To me, "Song for Sharon" acknowledges the process by which we all sort out
our priorities and make choices accordingly. That Joni feels wistful and
perhaps a bit envious of Sharon's choice (and "Sharon" could simply
represent any number of honorable people who have chosen a more stable life
than the one Joni chose for herself) is borne out, for me, in the lines,
"you still have your music/and I've still got my eyes on the land and the
sky/you sing for your friends and your family/I'll walk green pastures by
and by."
Aside from the earlier reference to the mandolin, this is the major
reference to music in this song and, significantly, it's the last verse.
What this has always said to me is that Sharon, in choosing to share her
music only with her immediate circle, has somehow managed to keep it, while
Joni, who has by this time shared her music with untold millions of total
strangers, has somehow lost it, and is left with her restlessness. This is
nothing new, of course: "For Free" is even more direct, but also less
personal.
Then there's the last line: Joni's always been good at transforming common
cliches and shedding new light on them. I have no doubt that "greener
pastures" refers to the old moral, "the grass is greener on the other side."
In this case, Joni knows that, however attractive another person's life may
seem, it isn't hers, which is the one she must ultimately pursue.
As for the last three words, "by and by," she'll find it one of these days.
And lose it as quickly.
To me (and sorry to go on so long ;-), Hejira is really a song cycle, so
each song relates to all the rest. If Blue is self-revealing, Hejira is
self-excoriating. Joni's famous for spending many hours on her albums
deciding on the order in which the songs are ultimately presented. I doubt
that she had any trouble with this one: Hejira, which is all about the
conflict between stability and instability, between the known and the
unknown, ends with "Refuge of the Road."
my two bits on the subject,
Roberto
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