Joanna Newsom
Joanna Caroline Newsom (born January 18, 1982) is an American multi-instrumentalist, singer, composer and actress. Born and raised in Northern California, Newsom was classically trained on the harp in her youth, and began her musical career as a keyboardist in the San Francisco–based indie band The Pleased.
Newsom started taking piano lessons at a very early age and played for a couple of years, but switched to the harp at seven. Her approach to the harp Read Full BioJoanna Caroline Newsom (born January 18, 1982) is an American multi-instrumentalist, singer, composer and actress. Born and raised in Northern California, Newsom was classically trained on the harp in her youth, and began her musical career as a keyboardist in the San Francisco–based indie band The Pleased.
Newsom started taking piano lessons at a very early age and played for a couple of years, but switched to the harp at seven. Her approach to the harp, from the percussive aspects of her playing to her chord changes, was also influenced by West African and Venezuelan harp music, which she began studying at a folk music camp she attended in her early teens. At the same time, she also listened to more vocal-based folk, punk, and jazz like Karen Dalton, Texas Gladden, Patti Smith, and Billie Holiday. By the time she reached high-school age, Newsom decided she wanted to become a composer, and while that became the focus of her studies, in her free time she began writing and recording instrumental songs. Eventually, Newsom's passion for songwriting won out, and she began studying creative writing to work with words in the same way she was accustomed to working with music.
Although Newsom's Appalachian-meets-avant-garde take on folk music is her most celebrated work, her range is even more inclusive than her solo career suggests: the classically trained harpist adds a decidedly different, textural sound to Nervous Cop, the noise rock trio that also features Deerhoof's Greg Saunier and Hella's Zach Hill, and she also plays keyboards for The Pleased, another San Francisco-area band more akin to Blondie or Television than her other projects. Newsom's family and hometown of Nevada City, CA, were both musically rich: her mother trained to be a concert pianist, her father is a guitarist, and her brother and sister play the drums and cello, respectively; meanwhile, the Newsoms also counted composer/pianist Terry Riley as a neighbor, along with Howard Hersh and W. Jay Sydeman.
Despite her extensive musical background, she hadn't sung until she began concentrating on her songs, but her voice — which had a pure, untrained sound somewhere between a child and a crone — was the perfect complement to her music. Newsom recorded some collections of songs that she gave to her friends, but eventually her music made its way to likeminded musicians like Will Oldham and Cat Power, both of whom invited her to play opening slots for their shows in 2002. That year also saw the release of the Walnut Whales EP, which she followed up with more appearances and another EP, Yarn and Glue, in 2003. After signing to Drag City, Newsom released her full-length debut, The Milk-Eyed Mender, in spring 2004; later that year, she toured the U.S. with Devendra Banhart and Europe with Smog.
In 2006 she changed direction again, with the release of her new album Ys, which received great critical acclaim and landed Newsom the Number 3 spot on Pitchfork's list of Top Albums of 2006. The EP Joanna Newsom & the Ys Street Band, which contained one new song and rearrangements of two old ones, followed the next year.
In Spring 2009, she developed vocal cord nodules, leaving her unable to sing, speak, or cry. Since then, her voice has seen a few changes.
2010 saw the release of her third full-length, the triple album Have One on Me, which contains eighteen songs spanning just over two hours and which (arguably) collectively makes up her most diverse set of material yet. It has also frequently been regarded as more accessible than its predecessors, in part due to the changes in Newsom's voice. The album was chosen by UK's Uncut magazine critics as their Best Album of 2010, and became the most commercially successful album she had released to date.
Her fourth full-length, Divers, was released in 2015. Like her previous work, it was highly critically acclaimed. It also proved to be commercially successful, outstripping its predecessors' performance on the U.S. Billboard 200.
Newsom started taking piano lessons at a very early age and played for a couple of years, but switched to the harp at seven. Her approach to the harp Read Full BioJoanna Caroline Newsom (born January 18, 1982) is an American multi-instrumentalist, singer, composer and actress. Born and raised in Northern California, Newsom was classically trained on the harp in her youth, and began her musical career as a keyboardist in the San Francisco–based indie band The Pleased.
Newsom started taking piano lessons at a very early age and played for a couple of years, but switched to the harp at seven. Her approach to the harp, from the percussive aspects of her playing to her chord changes, was also influenced by West African and Venezuelan harp music, which she began studying at a folk music camp she attended in her early teens. At the same time, she also listened to more vocal-based folk, punk, and jazz like Karen Dalton, Texas Gladden, Patti Smith, and Billie Holiday. By the time she reached high-school age, Newsom decided she wanted to become a composer, and while that became the focus of her studies, in her free time she began writing and recording instrumental songs. Eventually, Newsom's passion for songwriting won out, and she began studying creative writing to work with words in the same way she was accustomed to working with music.
Although Newsom's Appalachian-meets-avant-garde take on folk music is her most celebrated work, her range is even more inclusive than her solo career suggests: the classically trained harpist adds a decidedly different, textural sound to Nervous Cop, the noise rock trio that also features Deerhoof's Greg Saunier and Hella's Zach Hill, and she also plays keyboards for The Pleased, another San Francisco-area band more akin to Blondie or Television than her other projects. Newsom's family and hometown of Nevada City, CA, were both musically rich: her mother trained to be a concert pianist, her father is a guitarist, and her brother and sister play the drums and cello, respectively; meanwhile, the Newsoms also counted composer/pianist Terry Riley as a neighbor, along with Howard Hersh and W. Jay Sydeman.
