Kate wrote:
>You know I always loved this song too & never really attributed to
> anyone in particular (I thought it was about some big handsome black guy
> working at a carnival). I hope I didn't ruin it for anyone.
I always loved the song because the images were so colorful and I took her
literally to mean a character she knew or met at a carnival (thought it
might be a "companion" song to Carnival in Kenora). She does an incredible
job at slipping in the hidden allusions to his misadventures with the Byrds
and most people except for him would never have guessed. I can "hear" it
either way now and it is only enhanced for me, not at all ruined. This song
particularly contradicts her own assertions that her early work was too
"naive" or "young-girlish".
I've mentioned here before a great B. Mitchell Reed radio interview with
Croz I have that took place in August 1967. He is full of high spirits and
himself (in a good way) and talking on a roll for about 45 minutes. He had
just returned from his first sitting in with the Buffalo Springfield at
Monterey, and sort of laughing off and scoffing at how the rest of the Byrds
were going to react to it. He was very much "it's time to share the music
and forget about ego, man, that's where it's at now" in the best hippie
tradition.
Turned out McGuinn and Hillman were not so utopian-minded, but the last
straw was when he was adamantly pushing the Byrds to record the
controversial "Triad" that they'd finally had it with him. Shortly
thereafter, the Springfield, having their own internal fissures, broke up.
I can relate all of Joni's "Midway" lyrics to this now - Crosby was flying
high with the Byrds but gambling with his good fortune and pushing his bets
to the limit, only to come up bust in the end. She really taunts him in
this song, yet concedes that she is also weary of her own gig and envies him
a bit the "valley that he has found".
I think the only song that we previously knew for sure was inspired by
Crosby was "The Dawntreader." That's a gorgeous song but this one is much
more interesting to me!
Kakki
NP: Joni - The Gallery
