Wally wrote: <<you see, singing is about the word, not the voice. the word may be the lyrics, but it can be more generally interpreted as MEANING. singing is a semantic act. >>
and: << the harmony is more like the way of reasoning, the logical circuit that underlies the argument in the song. >> I agree Wally. The way I see it is the words (can) have a three way impact. Firstly giving the listener a purely visual image of say 'A black crow flying in a blue sky'. Secondly the metaphorical meaning, in this case Joni likens her life to that of a scavenger by using the similes of crow (shadow/corruption?) in a blue sky (light/illumination?.) All this is done in the writing. Thirdly the intonation of the words i.e. the way Joni rises on the word 'crow' to denote flying away. Then the drawn out 'blueeeeeeee skyyyyyyyyyy' to denote gliding maybe. This is done in the singing, although this may have been thought out in the writing. Therefore if somebody covers the song, it would not matter if they had the most wonderful voice, if they sing a short sharp 'blue sky' you lose the effect and hence an important part of the song. That's why it's so important for people to sing their own songs. Imagine someone else singing 'I bore her, but I could not raise her' on Chinese Cafe. It's so personal it just doesn't work for anyone else. Sorry if this a clumsy explanation but I hope you an see what I mean. ~Kevin
