardly eat it). Is that an intended connection? |
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| Joanna Newsom – No Provenance Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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I always imagine that line to mean something about going back home, to "Rome," and she's terrified because she feels the people there might question her changes, her relationship, etc. There's still many songs I haven't spent a ton of time with (if I haven't commented on the song on this site, I have not combed through the lyrics) but it's really easy to notice connecting themes or ideas. I was considering that perhaps "Good Intentions Paving Company" is about a road trip, or at least traveling with this man. She's very defensive in much of these songs in the first disc, like in Easy, and in Good Intentions :"I've been fessing double fast, addressing questions nobody asked." So many later songs are about returning home (In California, Autumn) that I think the first disc consists of maybe being away and sinking into this relationship she, for whatever reason, won't leave, but being slightly ashamed when the people who knew her before this see her now -- the "Big Return." That is very loosely hypothesized though, just thoughts that spring in my mind when I'm driving and singing and not really trying to put things together. |
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| Joanna Newsom – Have One On Me Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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Oh, but, as far as I can tell, blackguard doesn't mean guard at all, but is an insult for a low-life. I'm not sure if Joanna is just playing with words (if he poisoned the king he would certainly be a blackguard as well as being a guard), but I'm sure she knew blackguard didn't mean a guard. So technically this person could be anyone. Also, now that I'm in the mindset of a poisoning taking place (which I don't think is a historical event) is it possible that it's meant to mean Lola tried to poison the king, but someone else was punished? After all, she came to "watch it go down" as if she knew something would be happening. Not sure if that fits into the rest of the song since I think we ultimately come out believing Lola did love the king, she was just very feisty. This song is still confusing to me. |
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| Joanna Newsom – Have One On Me Lyrics | 14 years ago |
| Wonderful. I hadn't even considered the poisoined cup thing and it makes a lot of sense. Thank you so much for adding this! | |
| Joanna Newsom – Baby Birch Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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I have no doubt that the "fussing" line is to indicate she experienced uncertainty, but I'm not sure why if it's about uncertainty about having a baby that's already been concieved makes it more vulgar than if it's one that hasn't been. Lately while listening to this song, I've been hearing the final scene as a sort of anger at her own violence. The bunny scene, regardless of what it's about, is pretty graphic. The thought of skinning the bunny (generally regarded as soft fuzzy creatures) and the pathetic descriptions of it being "unsung and blue" should evoke sympathy regardless. I guess when I hear her sing it, I think it's an almost like, "oh god what have I done" expression. She uses a scene to show what it felt like to her after harming and treating rather poorly what is usually coddled and loved. I hear deep emotion in, "And then she ran..." almost like, "well, she's gone now." A saddening certainty of finality before laying the baby at peace. Whether the child was imagined, I beleive the bunny is meant to represent her. I just simply can't explain the scene if the child was imagined. I'd actually love it if someone had a suggestion, because that is the main thing keeping me from making that conclusion, and, as mentioned above, when the song is put into the context of the album, it's not so easy to keep fighting for the abortion theory. I'm not a diehard, I just want to support my beliefs with evidence. |
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| Joanna Newsom – Baby Birch Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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Yes, it was the hearing of On A Good Day that originally made me turn away from the abortion theory. It doesn't seem to be about an abortion -- though it technically could be, that's not what I would hypothesize and certainly throws a wrench into my thoughts on Baby Birch. But at the same time, leaves questions about Baby Birch that I would think of previously answered. I'm definitely unsure at this point. |
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| Bright Eyes – A Few Minutes on Friday Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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Wow. These lyrics are pretty straightforward. I agree that comments without much more than praise for the artist are a bit pointless on a website dedicated to the meaning of the song, but I do not think anyone needs you to, "actually try to bring meaning to the words." They're not awfully complex and nobody needed you to crack the code with your superiority. |