Despite her extensive musical background, she hadn't sung until she began concentrating on her songs, but her voice — which had a pure, untrained sound somewhere between a child and a crone — was the perfect complement to her music. Newsom recorded some collections of songs that she gave to her friends, but eventually her music made its way to likeminded musicians like Will Oldham and Cat Power, both of whom invited her to play opening slots for their shows in 2002. That year also saw the release of the Walnut Whales EP, which she followed up with more appearances and another EP, Yarn and Glue, in 2003. After signing to Drag City, Newsom released her full-length debut, The Milk-Eyed Mender, in spring 2004; later that year, she toured the U.S. with Devendra Banhart and Europe with Smog.
In 2006 she changed direction again, with the release of her new album Ys, which received great critical acclaim and landed Newsom the Number 3 spot on Pitchfork's list of Top Albums of 2006. The EP Joanna Newsom & the Ys Street Band, which contained one new song and rearrangements of two old ones, followed the next year.
In Spring 2009, she developed vocal cord nodules, leaving her unable to sing, speak, or cry. Since then, her voice has seen a few changes.
2010 saw the release of her third full-length, the triple album Have One on Me, which contains eighteen songs spanning just over two hours and which (arguably) collectively makes up her most diverse set of material yet. It has also frequently been regarded as more accessible than its predecessors, in part due to the changes in Newsom's voice. The album was chosen by UK's Uncut magazine critics as their Best Album of 2010, and became the most commercially successful album she had released to date.
Her fourth full-length, Divers, was released in 2015. Like her previous work, it was highly critically acclaimed. It also proved to be commercially successful, outstripping its predecessors' performance on the U.S. Billboard 200.
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Sprout and the Bean
Joanna Newsom Lyrics
I slept all day
I woke with distaste
And I railed
And I raved
That the difference between
The sprout and the bean
It is a golden ring
It is a twisted string
And you can ask the counselor
You can ask the king
And they'll say the same thing
And it's a funny thing:
Should we go outside?
Should we go outside?
Should we break some bread?
Are y'interested?
And as I said
I slept as though dead
Dreaming seamless dreams of lead
When you go away
I am big-boned and fey
In the dust of the day
And in the dirt of the day
And the danger, danger, drawing near them was a white coat
And the danger, danger, drawing near them was a broad boat
And the water, water, running clear beneath a white throat
And the hollow chatter of the talking of the tadpoles
Who know th'outside
Should we go outside?
Should we break some bread?
Are y'interested?
Lyrics © ROUGH TRADE PUBLISHING, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Joanna Newsom
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
To comment on specific lyrics, highlight them
slint69
I slept all day
Awoke with distaste
And I railed
And I raved
That the difference between
The sprout and the bean
Is a golden ring
It is a twisted string
And you can ask the counselor;
You can ask the king;
And they'll say the same thing;
And it's a funny thing:
Should we go outside?
Should we go outside?
Should we break some bread?
Are y'interested?
And as I said
I slept as though dead
Dreaming seamless dreams of lead
When you go away
I am big-boned and fey
In the dust of the day
In the dirt of the day
And Danger! Danger! Drawing near them was a white coat
And Danger! Danger! drawing near them was a broad boat
And the water! water! running clear beneath a white throat
And the hollow chatter of the talking of the Tadpoles
Who know th'outside!
Should we go outside?
Should we break some bread?
Are y'interested?
Ashley J
I slept all day
I woke with distaste
And I railed
And I raved
That the difference between
The sprout and the bean
It is a golden ring
It is a twisted string
And you can ask the counselor;
You can ask the king;
And they'll say the same thing;
And it's a funny thing:
Should we go outside?
Should we go outside?
Should we break some bread?
Are y'interested?
And as I said
I slept as though dead
Dreaming seamless dreams of lead
When you go away
I am big-boned and fey
In the dust of the day
And in the dirt of the day
And the danger! Danger! Drawing near them was a white coat
And the danger! Danger! Drawing near them was a broad boat
And the water! Water! Running clear beneath a white throat
And the hollow chatter of the talking of the tadpoles
Who know th'outside!
Should we go outside?
Should we break some bread?
Are y'interested?
daydrmnation
My dad, when i lived with him as a twenty something but didn't quite connect, used to sing along to this when I'd play it... I remember him singing along outside my closed door where he sat in his living room, as a way to try to connect with me. Makes me miss him.
Jessica
I haven't listened to this song in years and today I just had to hear it.
Your story made me cry, of the sweet sadness that is life. Your father gave you a gift of love in a way that he knew how.
That is so beautiful!
spook dog
@Thawne you must be fun at parties. You seem like a reeeaalll catch.
Volunteer Firefighter
And you didn’t connect?
spook dog
@Thawne I was going to defend you for the first comment, because I thought You were just being dramatic as in that’s a hard pill to swallow and something you don’t want to think about but I can’t say the same for the second time you did it.
Nathan Hulsey
Heard this on The Strangers movie. Haven't stopped listening to it since 2008. Always will be an unknown legend. Played it to my 2 year old with our nice headphones. Her eyes got huge and she reached out and grabbed my thumb and held on tight for the whole song. Now she keeps singing "Should we go outside?" The lyric "The difference between the sprout and the bean is a golden ring, it is a twisted string" will always make me think of me (the bean) and her ( the sprout).
moon222
This is so touching, and also made me cry - what a lovely story
Nillea
i burst out in tears the first time I read this. Thanks for sharing Nathan
AuroraRose
That’s so sweet 🥺
Dømïñïç Nïttï
I hope memory isn't lost in the afterlife I really want to remember this one