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River - Joni Mitchell
The pictures in this video are all wrong for me. I see the hard earth of Texas, the dried grass, the frosty cold of the prairie countryside, the nascent snow, the deserted and lonely highways, the warmth of large gaseous automobiles, and on the edges, the spectral presence of my family (now mostly gone) and my friend Glenda (thankfully still around).
The first time I heard Joni's Blue album was in December '71. I immediately loved it. I loved all of the songs. It was the first pop album that had a strong effect on me - the experience was long overdue. And not to be often repeated.
I never really thought of River as a Christmas song, it just obliquely refers to Christmas in a few places in the lyric, and has a nice touch of Jingle Bells in the intro. In the past 10 years there have been lots of covers and such, but when the album came out I didn't know anyone outside my circle who paid any attention to this song or any of the others.
Since it was oblique, it was the perfect Christmas song for me in the early 70s. The sense of isolation mixed with yearning, of being on the outside of things, and the philosophical questions that isolation poses, were all part of my inner Christmas. (Ang Lee's The Ice Storm captures this holiday angst. It also captures the early 70s better than any other movie.)
As I have come to know now, this reflection is actually a necessary part of Christmas. To truly experience the sparkling light, the warmth, the humanity, the hope, the momentary truce of all strife, it's important to know something of the chasm. In every good Christmas story, there is always dark before the breaking light. Judy has to sing the sad Have yourself a merry little Christmas before the real thing can come.
The pictures in this video are all wrong for me. I see the hard earth of Texas, the dried grass, the frosty cold of the prairie countryside, the nascent snow, the deserted and lonely highways, the warmth of large gaseous automobiles, and on the edges, the spectral presence of my family (now mostly gone) and my friend Glenda (thankfully still around).
The first time I heard Joni's Blue album was in December '71. I immediately loved it. I loved all of the songs. It was the first pop album that had a strong effect on me - the experience was long overdue. And not to be often repeated.
I never really thought of River as a Christmas song, it just obliquely refers to Christmas in a few places in the lyric, and has a nice touch of Jingle Bells in the intro. In the past 10 years there have been lots of covers and such, but when the album came out I didn't know anyone outside my circle who paid any attention to this song or any of the others.
Since it was oblique, it was the perfect Christmas song for me in the early 70s. The sense of isolation mixed with yearning, of being on the outside of things, and the philosophical questions that isolation poses, were all part of my inner Christmas. (Ang Lee's The Ice Storm captures this holiday angst. It also captures the early 70s better than any other movie.)
As I have come to know now, this reflection is actually a necessary part of Christmas. To truly experience the sparkling light, the warmth, the humanity, the hope, the momentary truce of all strife, it's important to know something of the chasm. In every good Christmas story, there is always dark before the breaking light. Judy has to sing the sad Have yourself a merry little Christmas before the real thing can come.
