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This
song is about Joni Mitchell
and specifically about her
relationship
with Graham Nash. A lot
of the ideas in the song
come
from things Joni herself said during various interviews
in
a wonderful documentary about her life "Woman of Heart
and
Mind." Do see it.
She
was standing in a pool of light
Beauty
shining through the opal of her eye
Like
a new moon rising in the night
In years to come it's how he'd always see her -
Blue
and gold and green and silver
As
filaments of hair like a corona caught the light.
She said "It broke my heart to let him go
I
suppose that even then I must have known
My
path would always be a long and lonely road
And that's been my redemption and my curse:
It's the sand that makes the pearl."
Pearls
spilled from her lips like rain
Raw
emotions falling in great swathes
And
spreading out around her like a veil.
She sang alone and undefended
When she sang she really meant it
"I could never settle for an easy life" she said
"I suppose I was afraid to
It's always seemed to me that if you
Chase
away your demons then your
Angels
leave you too
And you can't escape from sorrow in this world:
It's the sand that makes the pearl."
"If
you hold your precious things too tightly in your hands
They
slip right through your fingers just like sand."
"As a child" she said "I used to sit for hours
And
watch the cars drive in and drive away across the plain.
I
was born into a line of bitter women who like caged birds
Beat
their damaged wings against the bars and never learned
to fly
Time
and time again the choice for me
Either
to be loved or to be free
Has
left me wheeling skyward frozen and alone
But it's a winter that brings springtime to my world:
The sand that makes the pearl."
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