He certainly did earn that reputation.
I found a little plot of land
In the Garden of Eden
It was dirt and dirt is all the same
I tilled it with my two hands
And I called it my very own
There was no-one to dispute my claim
Well, you'd be shocked
At the state of things
The whole place
Had just cleared right out
It was hotter'n hell
So I laid me by a spring, for a spell
As naked as a trout
The wandering eye that I have caught
Is as hot as a wandering sun
But I will want for nothing more
In my garden
Start again
In my hardening to every heart but one
Meet me in the garden of Eden
Bring a friend
We are going to have ourselves a time
We are gonna have a garden party
It's on me
No, sirree, it's my dime
We broke our hearts
In the war between
St. George and the dragon
But both, in equal parts
Are welcome to come along
I'm inviting everyone
Farewell to loves that I have known
Even muddiest waters run
Tell me, what is meant by sin, or none
In a garden
Seceded from the union
In the year of A.D. 1?
The unending amends you've made
Are enough for one life
Be done
I believe in innocence, little darling
Start again
I believe in everyone
I believe, regardless
I believe in everyone
In the Garden of Eden
It was dirt and dirt is all the same
I tilled it with my two hands
And I called it my very own
There was no-one to dispute my claim
Well, you'd be shocked
At the state of things
The whole place
Had just cleared right out
It was hotter'n hell
So I laid me by a spring, for a spell
As naked as a trout
The wandering eye that I have caught
Is as hot as a wandering sun
But I will want for nothing more
In my garden
Start again
In my hardening to every heart but one
Meet me in the garden of Eden
Bring a friend
We are going to have ourselves a time
We are gonna have a garden party
It's on me
No, sirree, it's my dime
We broke our hearts
In the war between
St. George and the dragon
But both, in equal parts
Are welcome to come along
I'm inviting everyone
Farewell to loves that I have known
Even muddiest waters run
Tell me, what is meant by sin, or none
In a garden
Seceded from the union
In the year of A.D. 1?
The unending amends you've made
Are enough for one life
Be done
I believe in innocence, little darling
Start again
I believe in everyone
I believe, regardless
I believe in everyone
Lyrics submitted by kitteh, edited by sethbrown, random_monkey, Spiderland
'81 Lyrics as written by Joanna Newsom
Lyrics © ROUGH TRADE PUBLISHING
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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i've interpreted this song as a song about abortion. it fits with each paragraph, and i believe the tone of the music.
the garden of eden is where people/life comes from. it represents the womb.
the narrator makes it clear that we're talking about her womb, and that she became pregnant.
in joanna's usual disconcerting style of wording traumatic events in her life using depersonalized/dissociated language, she describes how what she grew in her garden (her preborn person) was aborted, from its perspective.
the preborn person has huge potential,
but the narrator has no choice but to toughen up and "start again" (someday have another child).
next time she "meets someone in the garden" (has a baby) "it's on her" (because she feels guilty about the last time).
it broke her and her unborn person's heart, after "the war" between two choices (to abort or not to abort). but it's okay, because the next unborn person growing in her "garden" is just as welcome.
she is saying goodbye to romance, as she'll be alone in her garden for some time, i assume due to the emotional toll of the abortion. the garden was seceded in 81 because it is her garden (her womb) and she was born in 1981.
The unending amends you made Are enough for one life, be done I believe in innocence, little darling, start again I believe in everyone
I believe, regardless, I believe in everyone