Hey List -- I am enjoying this thread, and hope it keeps unraveling. It IS both valid and interesting (IMO) to discuss, as Franklin and others have done, the way in which words and music can combine to create something of particular beauty and power, and obviously Joni is a master of this.
As Kate has pointed out, Joni clearly considers herself a poet. And of course she should. Again, to clarify, ALL lyrics are poetry. Poetry has been created for thousands of years. It existed long before the written word. Much of what we consider the best of Elizabethan poetry was chanted or sung. So was Homer's poetry, etc. Maybe it would be better to reformulate the question: do Joni's poems need to be matched to her melodies in order to retain their beauty and power? To me, the answer with many of them is a resounding NO. "The Complete Poems and Lyrics" is the best evidence. David
