> "In the morning there are lovers on the street, > They look so high. > You brush against a stranger and you both apologize" > > Really, like the Hejira songs (and many others), you can just keep > writing out the lyrics as they never stray from perfection. But that > particular passage has always just kicked me in the gut. >
That whole bridge section really does it for me, including the lyric you quote, Bob: You go down to the pickup station Cravin warmth and beauty You settle for less than fascination A few drinks later you're not so choosy And the closing lights strip off the shadows On this strange new flesh you've found Clutching the night to you like a fig leaf You hurry to the blackness and the blankets To lay down an impression and your loneliness..... If you've ever gone to a bar, hungry for human physical & spiritual contact and gone through the whole usually demoralizing & humiliating process of flirting, drinking and eventually desparately grabbing at the person who finally responds to you, these words distill that experience succinctly, beautifully and poetically into a fine essence. She read me like a book in this song as she seemed to over and over again in every song on Court & Spark, my first Joni. She's been doing it ever since & I still wonder how the hell she knows what I feel. Mark E in Seattle