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| Joanna Newsom – No Provenance Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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This song is both really cryptic and seems to be receiving the least amount of attention and love out of all of Have One On Me. There are whole stanzas that I just don't get, but I believe the general theme can be made clear. I believe the narrator (Joanna, I suppose) is in a sort of relationship where she is protected and shielded and sort of hidden from the world. She yearns for the safety and the warmth of his arms, but it's not as good as she'd like to believe, because even though, "the grass was tall," it was, "strung with burrs." There are three scenes that I've unwound. The first refers to the couple spinning straw into gold. I take this to mean that the two of them (or perhaps only the narrator) believed that they, together, could make the impossible happen. And it seems they did. But when the gold was shaped back into bales (maybe not gold after all?) the narrator is "burned" by the other. Yet she revels in it. (Note that someone is also "burned" in Does Not Suffice.) Later, a whole civilization is left alone because the two go off together, until it dissolves. This recalls this quote from the Arthur interview Joanna did: "In some ways [Emily] is a tribute to her, and in other ways it was like a plea, a letter to her about some stuff that’s happening close to home, and a reference to the fact that a lot of the little structures and kingdoms and plans we built when we were younger are just falling to fucking pieces.” In the song, even though people are calling for help with flares, the narrator doesn't even see them, because she is hidden and protected by his arms. The horse scene is the most sprawling, most beautiful, and the most important. I believe that the horse is meant to represent a part of the narrator. This part is stubborn and feisty and doesn't like being locked away -- like the narrator currently is. But this part of her has been so strongly repressed that it takes the form of a pathetic horse. It is small, sickly and pale, but it still tries as hard as it can to escape. The gate holds fast. Neither the narrator nor her partner seem to feel a whole lot of a sympathy for this struggling animal. He seems to accept it, while she launches into a question (knowing the answer) of what part of her he loves more? She follows with that answer, and asks to be led -- because she certainly couldn't find her own way -- back to the farm so she can resume the safety of his arms. This song reminds me of the theme in Easy. In Easy the narrator is trying so hard to convince herself and her man of something that is merely not true, ignoring all the signs. Again, she's entirely ignoring a part of herself that is warning her, bucking and rearing against the entrapments. She knows, in a way, that's she cannot sustain life this way, the horse will soon die, and a whole part of her will be missing, but she pushes that thought aside, unwilling, and sinks back into him, in this man that has had her so enamored she can't seem to make herself leave. |
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| Joanna Newsom – Baby Birch Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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I originally thought this song invoked an abortion (the easiest interpretation, I think), but after the album version came out and I was able to put it into context and read along with the official lyrics, I doubted this and began going with the "imagined baby" theory. I didn't let go completely though -- wondering what the violent imagery, and some of the other images, could mean for the song -- and having given it a bit of a thought, am tending to lean back towards the abortion interpretation. However, I acknowledge that I could be entirely wrong and I certainly think it's very ambiguous throughout. There are also lines I simply can't decipher at all, so I can't pretend I've gone and undone the whole song, but there are suggestions throughout that nudge me in the abortion direction which I'd like to address. The song is clearly about a baby that, at one point, was supposed to happen. Most of the song is both deeply regretful and sadly accepting. These are ambiguous for the most part. "I wish we could take every path. I could spend a hundred years adoring you," could easily be referring to a future dreamed up that included a beautiful baby; but that baby was alongside a path that could not be taken when the relationship meant to produce this baby fell apart. There are wonderings about how the baby might look, and a admittance that "I hated to close the door on you." The line that, I believe, leads us into touching upon just why this baby doesn't exist is, "And at the back of what we've done, there is that knowledge of you." I can't help what wonder just what it is they they have done (a guilty-sounding statement). This could merely mean a relationship, or a break-up, but it could also mean something like sex that led to a pregnancy, or the decision to abort, though I would think, and this song might prove, that event would probably cause more than a "back of the mind" thought. It is the imagery that leads me into abortion territory, but I admit I believe it entirely possible to have a preconceived notion which leads in an analysis in that direction when it's not nearly that obvious to someone else. I welcome comments, and criticisms, as this is all just ideas I've stumbled upon, not anything I would fight to the death for. The stanza that begins, "Do you remember staring," seems either very simplistic (a mere remembering of a romantic night) or more complex. If it is more complex, I see the stars in their "bulletproof cars" as exact opposite of vulnerable, fleshy humans. Gazing up at them, they seem (they are) untouchable while the narrator (I hesitate to say Joanna directly; don't want to get too personal, as she's not afraid to delve into fiction) is very touchable. I take this very physically, that something has or is physically happening to the narrator, and she ponders the steely stoicism of stars. As Joanna begins singing, "When it was dark..." I cannot help but believe the following lines are recounting a hallucination or feverish sort of mood. She