kakki wrote:
<<Of course, that "Chinese Cafe" caught my eye, too - but I wonder if it is
the same as in the song? It always seemed like Joni was talking about a
place she hung out at with her friends as a young adult - maybe in Saskatoon
or in college in Alberta. Who knows, though, maybe it is some kind of
reference to the cafe in Fort MacLeod.>>
it is interesting that most prairie towns above say , arbitrarily, 3000
pop. have a chinese cafe on their main street, whether alberta or
saskatchewan, and i've even encountered it in the dakotas...this could have
influenced the composite picture in the song...but if joni was being more
specific, fort macleod would not be the locale...though i bet she knows of the
one in fort macleod...as you say saskatoon is the most likely, dreamin'
romance with her fellow teenage girlfriends...maybe our saskatoon friends know
of a candidate spot...calgary- its possible, because the righteous brothers
version came out in '65...though their were earlier versions by other artists
that also made top ten...
...in the song she describes a pretty universal experience of youth in the
late 50s and early 60s...i bet you can find such cafes all the way from
vancouver island to new jersey, with saskatoon getting somewhat of a nod...
shane
