Sunday, April 22, 2007

I'm in love!

With this song by Joanna Newsom. It is just fantastic. This is the youtube version, and the sound quality isn't great - but it's just so wonderful.

First read the lyrics:

This Side of the Blue

Svetlana sucks lemons across from me,
and I am progressing abominably.
And I do not know my own way to the sea
but the saltiest sea knows its own way to me.

The city that turns, turns protracted and slow
and I find myself toeing th'embarcadero
and I find myself knowing the things that I knew
which is all that you can know on this side of the blue

And Jaime has eyes black and shiny as boots
and they march at you, two-by-two (re - loo - re - loo);
when she looks at you, you know she's nowhere near through:
it's the hardest heart beating this side of the blue.

And Gabriel stands beneath forest and moon.
See them rattle & boo, see them shake, see them loom.
See him fashion a cap from a page of Camus;
see him navigate deftly this side of the blue.

And the signifieds butt heads with the signifiers,
and we all fall down slack-jawed to marvel at words!
While across the sky sheet the impossible birds,
in a steady, illiterate movement homewards

And the rest of our lives will the moments accrue
when the shape of their goneness will flare up anew.
Then we do what we have to do (re - loo - re -loo),
which is all you can do on this side of the blue.


And the clip, she gets stronger as she goes and the harp is fab.

6 Comments:

Blogger f:lux said...

I hadn't heard of her before, but I might look her up now - it's a shame the recording isn't great but hey! And I like the way she manages to slip 'butt heads' into her lyrics...

12:37 pm  
Blogger Pat said...

So glad I read the lyrics first. Is she Scottish?

3:26 pm  
Blogger apprentice said...

No, American. Nevada i think -I like her, bit like Cindy Lauper and Kate bush rolled into one.

5:16 pm  
Blogger Colin Will said...

Oh, that is sooo good. I've never heard of her before, sut I'll look for more. The voice fits the song, and the harp is sensational.

8:47 pm  
Blogger Rob said...

I heard this song first as a soundtrack to an advert for Orange Mobile phones! This is the link.

Joanna Newsom has two albums, both quite strange, but very good.

11:50 am  
Blogger apprentice said...

Thanks Rob, I found here via i-tunes links between artists.
I'm not so keen on the other songs, this one just seems to stand out some how, and I love her use of language in it.

1:03 pm  

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