Greg Brown is a folk musician from Iowa, USA. His "Iowa Waltz" has been (un… Read Full Bio ↴Greg Brown is a folk musician from Iowa, USA. His "Iowa Waltz" has been (unsuccessfully) proposed to replace the state song of Iowa.

During the 1980s, his reputation was established through frequent touring and recurring performances on A Prairie Home Companion. Subsequently, his work has been nominated for Grammy awards. He also founded his own record label and named it Red House Records after a home he lived in in Iowa. Red House Records is an independent record label specializing in folk music, based in St. Paul, Minnesota. Well known folk artists have signed with Red House Records over the years include Ramblin' Jack Elliot, Tom Paxton and Loudin Wainwright III. A Red House Records compilation, A Nod to Bob, was said to be a tribute from a Minnesota label to a favorite native son - guess who?

On November 21, 2002 he married the singer-songwriter Iris DeMent. His daughters (from a previous marriage) are also musicians.

From: Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greg_Brown_%28folk_musician%29

The Angel
Greg Brown Lyrics

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(Music by Greg Brown / poem of William Blake)

I dreamt a dream! What can it mean?
And that I was a maiden Queen
Guarded by an Angel mild:
Witless woe was ne'er beguiled!

And I wept both night and day,

And he wiped my tears away;
And I wept both day and night,
And hid from him my heart's delight.

So he took his wings, and fled;
Then the morn blushed rosy red.
I dried my tears, and armed my fears
With ten thousand shields and spears.

Soon my Angel came again;
I was armed, he came in vain;

For the time of youth was fled,
And grey hairs were on my head

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Greg Brown's song The Angel, which is based on a poem by William Blake, depict a dream in which the singer imagines themselves as a maiden queen guarded by an angel. The dream is tinged with melancholy, as the singer weeps both day and night, only to have the angel wipe her tears away. At the same time, she hides her heart's delight from him, suggesting a fear of vulnerability or intimacy.

In the second stanza, the angel takes his wings and leaves the singer, causing her to arm herself with ten thousand shields and spears in an attempt to protect herself. However, when the angel returns, she finds that she is now too old, and he comes in vain. The dream ends with a sense of resignation or acceptance of the passage of time and the limitations it imposes.

One possible interpretation of these lyrics is that they represent a struggle between vulnerability and protection, between opening oneself up to love and the fear of rejection or loss that accompanies it. The singer's weeping and hiding of her heart's delight suggest a fear of being hurt, or perhaps a sense of unworthiness. When the angel leaves, she tries to protect herself with armor, but ultimately realizes that she cannot change the passage of time, and that opportunities come and go.

Overall, the lyrics to The Angel by Greg Brown offer a poignant meditation on the ephemeral nature of life, and the fragile balance between fear and vulnerability, hope and loss.

Line by Line Meaning

I dreamt a dream! What can it mean?
I had a dream, but I'm not sure what it means.

And that I was a maiden Queen
In my dream, I was a young queen.

Guarded by an Angel mild:
I was protected by a gentle angel.

Witless woe was ne'er beguiled!
I was never deceived by foolish sadness.

And I wept both night and day,
I cried constantly.

And he wiped my tears away;
The Angel wiped my tears and comforted me.

And I wept both day and night,
I cried all the time.

And hid from him my heart's delight.
I kept my true feelings hidden from the Angel.

So he took his wings, and fled;
The Angel left and flew away.

Then the mornblushed rosy red.
The morning sky turned pink.

I dried my tears, and armed my fears
I stopped crying and became fearful.