| Joanna Newsom – Three Little Babes Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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It's a folk song from the UK, I did a little researching. "Grammery" is sorcery; the lady sent her children away to learn sorcery -- she was a witch. The "lark" is the bubonic plague (the Black Death), so her children died of the plague while learning witchcraft. The children come back to her as ghosts. I'm not actually sure about the table being set and the beds being made. Perhaps she doesn't realise her children are dead, or perhaps she is preparing a burial ceremony for them. The "winding sheet" would refer to a shroud in any case, whether intentional by the lady or not. I'm not sure what it is Joanna Newsom sings, but the original song says "cold clods," not "clogs." Referring to the cold earth of the grave. "Wet" rather than "wed" makes more sense in my mind. "Wed" makes me think of Antigone. |
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| Joanna Newsom – Only Skin Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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I think myexplodingcat makes a very good argument, but I don't really agree, I think there are parts which just don't fit to the mothering theme, although the multiple layers is what makes songs like this great! It's notable, and nobody, to my knowledge, has yet pointed out that on the young-man-sent-to-war theme, "hairless and blind cavalry" adds to the image of a young man's innocence being stolen through war: most mammals are born "hairless and blind," he is being compared to a newborn, and the juxtaposition of this image with "cavalry" creates a pretty horrific view of a man so young and clueless to the world he could be called a child, still, fighting in a war. There's my idea, I hope you like it. Great interpretations from everyone so far, you've all helped me understand this song a lot better. :) |
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| Joanna Newsom – Colleen Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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Most people have covered pretty much everything, but ever since the first time I heard this song, I have always connected it to the selkies, and I don't think I'll stop doing that. I'll summarise the most famous (arguably) story of the selkies for anyone unfamiliar with the legends: Fisherman meets a strange woman on the shore near his home, apparently lost and alone. He takes her in, they end up married. Near the woman, the fisherman found her seal's skin, and hid it in his house where he thought she would never find it, because if she found it, she would remember her past and return to the sea. The fisherman didn't WANT to oppress or imprison his wife, he just loved her with all his heart, and didn't want to lose her. Besides, if she remembered nothing, how could she miss it? The wife, however, did miss something, but she didn't know what. After pottering about in the house, she did find her seal's skin, and remembered everything! She put on her skin and returned to the ocean, as a selkie again, forgetting her time on land. The fisherman, of course, was devastated. I think the words to the song certainly tie in with this story. Colleen is not unhappy on land, but something isn't right. Eventually she does instinctively return to the sea, and forgets anything. The Celtic influences clear in the music also back this up in my opinion, and the rolling rhythms and jumpy tune are very reminiscent of a stormy Scottish sea. The rhythms also remind me of a Ceilidh dance, a pillar of Celtic culture. I hope someone doesn't think I'm speaking a load of gobbledygook, but everyone's entitled to an opinion! :) |
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