hi
>>>joan wrote
>>>>>>You go down to the pick up station craving warmth and beauty.
You settle for less than fascination, a few drinks later you're not so
choosy.
>>>>>>bob took 30 years to respond
>>>>>>but the line above always bugs me a little. "Less than
fascination" would signify that that the person is already going to
compromise in regards to who they pick up, then the second half of the
couplet pretty much says the same thing. I suppose it's saying that after a
couple more drinks the standards have gotten even lower than they were to
begin with, it just has always sounded a tad awkward to me.
actually, i think the complete line(s?) is a stunner. life changingly
powerful if one really, really takes it to heart.
theres that craving for warmth & beauty there deep down inside of pretty
much everyone. it drives people to many different things. some people go to
church. some people go to nature. some people listen to joni, some sing
themselves, some play music, and some try to fill the gap with casual sex!!!
in the specific situation joni is pointing out how low the person has
already sunk. trying to fill the craving for truth and beauty with a pick
up, with less than fascination for the person being picked up.
then after a couple of drinks even those standards have fallen away. instead
of looking for someone with at least some vague form of attraction, anything
will do.
the entire song speaks incredibly strongly of isolation and loneliness, in
both the lyrics, the singing, and the instrumentation. this particular line
is just so unbelievably powerful in its depiction of how a chronically
lonely person will settle for any kind of contact, no matter how
superficial. it also depicts the fact that that lonely person is oh so often
responsible for their own loneliness.
they have fallen into the trap, unable to break out and fulfill that craving
for warmth & beauty. lost the ability to try, lost the confidence required
to break out, yet never lost that craving. just settled for trying to fill
it with something else.
think about it. meditate on it. start to feel it. the line is anything but
clumsy. it is just sheer brilliance.
and while it may not in particular apply to you (the general you - not bob
specifically) getting a grasp on the depth of emotion behind the line will
still be a life changing experience in understanding and empathising with
people who are in that situation.
so much of joni's music and lyrics depends on empathy. if you really want to
get it, feel it. I am really very bad at understanding lyrics and what they
mean. the emotion and feeling behind it is the critical issue. I m sitting
here full of tears, totally fragile and emotional trying to convey the
beauty that i see in those lines, but i just cant do it...
damn, what an artist that joni is. there are lots of other fine writers but
*no one* can pack as much depth and emotion into a few seemingly simple
words. & then she still makes it sound so damned good on top of that...
ron
