And here I thought our Mags was just another pretty face in a pair of Doc
Martens...the post from a couple of days ago, regarding Joni's line in
'River' - "I made my baby cry, I made my baby say goodbye'...she supported
an allusion to Joni's usage of baby as potentially referencing her
surrendering of her own for adoption. In the past when this same statement
has been made, I've been quick to dismiss it, in context of the song
itself. And indeed, if that's ALL that you look at, that probably holds
true. After all, Joni is clearly referencing a LOVER that's lost, not a
child.
BUT...when I look at the line in the context of Blue as an album, as a
coherent project, and when I realize that Ms. Gross has had her own "Little
Green" experience and probably has a 'sixth sense' about this kind of
thing, I was drawn to re-examine and validate my opinion about the line and
look at it again. And I did, and Joni's use of the word 'baby' (thanks
again to Les' lyric search engine) reveals some interesting things.
In "My Old Man", as in River, Joni's singing about a love relationship, but
interjects a potentially subliminal thought:
"He's the warmest chord I ever heard
Play that warm chord, play and stay baby"
Now while I don't think the "chord" she's talking about is an
umbilical, doesn't the last part of this have an interesting double
meaning, just as it does in River? Just as she makes her baby say
goodbye, here she longs for her baby to stay & play. A similar claim
could be made for "Chelsea Morning" when she sings:
"If only you will stay
Pretty baby, won't you
Wake up, it's a Chelsea morning"
And wishes her pretty baby could stay. Additionally, Chelsea doesn't
really have any cross-references to the object of her affection being
a lover or a guy, and the images in the song (rainbows, butterscotch,
jewel-light, Christmas bells, crimson crystal beads, etc.) suggest a
child-like setting. Like "Morning Morgantown", Chelsea Morning can
easily be construed as being a fantasy about her ideal morning spent
just waking up and greeting the day with her own flesh & blood child.
(And yes, I am aware that CM & MM are not on Blue...but like Little
Green, they were composed during the same period of her career, even
if they are spread out over three albums).
But back to the songs on Blue...we find yet another 'baby' referenced
in "This Flight Tonight":
"Can't numb you out
Can't drum you out of my mind
They're playing Goodbye baby, Baby Goodbye"
"Now I can't talk to you baby
I get so weak"
And while it could be argued (and indeed I would) that, as in River,
Joni is textually singing about a relationship with a
lover/significant other, isn't it an interesting choice of songs she
hears on the headphones?...another reference to saying goodbye to a
baby. Perhaps by now it would be safe to say that her processing her
parental loss (as well as the romantic one) is clear subtext on Blue.
Perhaps this is why she reportedly had many emotionally purging
moments during the making of this album. These sessions were, from
what I've read, mostly closed.
And there are plenty of other references that Joni makes to the word
"baby" throughout her work...as it has been stated that Myrtle has
been a lyrical influence, I would say that her decision/regret/sorrow
surrounding her 'Little Green' experience has been an even greater
one. A good question to consider: are these lyrical references
intentional or subliminal?
Thanks Mags for planting a Little Green seed and allowing me to
expand my grasp on Joni Mitchell just a bit. Tell my bro to give you
a big hug from me! :~)
Bob
NP: Laura Lee, "Women's Love Rights"
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