> and as for those who favour the older works, perhaps i could very
loosely
> quote a song sung by joan baez (i know the lyric, and the tune, but
have no
> clue as to what song/album - go figure!!)
>
> "theres a comfort in the teaching of the old familiar songs...."
> (and a sorrow in repeating all the old familiar wrongs)
Baez did this song on 'Honest Lullabye'. It was written by Janis Ian.
I believe it's called 'Light a Light'.
>
> and on the subject of s&l and lyrics HELP!!
>
> "the perils of benefactors,
> the blessings of parasites...."
>
>
> even after 20 years of loving the song, i suddenly looked at it from
both
> sides......
>
> is it
>
> the perils of (having/being) benefactors
> the blessings of (having/being) parasites
>
I don't think having/being is important. She's merely taking two
words and turning the connotations we ascribe to them around. We
think of benefactors as positive things but Joni describes them as
having 'perils' whereas parasites usually bring to mind ugly images
and Joni says they are (or can be) blessings. Nothing is completely
black or white. There are at least two sides to everything in Joni's
mind.
Mark in Seattle
