In the late '60s and early '70s, Baez came into her songwriting own, penning many songs (most notably "Diamonds & Rust," a nostalgic piece about her ill-fated romance with Bob Dylan, and "Sweet Sir Galahad," a song about sister Mimi Fariña's ( of Richard & Mimi Fariña fame) second marriage, and continued to meld her songcraft with topical issues. She was outspoken in her disapproval of the Vietnam war and later the CIA-backed coups in many Latin American countries.
She was also instrumental in the Civil Rights movement, marching with Dr. Martin Luther King on many occassions and being jailed for her beliefs. In 1963, her performance of "We Shall Overcome" at the Lincoln Memorial just prior to Dr. King's famous "I Have A Dream..." speech helped confirm the song as the Civil Rights anthem.
In December 1972, she traveled to Hanoi, North Vietnam, and was caught in that country's "Christmas Campaign," in which the U.S. bombed the city more times than any other during the entire war. While pregnant with her only son, Gabriel, she performed a handful of songs in the middle of the night on day one of the 1969 Woodstock festival. She is considered the "Queen of Folk" for being at the forefront of the 1960s folk revival and inspiring generations of female folksingers that followed. Over fifty years after she first began singing publicly in 1958, Joan Baez continues to tour, demonstrate in favor of human rights and nonviolence, and release albums for a world of devoted fans.
1959
In The Pines
Joan Baez Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Tell me where did you sleep last night?
In the pines, in the pines where the sun never shines
I'd shiver the whole night through
My father was a railroad man
Killed a mile and a half from town
His head was found 'neath driver's wheel
You caused me to weep, you caused me to moan
You caused me to leave my home
Black girl, black girl, where will you go?
I'll gog where the cold wind moan
In the pines, in the pines where the sun never shines
I'd shiver the whole night through
Longest train I ever saw
Was a hundred coaches long
And the only boy I ever loved
Is on that train and gone
Black girl, black girl, don't lie to me
Tell me where did you sleep last night?
In the pines, in the pines where the sun never shines
I'd shiver the whole night through
The lyrics to Joan Baez’s “In The Pines” are full of sorrow and despair. The song revolves around a narrator asking a black girl where she slept last night, knowing full well that she was with the person he loves. The chilling chorus sings of the cold isolation, dark woods, and the unforgettable memories of his lost love. The singer’s father, who worked as a railroad man, was mysteriously killed with his body never to be found, further adding a sense of gloom and despair to the already melancholic song. Despite his hurt, the singer still yearns for his lost love and sings of the longest train he has ever seen, the only transport that could take him to where she is now.
The song is basically about trying to find closure in the loss of a loved one. The black girl is a symbol of the person his love left him for, and he's desperate to find out where she's gone so he can try and win her back. His mind is plagued with thoughts of the tall pines, and the endless night he spent shivering with loneliness, and this can be seen as a metaphor for his inner turmoil. Overall, the song is a powerful piece of Americana, marked by its evocative and melancholic lyrics and the raw emotion conveyed through Baez's voice.
Line by Line Meaning
Black girl, black girl, don't lie to me
The singer is begging the black girl to tell the truth.
Tell me where did you sleep last night?
The singer wants to know where the black girl has been sleeping.
In the pines, in the pines where the sun never shines
The black girl slept in a place where there is no sunshine.
I'd shiver the whole night through
The artist describes how cold and unpleasant it must have been for the black girl to sleep in the pines all night.
My father was a railroad man
The artist's father worked on a railroad.
Killed a mile and a half from town
The singer's father died a mile and a half away from town.
His head was found 'neath driver's wheel
The singer's father's head was found under the wheel of the train he worked on.
His body have never been found
The artist's father's body was never found after the accident.
You caused me to weep, you caused me to moan
The artist blames the black girl for the pain and misery she has experienced.
You caused me to leave my home
The artist left her home because of the black girl's actions.
Black girl, black girl, where will you go?
The singer is asking the black girl where she will go next.
I'll gog where the cold wind moan
The black girl will go to a cold and desolate place where the wind blows loudly.
Longest train I ever saw
The singer saw a very long train.
Was a hundred coaches long
The train was made up of one hundred different cars.
And the only boy I ever loved
The singer loved a boy who is now gone.
Is on that train and gone
The boy the artist loved is on that long train and is no longer with her.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: ALAN RIGGS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Da Goth Kid
I love this rendition
briansky10
Just beautiful Joan. Just beautiful!
herbelus
Wow, i am speechless, just great.
marcinkowski mariusz
zajebista wersja
Boy?
Dang beautiful voice
Donna Hilton
Listen to The Coffin Shaker's version, sounds like Johnny Cash.
eleanor kincaid
Nb