> About the Blue lyrics, I agree with Hell here, I think ``the ink of a pin`` is > literally the tattoo ink (as introduced in the first line) and reinforced by > the crown and anchor image - the tatoo - Blue's tattoo?
For years I thought she was singing 'ink on a pen' and talking about writing the song's lyrics down. Then it finally dawned on me that she was talking about tatooing and it was 'ink on a pin'. I don't think I ever saw it as a reference to drugs but I can see how that could be. For me 'crown and anchor me' is a metaphor referring to a ship. She says 'I've been to sea before', like a ship has been to sea. Then she gives Blue the choice to 'crown and anchor me', to anchor her like a ship or bind her to him in some way or to 'let me sail away', to set her free. I never felt that the references to drugs were specific to the lover so much as to the whole scene that Joni & that lover found themselves in. She says 'you gotta keep thinking you can make it through these waves' as if she's telling both Blue and herself that a positive course & outlook are essential for survival in the crazy time & place they're living in. She goes on to say that she's willing to at least check the whole scene out even though she knows that it isn't really the right way for her to go. Maybe Blue doesn't feel the same way as she does about it. Maybe he really believes that 'hell's the hippest way to go'. She ends by referring to her creation as a shell containing 'a sigh, a foggy lullaby, both phrases that are aptly descriptive of this gut-wrenching song. To me, 'Blue' is a confession of love bursting from Joni's very soul and a cry pain for a difficult but exhilarating relationship that she knows cannot last much longer. When she sings 'Blu-u-u-u-ue, I lo-ove yo-ou' it is such a cry of anguish and pain, it just cuts right through me every time I hear it. She's already feeling the pain of loss, knowing that the relationship is hopeless. Mark E.