sees "shapes" and "stars," calling out for someone to hold in her hand while she "reels." This invokes to me a sickness which maybe leads into the (day)dream where the narrator tenderly asks the baby she never met, "How are you?" The italic portion of the song seem to me to be about a time when this baby had the potential of happening. She thinks about her vulnerable mortality and asks that if she ever dies, the baby be taken care of. This brings about both the questions of one dying while the other remains (she thinks she may die when the baby is born, while the opposite happens) and a doubting that she can raise a child as it needs. She may not be there, may not be able to teach her accurately, and already, has made so many mistakes. While most the song is written with this same tenderness, as the last portion begins, and the music starts to pick up, things get a bit more violent. The lake, I relate to fertility, to wombs, etc. is dirty. A goose frantically tries to protect her eggs, being a natural, defensive mother. The narrator almost scoffs, it seems, at this bird, calling her eggs "dregs" rather than something precious. She also sings of "a little baby fussing all over my legs," maybe annoyed. The final stanza takes on the form of a nursery rhyme at first, leaving that structure with a barber who is "cutting and cutting away at my only joy." This is a really curious line and confuses me a bit. I find it odd that a woman's "only joy" be her hair, assuming that is what the barber is cutting, though it is not specifically noted. It might be significant, but again is probably a stretch, that barbers used to also be surgeons and Joanna certainly doesn't stray from archaic words. The following scene is about a rabbit which almost certainly is meant in some way to be a child. I believe the book "The Runaway Bunny" is referenced. The book is described as "for any small child who has toyed with the idea of running away or testing the strength of Mom's love." Of course, the mother proves her love and devotion. However, the bunny scene begins almost sickly violent. The narrator finds it very easy to catch and skin this rabbit. As she holds the animal, it cries and twists, utterly destroyed and uncelebrated (as a child generally is celebrated). Here, the mood shifts, and suddenly the narrator exclaims, "Wherever you go, little runaway bunny, I will find you." This could still be of an unloving tone, but then takes on an even creepier undertone (though I've already skinned you, I will find you and put you through more pain). I don't particularly like that image, and do believe there might be a sudden shift and the narrator tries to jump back (as she's done before -- "I close the ranks, and I double back") and make up for the maternal lacking she feels she's had. But already the bunny is gone, run away, testing her mother's love. The test is failed, though, as the song ends with a chant to tell the baby to be at peace and be gone, and the bunny is not sought after or found, because she is gone and can never be known. Though I do not believe all of my interpretation to be accurate, I simply cannot ignore the violent imagery that makes up the last portion of the song. I can't seem to account for it with the imagined-baby theory. Also -- I am in no way an abortion fanatic, nor do I think this way because it is the "most shocking." I truly believe there is evidence that this is what this song (and another?) are touching upon. I have always felt very, very strange discussing this because it is a deeply personal topic and I am not at all trying to claim that Joanna herself has had this experience. I feel a bit disgusting claiming that, and am honestly trying to only discuss the song lyrics (obviously personal, as well, but put out knowledgeably and therefore up for dissection). So, I wanted to add that I do believe the bird scene from Only Skin contains the same sort of violent imagery, in a different sort of a way. A bird dies, and in a daydream, the narrator manages to bring it back to life, but back in the real world, the dogs have already torn it up, and it, like the bunny, is long gone. I don't think it's at all ridiculous to come to the conclusion I have. I also consider Joanna's songs ever-unfolding. I have no doubt that I will continue to discover intricacies and details about all her songs that change my views of their meaning, like the slow twisting of a kaleidoscope. I think that's what songs are supposed to do and I am glad to be a part of it. |
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| Joanna Newsom – Have One On Me Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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I know I need to do more thinking. I get frustrated because I have an obsession with understanding lyrics, and even though I think I understand much of this song, I'm still having a problem tying it together to get an overall feeling or theme. With what you mentioned, about the love that died in a duel, I also realize I should do more research. I did a bit of reading after your comment and there's some lyrics that I think relate to that man, but it's hard to say considering so much of the song is very clearly referencing the King of Bavaria. His is the only name used and a lot of the scenarios are directly related to him. Obviously there are many that aren't, which is where the idea of other loves (specifically Alexandre Dujarier) come in, but I feel it's not obvious enough to be sure. And then, of course, Joanna said in an interview (or the article mentioned it without a direct quote? can't remember) that Have One On Me is partly autobiographical, which makes perfect sense, as I doubt a song would be a penned about a completely disconnected story. So some of the more confusing or seemingly-unrelated scenes could easily be fiction or personal to the point where analyzing the lyrics just isn't entirely possible. Which bothers me! I know it shouldn't, but I guess knowing that so much of the song is historical, I have a hard time accepting parts that aren't when attempting to tie together the meaning. Anyway, I'm going to give it more time. I don't quite understand the song right now, but I really enjoy it, so all's well. |
