Whenever one of Joni's songs has made itself truly known to me, it's always the result of some real-life drama in my own life mirroring the themes of the song in question.
HEJIRA was a song I never really got into until my life brought me to a level of understanding that enabled me to 'get it.' I had made a compilation tape of various artists and was listening to it in the car on a dark winter night, driving home from work. I was 23 (this was three years ago) and I had broken up with my boyfriend the weekend before. It was a very suffocating romance, very smothering - neither of us had any way of being ourselves when we were with each other and we had basically lost ourselves. And so the lines came clear to me: "We're only particles of change, orbiting around the sun/But how can I have that point of view/When I'm always bound and tied to someone?" I needed my individuality back, my sense of indepence: "So now I am returning to myself these things that you and I supressed" And as I was driving home through the Canadian countryside, I saw some chimneys puffing whisps of smoke into the bright night sky: "White flags of winter chimneys, waving truce against the moon." It was an astounding ride home. I felt so free and like I was beginning again, knowing that I'd love again and that it would "suck me back" in good time. I wanted to keep on driving and driving and driving. HEJIRA is a definite road album. THE LAST TIME I SAW RICHARD came clear to me only a few weeks ago, as I posted to the list. Again, it was because of a break-up and again the trials and joys of love were put under my microscope for emotional examiniation. There have been so many Joni epiphanies that it's impossible to really list or recall them all. I know there are more to come too. I only began exploring her work 10 years ago, at the age of 16, and little by little her songs unravel their mysteries to me as I grow and learn and live. Joni's gift to the world is her understanding and articulation of life. She has been a remarkable guide to me, as she has to others, no doubt. She doesn't have all the answers, but her constant questioning is the key to her breadth of knowledge, and her incredible wisdom. -Andrew Yahoo! Mail Plus - Powerful. Affordable. Sign up now. http://mailplus.yahoo.com
