Joni took the first few lines of the lyrics (not the melody) from a well-known slave-era spiritual and applied them in a different context. That context being the sense of disappointment (at best) and being discouraged by the outcome of romantic trials and tribulations. The songs on Don Juan's Reckless Daughter cover a wide range of emotional states and this one ends the album on a note of sadness and longing for happier outcomes in romantic forays. It also contrasts with the other songs in that many of them are jazzy and are largely supported instrumentally by piano and band, but this is backed by what sounds like solo acoustic guitar and has a standard song structure.
Joni took the first few lines of the lyrics (not the melody) from a well-known slave-era spiritual and applied them in a different context. That context being the sense of disappointment (at best) and being discouraged by the outcome of romantic trials and tribulations. The songs on Don Juan's Reckless Daughter cover a wide range of emotional states and this one ends the album on a note of sadness and longing for happier outcomes in romantic forays. It also contrasts with the other songs in that many of them are jazzy and are largely supported instrumentally by piano and band, but this is backed by what sounds like solo acoustic guitar and has a standard song structure.