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| Joanna Newsom – Have One On Me Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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That doesn't sound stupid at all, and I definitely believe that the beginning and end are meant to bookend her life. One thought I had, but I dismissed it, was that the intro is meant to be her catching a spider. I really like your interpretation, but there are lyrics left unexplained that I'm curious about. In your interpretation, what's the cup? What's the blackguard? Why does she feel bad? etc. |
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| Joanna Newsom – Have One On Me Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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While it's fairly obvious that the majority of this song is about Lola Montez's affair with King Ludwig I of Bavaria, not all of it can be traced back to concrete history, and I suspect some of it is fictionalized by Joanna Newsom, or maybe even personal details inserted in among the story. I've gone through and attempted to connect lyrics back to history. I haven't done a ton of research, just read most of a book about Lola Montez and then various snippets about her, so no doubt I'm missing details, but I've attempted a reading of sorts. Joanna Newsom stated in an interview that the lyrics of "Have One On Me" are meant to be in the voice or thoughts of someone in a feverish sort of state (I cannot remember the exact quote; I'm sure I'm twisting it). I take this to believe the song takes place in Lola Montez's hazy mind as she recounts her life, mainly dealing with Ludwig (or Louis here). Considering the abundant reference to alcohol later, maybe the song is a sort of drunken sprawl from Lola, or perhaps a dream, or something else. It does jump around a lot, so I hope to tie it together in a way by combing through it. The opening scene is quite confusing for me. I've gone through many considerations while trying to decide what is actually happening. There is a scene from a book about Lola I'd like to recount, because I think it might be related. After Lola has been in Bavaria a long time, some of the citizens are getting fed up with her and storm to her house to attempt to chase her out. They actually do this several different nights, eventually succeeding. On most occasions, Lola appears indifferent and cocky to their attacks, even though she probably would have been overtaken had she not had guards and troops to protect her. The riots do turn violent, Ludwig refers to his people as "blackguards" at one point, and people are hurt, though no one specifically. The first time people came after her, rioting on her lawn, it is reported that she stepped out on her balcony and toasted to their good health with a glass of champagne, then throwing bon bons out among the crowd. This is the scene I think of when considering the first stanza, but it doesn't seem to fit entirely. The idea of Lola "float[ing] out" to watch the commotion fits. I've thought that the cup dropping is her champagne cup being dropped over the balcony with the bon bons. The "them" that are kept around could possibly be guards and/or troops sent to protect her. The "blackguard" could be a rioting Bavarian who is hurt in the scuffle. Lola doesn't feel so terrible about his death, but realizes that Louis will, in fact, probably feel guilty and aches for him and him only. Even if this is not accurate, it brings up a point I am curious about: Is Lola a villain? Throughout the song there are varying portrayals from Lola being cruel to Lola truly loving Louis. I can't figure out exactly what the consensus is, but this brings it up right away. If "him" is Louis, then Lola clearly yearns for his approval, but this doesn't seem to be a theme that runs throughout the entire thing (a result of the jumpiness of the narrative? Perhaps the difference between how Lola really feels (love) and how others assumes she feels (just using the king)?) I'm also entirely doubtful that "Heard the cup drop: thought, "Well, that's why they keep them around," refers to what I suggested. I can't come up with a suggestion that makes sense, however. The way this sentence is phrased leads me to believe that Lola is suggesting that cups are kept around to drop after seeing one perform its duty. That's nonsensical, so I'm not entirely sure what I'm looking at or what is missing. Also, the death of the "blackguard" leaves me questioning as well. My explanation doesn't strike me as fully satisfactory. However, the next stanza is pretty easy. It's in the form of a letter Lola has written to Louis after she has successfully left Bavaria. The issue of the name "daddy longlegs" brings up a few things for me. First, I am unsure of whether it's referring to a spider, or a crane fly (apparently called "daddy longlegs" in the UK). The spider makes sense considering the song is full of spider imagery, but considering a crane fly could be a meal for a spider, I believe that theory makes it so Louis is the victim he is portrayed as throughout the song, also fitting other lyrics. The second thing is why Lola is so insistent on referring to Louis as "daddy","pa" and "pretty papa." I know it's not particularly strange to refer to someone as "daddy" in a romantic or sexual way, but the overabundance made me question if there was more to it. Now the king was obviously older than Lola, which