From: owner-onlyjoni-digest@smoe.org (onlyJMDL Digest) To: onlyjoni-digest@smoe.org Subject: onlyJMDL Digest V2012 #390 Reply-To: joni@smoe.org Sender: owner-onlyjoni-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-onlyjoni-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk Website:http://www.jonimitchell.com Unsubscribe:mailto:onlyjoni-digest-request@smoe.org?body=unsubscribe onlyJMDL Digest Friday, November 16 2012 Volume 2012 : Number 390 ========== TOPICS and authors in this Digest: -------- Re: Sweet Bird, 100% JC [Dave Blackburn ] Sweet Bird, 100% JC [jlhommedieu@insight.rr.com] Re: Sweet Bird, 100% JC ["Mark" ] Re: Sweet Bird, 100% JC [Sally ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 15 Nov 2012 19:49:59 -0800 From: Dave Blackburn Subject: Re: Sweet Bird, 100% JC I find the guitar/piano break fascinating; the way it speeds up the tempo and skips a beat, like a heart palpitation. And the lagoon of disembodied voices that swirl. It is inspired record making. On Nov 15, 2012, at 6:47 PM, "Mark" wrote: > Count me among the admirers of 'Sweet Bird'. Some of you may remember a piece I wrote for a JMDL writing contest many years ago that used the song as its jumping off point. > > 'Out on some borderline > Some mark of in-between > I lay down golden in time > And woke up vanishing' > > There was something about this song that appealed to me way back in my 20s. Now that I'm 58, it resonates more than ever. The passage of time seems to have been unbelievably swift and I often feel like I went to sleep somewhere along the way and 'woke up vanishing'. > > My favorite lines, however, are these: > > 'Give me some time > I feel like I'm losing mine > Out here on this horizon line > With the earth spinning and the sky forever rushing...' > > That image of being 'out here on this horizon line with the earth spinning and the sky forever rushing' can still bring on stirrings of the heart and mind that make me emotionally and mentally dizzy. The Circle Game played out at such a speed and to a place it was impossible for me to imagine back there behind from where I came when I first heard 'Sweet Bird'. It is nothing less than another deeply felt, exquisitely expressed mediation on the passage of time from a woman who is a genius in her art. > > Jim, you described the music and the feeling of the song so beautifully. It is beyond words. > > Mark in Seattle > > -----Original Message----- From: jlhommedieu@insight.rr.com > Sent: Thursday, November 15, 2012 2:18 PM > To: scd8556@aol.com> > Cc: JMDL > Subject: Sweet Bird, 100% JC > > Me too. Even the beginning of the song, the way it fades IN rather than fading > out sounds strange, as if it is playing backwards. The piano meanders around, > as if it was recorded backwards. > > When Joni starts singing >>> out on some borderline > > she does that strange drop on "line" that seems other worldly. Then she > starts talking about youth as if she was beyond life and death. It is as if > she in the great beyond, remembering what Life was like. For me, it is eerie > but also comforting. That track is beyond words. > > Jim L > >> Sally said, in part, > Taken as a whole, for me that track is almost like an out of body experience. > I find that sometimes when I listen to it, it's as if I don't actually hear > it...rather I understand the complete truth in it. It's very moving for > me...even hundreds of plays later. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 15 Nov 2012 17:18:42 -0500 From: jlhommedieu@insight.rr.com Subject: Sweet Bird, 100% JC Me too. Even the beginning of the song, the way it fades IN rather than fading out sounds strange, as if it is playing backwards. The piano meanders around, as if it was recorded backwards. When Joni starts singing >>out on some borderline she does that strange drop on "line" that seems other worldly. Then she starts talking about youth as if she was beyond life and death. It is as if she in the great beyond, remembering what Life was like. For me, it is eerie but also comforting. That track is beyond words. Jim L >Sally said, in part, Taken as a whole, for me that track is almost like an out of body experience. I find that sometimes when I listen to it, it's as if I don't actually hear it...rather I understand the complete truth in it. It's very moving for me...even hundreds of plays later. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 15 Nov 2012 18:47:34 -0800 From: "Mark" Subject: Re: Sweet Bird, 100% JC Count me among the admirers of 'Sweet Bird'. Some of you may remember a piece I wrote for a JMDL writing contest many years ago that used the song as its jumping off point. 'Out on some borderline Some mark of in-between I lay down golden in time And woke up vanishing' There was something about this song that appealed to me way back in my 20s. Now that I'm 58, it resonates more than ever. The passage of time seems to have been unbelievably swift and I often feel like I went to sleep somewhere along the way and 'woke up vanishing'. My favorite lines, however, are these: 'Give me some time I feel like I'm losing mine Out here on this horizon line With the earth spinning and the sky forever rushing...' That image of being 'out here on this horizon line with the earth spinning and the sky forever rushing' can still bring on stirrings of the heart and mind that make me emotionally and mentally dizzy. The Circle Game played out at such a speed and to a place it was impossible for me to imagine back there behind from where I came when I first heard 'Sweet Bird'. It is nothing less than another deeply felt, exquisitely expressed mediation on the passage of time from a woman who is a genius in her art. Jim, you described the music and the feeling of the song so beautifully. It is beyond words. Mark in Seattle - -----Original