Before she got famous Joni sang a lot of traditional folk songs; not just the first few lines of this song, but virtually all of the lines are adapted from traditional material. The first verse is from "Poor Wayfaring Stranger"; compare Joan Baez's lyrics:
I am a poor wayfaring stranger
Wandering through this world of woe
And there's no sickness, no toil or danger
In that bright land to which I go
The second and third verses are from "Come All Ye Fair and Tender Ladies"; compare these lyrics, again by Joan Baez:
Come all ye fair and tender ladies
Be careful how you court young men
They're like a star on a summer's morning
They'll first appear and then they're gone
If I had known before I courted
that love was such a killing thing
I'd a-locked my heart in a box of golden
and fastened it up with a silver pin
The last verse isn't clearly based off a single traditional verse, but the first two lines remind me of another verse of "Come All Ye Fair and Tender Ladies":
But I'm not a little sparrow
I have no wings with which to fly
So I sit here in grief and sorrow
To weep and pass my troubles by
The line about the water being wide is a reference to another traditional folk song, "The Water Is Wide".
The water is wide, I cannot get o'er
Neither have I wings to fly
Give me a boat that can carry two
And both shall row, my love and I
So if you like the lyrics of this song, check out the songs which inspired them! In particular, check out June Carter's rendition of "Fair and Tender Ladies", it's hauntingly beautiful. I do love the way Joni adapts the lyrics to herself in this song too.
Before she got famous Joni sang a lot of traditional folk songs; not just the first few lines of this song, but virtually all of the lines are adapted from traditional material. The first verse is from "Poor Wayfaring Stranger"; compare Joan Baez's lyrics:
I am a poor wayfaring stranger Wandering through this world of woe And there's no sickness, no toil or danger In that bright land to which I go
The second and third verses are from "Come All Ye Fair and Tender Ladies"; compare these lyrics, again by Joan Baez:
Come all ye fair and tender ladies Be careful how you court young men They're like a star on a summer's morning They'll first appear and then they're gone
If I had known before I courted that love was such a killing thing I'd a-locked my heart in a box of golden and fastened it up with a silver pin
The last verse isn't clearly based off a single traditional verse, but the first two lines remind me of another verse of "Come All Ye Fair and Tender Ladies":
But I'm not a little sparrow I have no wings with which to fly So I sit here in grief and sorrow To weep and pass my troubles by
The line about the water being wide is a reference to another traditional folk song, "The Water Is Wide".
The water is wide, I cannot get o'er Neither have I wings to fly Give me a boat that can carry two And both shall row, my love and I
So if you like the lyrics of this song, check out the songs which inspired them! In particular, check out June Carter's rendition of "Fair and Tender Ladies", it's hauntingly beautiful. I do love the way Joni adapts the lyrics to herself in this song too.