may be a part of it, but I wondered, given later lyrics, if some of the lyrics were intended for father figures in Lola's life. Lola's father died young and her mother remarried. Her stepfather, though she was said to get along with him, sent her away to live elsewhere. Perhaps this is looking too far into it, but it's interesting nonetheless. This stanza also takes on the notion of Lola being rather loving towards the king. She left only because she had to and clearly still yearns for him, yet urges him to stay there and be calm to retain his power. We then jump to when Lola seems to have first met the king. She's introduced as a dancer, especially desiring money. I'm thinking the "shrieking six-legged millionaire" is the king (six-legs makes me think of the crane fly reference). The fact that his riches are pointed out seems that that is something Lola was after -- a gold-digger! She goes after him, flirting, asking to see him. There's a little big of language here identifying Lola as a sort of victim. When she says, "they are at it again" I think of her somehow being abused, and then shortly after, she's "poor Lola." However, I don't believe Lola was really treated poorly while she danced, after all doing it all of her own accord, so perhaps those small victimizations Lola urged in order for the king to feel badly for her, or perhaps that is simply how the king did view it. The story jumps to the end, where Lola leaves Bavaria after the king has lost much of his honor. Again, here, Lola is somewhat the bad girl -- she left him to save herself. But it seems in reality she kept returning and the king was the one that took a stand and denounced her power in order to please his country. The "fly" is probably the king, while of course, Lola is a spider. I'm not at all sure of what "whereby the machine is run," means, or what exactly the "deed" is other than Lola and her affair. I'm thinking it was the people of Bavaria who have a voice during these accusations, leaving Louis as poor and abused. Adding on, at the end, is probably Louis, referring sadly to Lola as a whore. It seems everyone assumes her to be a woman just after money and power, which perhaps she was, but it seems sad to me that even Louis, who loved her, acknowledged her "black heart." Castlemaine appears to be a place in Australia that had a gold rush event and opened up a theater where Lola was the first to perform. Lola also went to California before this (hanging around Nevada City) and so is no stranger to chasing gold. This jumps quite a bit, and I believe she had married another at this point, long having left the kings affair. I'm not entirely sure who is seeing who after, "Well, I've seen lots." I'm thinking perhaps, given the idea of stumbling ramblings or someone not in their right mind, it's possible this is meant to communicate Lola hallucinating about seeing Louis. The next part confuses me a bit too. "Though the long road begins and ends with you," seems to communicate long lasting love to me, which so far, Lola hasn't really been accused of. She's been seen of cruel and seeking out money, but this line seems to mean she sees her life as circling around him. I can't tell if at this point this song has jumped back to the past, or if she's remembering and longing for him. "At night," though, does take us back to Bavaria. Lola was known for carrying around a whip and also known for not getting along with the Jesuits which explains this stanza. The immediately following line about the big black spider could possibly jump back to the present, to a sort of insanity Lola feels so much that she can't even leave her house, and wonders if Louis still with her. Or it could be referring to the days when she was being attacked by Bavarians and was probably hidden away to protect her. From here on out, I'm wholly unsure of what the italics mean. Earlier, it seemed to be in the voice of the king, but I do not believe that is entirely true for the rest of the song. As a result, I'm not sure if the next stanza is Lola still, or possibly the king? I'm also not entirely sure of where to go with the meaning of the lyrics either. At first I thought it was referring to Lola's transfer out of Bavaria ("the change") where the "death" is an emotional or metaphorical one. But I suppose it could also refer to the king's feelings when he decided to renounce Lola's power and ordered to have her arrested if found. "These songs" could be the poetry Louis spent his life writing. If this is referring to the night the two left each other, it's obvious whoever this stanza is in the voice of didn't quite want it to happen. "Mud in your eye" leads us into the "Will you have one on me?" part, obviously referring to drinking. The rest of the song, I believe, is fictionalized, considering Lola and the king never got married (perhaps she wanted to?) and I'm unsure of why another man she married would be relevant here. A wedding is taking place, but instead of it being a happy event, it appears to be a violent and drunken mess. Throwing the bouquet, normally a fun and happy ceremony, becomes a violent rowdy sort of act and then everything gets confusing and there are a ton of references to alcohol. The little love ditty I thought might be from the words of the king, but the "I'm leaving!" part leads me to believe it's Lola, pleading, that the king keep her in Bavaria or ask her to stay. Then we just get muddied memories. Repeatedly someone is "half-dead" and "drunk." She is hidden in a cupboard, given champagne, and then hoarded on a train. This could be seen as referring to the night Lola left Bavaria again, but later lines lead me to the believe she was on the train with the person she loved, which doesn't fit. The memories of the stubble and missed hairs scraping against her while she is put away is such wonderful imagery