Message----- From: jlhommedieu@insight.rr.com Sent: Thursday, November 15, 2012 2:18 PM To: scd8556@aol.com> Cc: JMDL Subject: Sweet Bird, 100% JC Me too. Even the beginning of the song, the way it fades IN rather than fading out sounds strange, as if it is playing backwards. The piano meanders around, as if it was recorded backwards. When Joni starts singing >>out on some borderline she does that strange drop on "line" that seems other worldly. Then she starts talking about youth as if she was beyond life and death. It is as if she in the great beyond, remembering what Life was like. For me, it is eerie but also comforting. That track is beyond words. Jim L >Sally said, in part, Taken as a whole, for me that track is almost like an out of body experience. I find that sometimes when I listen to it, it's as if I don't actually hear it...rather I understand the complete truth in it. It's very moving for me...even hundreds of plays later. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 15 Nov 2012 23:33:43 -0500 From: Sally Subject: Re: Sweet Bird, 100% JC Hi all! Just enthusiastically dropping back in on this topic...what I consider Joni's most brilliant work. I was interested in what you said Jim, about the fade in at the beginning of the song. It lends a dream-like quality of timelessness to the thing, right? Like we don't know where we are in the story if in fact there even is a story but it doesn't matter anyway. It's like it's been playing forever and we just got dropped in at some random point. The genius of that is mind-blowing! I think that it winds up in much the same way. When she begins singing, "guesses based on what each set of time and change is touching", she puts the phrasing breaks at a different point each time, and it ends up running together the end of one line, into the beginning of the next...so that we feel rushed in one sense, and slowed down in another sense. It gives us a feeling about the passing of time in an uncertain way I think. It's a freaking brilliant lesson in great writing, great playing, and inspired execution. This seems like a very deeply felt spiritual track...seems like Joni is looking at the passing of time and the futility of our efforts to find truth in the limited time we have to do it. I get this "is there a god?" feeling from it. And we get the answer..."sweet bird of time and change/you must be laughing/up on your feathers laughing". As I said originally, this track even hundreds of plays later is very moving to me. Sometimes it's an out of body thing and rather than hear it, I hear the truth behind it. Even though Hejira is my favorite record, for me this track is the pinnacle of JM's songwriting and musicianship...it's Joni hitting the apex and finding the center of what is... Beautiful! Sent from Confunction Junction on my iPhone On Nov 15, 2012, at 10:49 PM, Dave Blackburn wrote: > I find the guitar/piano break fascinating; the way it speeds up the tempo and skips a beat, like a heart palpitation. And the lagoon of disembodied voices that swirl. It is inspired record making. > > On Nov 15, 2012, at 6:47 PM, "Mark" wrote: > >> Count me among the admirers of 'Sweet Bird'. Some of you may remember a piece I wrote for a JMDL writing contest many years ago that used the song as its jumping off point. >> >> 'Out on some borderline >> Some mark of in-between >> I lay down golden in time >> And woke up vanishing' >> >> There was something about this song that appealed to me way back in my 20s. Now that I'm 58, it resonates more than ever. The passage of time seems to have been unbelievably swift and I often feel like I went to sleep somewhere along the way and 'woke up vanishing'. >> >> My favorite lines, however, are these: >> >> 'Give me some time >> I feel like I'm losing mine >> Out here on this horizon line >> With the earth spinning and the sky forever rushing...' >> >> That image of being 'out here on this horizon line with the earth spinning and the sky forever rushing' can still bring on stirrings of the heart and mind that make me emotionally and mentally dizzy. The Circle Game played out at such a speed and to a place it was impossible for me to imagine back there behind from where I came when I first heard 'Sweet Bird'. It is nothing less than another deeply felt, exquisitely expressed mediation on the passage of time from a woman who is a genius in her art. >> >> Jim, you described the music and the feeling of the song so beautifully. It is beyond words. >> >> Mark in Seattle >> >> -----Original Message----- From: jlhommedieu@insight.rr.com >> Sent: Thursday, November 15, 2012 2:18 PM >> To: scd8556@aol.com> >> Cc: JMDL >> Subject: Sweet Bird, 100% JC >> >> Me too. Even the beginning of the song, the way it fades IN rather than fading >> out sounds strange, as if it is playing backwards. The piano meanders around, >> as if it was recorded backwards. >> >> When Joni starts singing >>>> out on some borderline >> >> she does that strange drop on "line" that seems other worldly. Then she >> starts talking about youth as if she was beyond life and death. It is as if >> she in the great beyond, remembering what Life was like. For me, it is eerie >> but also comforting. That track is beyond words. >> >> Jim L >> >>> Sally said, in part, >> Taken as a whole, for me that track is almost like an out of body experience. >> I find that sometimes when I listen to it, it's as if I don't actually hear >> it...rather I understand the complete truth in it. It's very moving for >> me...even hundreds of plays later. ------------------------------ End of onlyJMDL Digest V2012 #390 ********************************* ------- Post messages to the list by clicking here:mailto:joni@smoe.org Unsubscribe by clicking here: mailto:onlyjoni-digest-request@smoe.org?body=unsubscribe