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
Lady Gay
Joan Baez Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Of children she had three,
She sent them away to the North Countree
To learn their grammaree
They'd not been gone but a very short time,
Scarcely three weeks and a day,
When death, cruel death, came hasting along
"There is a King in Heaven," she cried
"A King of third degree
Send back, send back my three little pages,
This night send them back to me."
She made a bed in the uppermost room,
On it she put a white sheet,
And over the top a golden spread
That they much better might sleep.
"Take it off, take it off," cried the older one,
"Take it off, take it off," cried he,
"For what's to become of this wide wicked world
Since sin has first begun."
She set a table of linen fine,
On it she placed bread and wine,
"Come eat, come drink of mine."
"We want none of your bread, mother,
Neither do we want your wine,
For yonder stands our Savior deer,
To Him we must resign."
"Green grass is over our heads, mother,
Cold clay is over our feet,
And every tear you shed for us,
It wets our winding-sheet."
The song starts with introducing a lady who had three children, whom she sent to the North Countree to learn grammar. Unfortunately, death takes the lives of these three little children barely three weeks after they left their mother. The mother is left heartbroken by the tragedy and therefore decides to call on the King of Heaven to bring back her children. She makes a bed in the uppermost room, with a white sheet over it and a golden spread. She then sets a table with bread and wine and invites her children to come eat and drink, but they refuse her offer, telling her that they have resigned to their Savior, who stands watching over them. The children then remind their mother that they are dead and buried under the earth, and every tear she sheds for them wets their winding-sheet of clay.
The story in this song is incredibly poignant, speaking of a mother's profound sorrow over the death of her children. The act of sending the children away to learn reflects the basic want of any mother for their children to receive education as they could not provide it at home. The children's naive and innocent question about the state of the world since sin began highlights their childish nature that death has taken away. The song conveys the strong emotional bond between mother and child and the pain that comes with the separation of that bond. Therefore, "Lady Gay" reflects on the persistence of human life and the loss that goes along with it.
Line by Line Meaning
There was a lady and a lady gay,
There was a happy-go-lucky lady with children
Of children she had three,
She had three kids
She sent them away to the North Countree
She sent them away to school in the north
To learn their grammaree
To learn grammar
They'd not been gone but a very short time,
They had been gone for a brief period
Scarcely three weeks and a day,
Just around three weeks
When death, cruel death, came hasting along
Death suddenly arrived
And stole those babes away.
And took away her children
"There is a King in Heaven," she cried
She cried out that there is a King in Heaven
"A King of third degree
"A King so powerful
Send back, send back my three little pages,
Please return my three kids
This night send them back to me."
Send them back tonight
She made a bed in the uppermost room,
She prepared a room upstairs
On it she put a white sheet,
Covered the bed with white sheets
And over the top a golden spread
She decorated the bed with a golden blanket
That they much better might sleep.
So they would sleep well
"Take it off, take it off," cried the older one,
"Remove it, Remove it" the older kid shouted
"Take it off, take it off," cried he,
"Remove it, remove it!" he shouted again
For what's to become of this wide wicked world
The world is an unhappy place,
Since sin has first begun."
because of sin being in the world
She set a table of linen fine,
She arranged the table with fine linen
On it she placed bread and wine,
She placed bread and wine on the table
"Come eat, come drink of mine."
"Please eat and drink what I've prepared"
"We want none of your bread, mother,
"We don't want your food, mom
Neither do we want your wine,
We also don't want your wine
For yonder stands our Savior dear,
Our savior is standing right there
To Him we must resign."
"We have to give ourselves to Him"
"Green grass is over our heads, mother,
"We only have grass over our heads now, mom
Cold clay is over our feet,
"And our feet are covered by cold clay
And every tear you shed for us,
And every time you cry for us
It wets our winding-sheet."
Our burial clothes will be wet
Contributed by Kennedy H. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Mark Blackwood
I love this song.