I get the feeling that she's not singing to me but to herlself. Even if lines like "I know how you feel" could contradict this, it's like she's making a distance dividing herself in two while pondering her situation so it hurts less (sort of like in "The man who sold the world").
And I could say the same about Nina Simone's version, but in that one you don't get the "smile while crying" vibe Janis' song gives. You could say this is provided by the guitar, but somehow it's also her performance.
I get the feeling that she's not singing to me but to herlself. Even if lines like "I know how you feel" could contradict this, it's like she's making a distance dividing herself in two while pondering her situation so it hurts less (sort of like in "The man who sold the world").
And I could say the same about Nina Simone's version, but in that one you don't get the "smile while crying" vibe Janis' song gives. You could say this is provided by the guitar, but somehow it's also her performance.