| Joanna Newsom – Jackrabbits Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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I see something different than the above posters in this song. To me, I get the image of a jilted lover (the narrator) returning to the door of her former love after spending a long time getting drunk, partying, basically trying to party the pain of breaking up away, and banging on the door for entry. It sounds like there had been a lot of resolve between the two of them to not see each other, not be in any contact, and whereas he might be hard and cold enough to see this through, she can't really handle it and so takes to partying to ease the pain. Then one night she breaks down and shows up at his door, telling him she wants to reverse the break-up (probably only because the pain is too difficult, not because she thinks it's the right thing to do) - "I can, love you again". I think she says she's squinting towards the east because she's from the west - so much of this record is about home (which we know to her is Nevada City, in the west) and I think it would take her doing the opposite of being home in the west in order to really be with this man again (not just home in the physical sense, but 'home' in the sense of what is the right thing to do for yourself, what decision sits well within you). "My faith makes me a dope" - her belief that they could actually get back together and actually make it work - she knows that's stupid, really, and that it wouldn't work. At the same time, she's talking about the unbreakable connection between the two former lovers - how she'll always be there for him, her love for him, though it may not show in the surface in future, will run deeply within her. Towards the end there is the sense of a violent healing - like she had a harsh word with herself to make her self come to terms with the fact that it is definitely over, they're never getting back together (the part about the vultures - the hawks feather symbolising freedom, finally, and the poultice representing healing). The part about Matthew is a reference to a phrase from the bible, as has been said by other posters - I think it means fire, a cleansing, a burning of the old in order to make way for the new. I love that she says she read it in jest, but actually, it grabbed her unexpectedly. Haven't you ever had that, where you're mocking something, but then part of it totally appeals to you somewhere deep down, and you feel like you've been struck with a mallet. Notice that in the last chorus, she says "Tell me that I can" - she's no longer "telling you I can" - she's stepped back from the authoratative and is now questioning whether or not she actually CAN love him again, after having been through the journey of the song. This album means a lot to me at the moment - I'm at the start of the break up and every song has resonance and I feel like it's making me keep my eyes open and try and see the situation for what it really is, and to try and be practical as well as emotional, and really, to take care of my feelings and what I need. It's amazing that someone wrote a whole record about the feelings and fluctuations of a break up, every single stage of it, including the tangeants, and even more amazing that it was Joanna Newsom. |
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| Joanna Newsom – In California Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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This song is so jamp-packed with references to California, it's like she can't help but cram every recognisable emblem of her home state in there, just to express her deep connection to it: "...nor the black bear", prevalent in southern california and the state emblem "...watching the foxes pick off my goldfish from their sorry golden state" "...my heart is heavy as an oil drum" (california being famous for its oil) "...my heart is yellow as an ear of corn" (the vast golden fields of corn, after which 'the golden state' was named,as well as it's association with sunshine and goldmining) This song has really grown on me the last few listens. |
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| Joanna Newsom – Baby Birch Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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It's been really interesting reading these comments. I think I do support the idea that this song is about a miscarriage or an abortion. The references in other songs that have supported my feeling about this are the reference to 'Bloody Mary' in 'Easy' (in folklore, Bloody Mary was a mother who lost her child, either by miscarriage or abortion, depending on the version and who appears when her name is spoken in to the mirror three times, usually to the detriment of the summoner); the reference to "right down to what we'd name her" in 'On A Good Day' (though I don't personally think "I saw a life and I called it mine" is a literal reference: I think she's just saying that there was this life she found herself in where she was settled with a man, in a steady relationship, and in those situations, couples do start to talk about children and what they'd call them and who they'd look like etc), and now Baby Birch seems to confirm that an event like this did take place. If 'Ys' was about the overwhelming power of love (familial, romantic), the crawling over the salt flats with no water to get to the other person, 'Easy' marks the start of the downfall, and we all know how it ends. Anyway, great discussion on here, far better than I've found anywhere else :) |
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