PBS TV SHOW NOVEMBER 30TH 1969: "A few years ago a read a trilogy by an englishman named Tolkien [audience claps], and eh, it left a big impression on me because there are so many different ways that you can read your own things inot it and, well, get your own hope and light and everything from it. My favourite character, of course, was a lady wizard by the name of Galadriel. And when the traverllers came to her kingdom before they had to venture off into very dangerous places and everything, she gave them a vial of light and she said "take this vial and whenever you're in a dark place, take it out" you know. Well,being into metaphors a lot myself, I decided that what she probably was giving them was a memory of a beautiful time, and with that interpretation and her hope and her memory, well [ strumming/tuning] i borrowed a phrase from him "the wilderland" which was a place that they had to go through, and the wilderland is just like it sounded; it's a wilderness and full of all kinds of hairy monsters and things, just like life. [strumming/tuning]. I knew that one was out. So, i call this song "I Think I Understand, Fear Is Like A Wilderland"
Daylight falls upon the path The forest falls behind Today I am not prey to dark uncertainty The shadow trembles in its wrath I've robbed its blackness blind And tasted sunlight as my fear came clear to me I think I understand Fear is like a wilderland Stepping stones or sinking sand Now the way leads to the hills Above the steeple's chime Below me sleepy rooftops round the harbor It's there I'll take my thirsty fill Of friendship over wine Forgetting fear but never disregarding her Oh, I think I understand Fear is like a wilderland Stepping stones or sinking sand Sometimes voices in the night Will call me back again Back along the pathway of a troubled mind When forests rise to block the light That keeps a traveler sane I'll challenge them with flashes from a brighter time Oh, I think I understand Fear is like a wilderland Stepping stones and sinking sand." HOT PRESS MAGAZINE, MARCH 30TH 2000 "I admit that the first songs I wrote were not very soul-searching. They were very young. Lines like 'night in the city looks pretty to me.' Although I did write 'Both Sides Now' as one of those first ten songs. But that is half naive and half worldly. Each verse alternates in that way. Elaborating on the genesis of one of her most famous songs Joni explains that its roots also stem, in part, from a fairy tale she was writing. "It was called Mythology, and focused on a place that had two kingdoms. It was kind of like childhood Zen. The kingdom of Fanta and the kingdom of Real. Fantasy, reality. And 'Both Sides Now' came out of that mythology, from Siquomb, the queen of that mythology. It was a children's story! And yet people say it's narcissistic because I'm referring to myself. But it was the queen of the kingdom of Fanta singing. And the whole idea probably came from my reading Lord of The Rings. That was a direct influence."
