In a message dated 2/12/02 4:33:57 PM, JRMCo1 writes:
<< Dear Walt,
I don't know much about chords and such, but dear God, I love this song and
the feeling it evokes. I've always been enamored of how it takes place over
the course of 24 hours. How love has made her sleepless in California, so to
speak. How she metaphorically finishes writing the song as the morning comes
up. How it's innocent and hopeful, but still imbued with melancholy and
longing. How the lone guitar (or restrained piano, I'm sure) compliments the
lyrics's sentiments, perfectly
And of course, the allusions are beautiful: "braiding wild-flowers and
leaves in my hair," "crickets call courting their ladies in star-dappled
green," "I wrote 'I love you' in my finest hand."
I going play Clouds as soon as I get home. Thanks for mentioning this song.
-Julius
>>
Julius,
I feel the same way about the song -- the images are stunning and beautiful
-- but there's always that hesitation at the end of each verse (btw, I'm sure
you already know this, but in the original, and in the published version of
the song, it's "Carolina", not "California" -- she must have changed it as
her focus switched from one coast to the other -- I know that in "Dr. Junk
the Dentist Man", the story she tells before she sings it has the dentist in
somewhere in one of the Carolinas as well. Hey, Joni historians -- do we
know where she played in the Carolinas, did she spend an extended period of
time there? -- clearly, she must have been charmed by the place, as who
wouldn't be?)
Anyway, back to the hesitation -- between that, and the musical sound of the
beginning, I hear a connection between this song and Sunny Sunday. I don't
have the sheet music to SunSun, and I don't know if they're in the same key
("Why don't you listen to them Walt?"), but the chord *progression* in the
intros to the two songs sound very similar to me -- and one song shows a
young woman in hesitation, and the other one shows a (presumably) mature
woman stuck in a rut, stalled, and leaving the decision of whether to leave
in the hands of a very unlikely "game" of chance.
So the project I'm working on is a pastiche of these two songs, with
flashbacks, of a woman stuck in a rut, looking back at a time when she
perhaps *should* have been more decisive. And I'll connect the two via a
third Joni song that already uses such a device, Harry's House/Centerpiece
(with a few words changed).
Here's the structure, as it stands now:
A. The first verse of SunSun (hereafter just SS) to the line
"She waits for the night to fall..."
B. (to the tune of Harry's House)
She thinks back to the memory
Of her naivete in youth
When the choices seemed so endless
Had she only known the truth...
C. First verse of IDKWIS,
(scat bridge from the song)
Skip to third verse of IDK, starting with "Telephone..." and ending with:
"I guess it's too early,
'Cause I don't know where I stand."
B. (Back to the melody of Harry's House, with these lyrics)
In time her options dwindled
Bad choices made in haste
Or lost through indecision
She shudders at the waste...
A. (Back to SS, starting with the line:)
Then she points a pistol...
(to)
She always misses...
C. (abruptly to IDK)
I know that I miss you,
But I don't know where I stand.
A. (and back to SS)
She always misses
But the day she hits,
That's the day she'll leave...
(etc. to the end of SS)
First of all, I hope these musings don't ruin IDK for anyone -- I doubt it
could -- or infuriate anyone who thinks Joni's lyrics should be left as is.
Secondly, my apologies for not typing out all the words -- it would take up
more space than I should take here, and I figure most of us either know the
words, or can get them from CD inserts -- contact me offlist if you want the
whole thing, I'll send it to you.
But more importantly -- help me! I'm not much of a poet -- be Joni to my
David Crosby in Yvette In English! -- if you think of a better phrasing,
better words, please let me know -- feel free to post your suggestions (or
scorn) to the whole list.
Warmly,
Walt