and starts to build a picture of something meant to be beautiful, but absolutely not. Instead of a gorgeous falling star, it looks like coal, and god has become a rat (cornered, like Lola may have felt). There is a constant urging to drink, have one on Lola perhaps, or Lola remembering someone telling her to have one on him. The "knocking heads" lines brings me back to the train, sitting up, but asleep, as it chugs along. The "meanwhile" line is a line sympathetic towards Lola, which most of the song isn't. It recalls the scene where she drinks to the rioters health, but this time, I believe she's drinking to the kings, sarcastically, and talking about how he got rid of her and how it hurt. This is what makes me think back to her step-father, who certainly made her expendable, but that doesn't seem to mean much throughout the rest of the song. I believe this stanza shows just how broken she feels after being thrown from Bavaria, even though most of the song has shown Lola as the cruel one. It's pretty amazing when the music halts and the love songs come back on. I believe the broken and confused Lola goes back to a memory when she was in Bavaria and had power and the king's love ... but really it just goes back to the beginning of the end, where because of her, someone dies, and she knows the king won't like it. So she croons, wondering if she made it okay, if she felt bad enough, if she did right by him. I find myself ultimately confused about the message of the song. I think it's really Lola mourning the loss of a man she truly did love, but nobody believed she did, and was viewed as violent, crude and cruel (she did carry a whip around...). Now in her fog, she can't stop thinking about it, how she was a dancer on the stage, but a child in his arms. And how she trusted him and his bad poetry, but eventually he got rid of her, because she was making him look bad and made bad things happen. I'm not sure if that's whats actually happening here and I long to learn more. It's such a fun song though. I took it to be far more lighthearted at first than I now believe it is. Also, Joanna Newsom uses some of the best instruments in her music and this is a wonderful showcase of it. |
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| Joanna Newsom – Easy Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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I believe this song is about a one-sided relationship. Honestly, describing its meaning in some ways feels to me like taking away from the song itself because it's so beautiful, it should be left alone, but I can't so that and I've concluded the meaning to be rather simple. I find it to be about a relationship in which one person loves tremendously and the other cares very little. The "easy" I believe is more a plea than anything. The narrator (Joanna, presumably) is trying so very hard to convince her "man" that it will be easy, she is easy, she doesn't need much. However, directly after proclaiming "Honey, you please me, even in your sleep," she admits she wants to carry, hold, and listen. Her fields of green (where she possessively plucks every last daisy, not leaving any for any other admirers to wonder whether he ("[her] man" mind you) loves them or not) turn to a foggy river, cold with metaphorical snow. She finally bursts into an angry and crazed plea, turning childish taunts into a sad statement of, "Who died and made you in charge of who loves who?" and asking, pleading, "Let me love you. How about it?" and then wondering, "How am I gonna stay here without you?" She eventually admits she'll be there, whenever he decides he needs her and musters up the energy to at least call for her. There are portions of the song I'm unsure on. At one point I thought for sure there were references to pregnancy, or something of the sort. The river stuck me as a very fertile image, and lines like, "No-one knows what is coming, or who will harvest what we have sewn," and, "But One can't carry the weight..." seemed to refer to a pregnancy. When I read that Bloody Mary (the mirrored-game I've heard of, of course, but don't know much about the history or legend in detail) is sometimes known as a woman who murdered her children, or had her child murdered (or even a queen who suffered many miscarriages, possible self-induced), I was sure that I'd find connecting ideas strung throughout the whole thing. There's also the whole "life-giver" title, which could very obviously be referring to pregnancy. However, I can't seem to make the theory hold water given the entirety of the song. I also believe she said (though I didn't read the interview) that "Does Not Suffice" was the counterpart to this song. In that song, she sings, "how easy I was not," clearly referencing this song. In that, I believe the "easy" in not entirely truthful. She knows she's not easy, can't be easy, because she's worth more than that. But, in this song, she concedes and stays, though even the frog tries harder than her significant other, "going courting till the day he croaks." I haven't fully delved into all the other songs, but there is another reference to a stalking and obsessive sort of love in "Soft As Chalk" and definitely other references to pregnancy, or at least impending motherhood that never happened. Even though Have One On Me is a collection of songs, less cohesive than Ys, I still get the feeling there will be common themes and I'm so excited to pick through them and make connections. Oh, and I love the violin, flute and cello in this song. It's so beautiful, so eerie, and such a pleasure to listen to. I imagine two people on a bed in the middle of a forest or swamp (not sure where that came from) while a river of light runs alongside them. It's quite a cluster of images, but I love it. |
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