once again, this is part of my play-by-play interpretation of every song as one complete story. i don't think it's fair to assume that the narrator is joanna herself, as she's a gifted storyteller and storytellers usually make up characters. i believe that this is completely fictional, but of course peppered with inspiration joanna has drawn from her own life. this is only my interpretation-- i'm not saying that i'm "right," by any means. i've joined the forum specifically to do this, so i'd greatly appreciate any input as this is the first album for which i have provided commentary.
in the previous song, "good intentions paving company," the narrator tells of taking a trip to her hometown with her lover. the mere idea of the trip was enough to make her want to shout out for him to stop and turn around. however, she knew it was important for their relationship. the song ended with the lines "...when i only want for you to pull over and hold me 'til i can't remember my own name." i feel that this is an important lead-in to "no provenance," as the main idea of the song is the narrator's wanting to feel "safe and warm" while held in her lover's arms.
it is clear by now that our narrator tends toward dream-like descriptions. later, in "go long", she says "last night, AGAIN, you were in my dreams." i place emphasis on "again" because perhaps all these hard-to-make-sense-of verses are really descriptions of her vivid and strange dreams about the man.
in keeping with my interpretation, it makes perfect sense that this song would be about a sequence of dreams the narrator has had about her lover. no matter what strange situation they find themselves in, she feels safe in his arms and longs to remain there.
Oh yeah. Your reply seems spot on to me too. A lot of her songs feel like dream sequences, and this is another one. I agree with you on Good Intentions Paving Company relating to this song. It seems like this devil man has driven her to the burning barn and now she just wants to go back to the lights of Rome, but she feels like no one will accept her.
Oh yeah. Your reply seems spot on to me too. A lot of her songs feel like dream sequences, and this is another one. I agree with you on Good Intentions Paving Company relating to this song. It seems like this devil man has driven her to the burning barn and now she just wants to go back to the lights of Rome, but she feels like no one will accept her.
Also, in the very beginning where it says she had slept for forty years and woke to find her gone... I think she is saying that she had a dream that this would happen in the future. It was a vision saying she needs to get out before it's too late. And this song is the retelling of that "prophetic" (even thought it's common sense) dream.
Also, in the very beginning where it says she had slept for forty years and woke to find her gone... I think she is saying that she had a dream that this would happen in the future. It was a vision saying she needs to get out before it's too late. And this song is the retelling of that "prophetic" (even thought it's common sense) dream.
This whole album screams "homesick!" Longing for that bucolic Nevada City I guess, and for everyone she loves to be there with her.
This whole album screams "homesick!" Longing for that bucolic Nevada City I guess, and for everyone she loves to be there with her.
once again, this is part of my play-by-play interpretation of every song as one complete story. i don't think it's fair to assume that the narrator is joanna herself, as she's a gifted storyteller and storytellers usually make up characters. i believe that this is completely fictional, but of course peppered with inspiration joanna has drawn from her own life. this is only my interpretation-- i'm not saying that i'm "right," by any means. i've joined the forum specifically to do this, so i'd greatly appreciate any input as this is the first album for which i have provided commentary.
in the previous song, "good intentions paving company," the narrator tells of taking a trip to her hometown with her lover. the mere idea of the trip was enough to make her want to shout out for him to stop and turn around. however, she knew it was important for their relationship. the song ended with the lines "...when i only want for you to pull over and hold me 'til i can't remember my own name." i feel that this is an important lead-in to "no provenance," as the main idea of the song is the narrator's wanting to feel "safe and warm" while held in her lover's arms.
it is clear by now that our narrator tends toward dream-like descriptions. later, in "go long", she says "last night, AGAIN, you were in my dreams." i place emphasis on "again" because perhaps all these hard-to-make-sense-of verses are really descriptions of her vivid and strange dreams about the man.
in keeping with my interpretation, it makes perfect sense that this song would be about a sequence of dreams the narrator has had about her lover. no matter what strange situation they find themselves in, she feels safe in his arms and longs to remain there.
Oh yeah. Your reply seems spot on to me too. A lot of her songs feel like dream sequences, and this is another one. I agree with you on Good Intentions Paving Company relating to this song. It seems like this devil man has driven her to the burning barn and now she just wants to go back to the lights of Rome, but she feels like no one will accept her.
Oh yeah. Your reply seems spot on to me too. A lot of her songs feel like dream sequences, and this is another one. I agree with you on Good Intentions Paving Company relating to this song. It seems like this devil man has driven her to the burning barn and now she just wants to go back to the lights of Rome, but she feels like no one will accept her.
Also, in the very beginning where it says she had slept for forty years and woke to find her gone... I think she is saying that she had a dream that this would happen in the future. It was a vision saying she needs to get out before it's too late. And this song is the retelling of that "prophetic" (even thought it's common sense) dream.
Also, in the very beginning where it says she had slept for forty years and woke to find her gone... I think she is saying that she had a dream that this would happen in the future. It was a vision saying she needs to get out before it's too late. And this song is the retelling of that "prophetic" (even thought it's common sense) dream.
This whole album screams "homesick!" Longing for that bucolic Nevada City I guess, and for everyone she loves to be there with her.
This whole album screams "homesick!" Longing for that bucolic Nevada City I guess, and for everyone she loves to be there with her.