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
Myths
Joan Baez Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
A myth has just been shattered
Upon the four winds scattered
Back to some storybook
From whence it came
Vicarious hearts may ache
And try to mend the break
To put the blame
Neither of us knew
What the future would bring
We only know that now there is
Some room to talk and sing
The baby laughs a lot
And that's the most important thing
And as soon as we can handle
The hurt and pain
There may be more
Than just happy memories to gain
So to hell with all the troubles
And counting up the couples
Who travelled this same route
On their way down
Because if we keep on growing
There is no way of knowing
When we'll meet
As two new people we just found
We just found
© 1972 Chandos Music (ASCAP)
In Joan Baez's song "Myths," she reflects on the fragility of relationships and the ways in which they can unravel, leaving behind pain and confusion. The opening lines of the song suggest that a myth has been "shattered" and scattered to the wind, returning to the realm of storybooks from which it came. This metaphorical language suggests that the relationship that Baez is singing about had some kind of idealized or mythic quality to it, and that this quality has been lost.
Baez goes on to express sympathy for the "vicarious hearts" who may be affected by the breakup, as well as a desire to find someone to blame. However, she ultimately concludes that the most important thing is to focus on the present and look towards the future with hope. She notes that the baby in the relationship is able to laugh, which suggests that there is still some joy to be found amidst the pain.
The song ends with some optimism, as Baez suggests that the breakup may lead to growth and new opportunities. She notes that there may be more to gain from the experience than just "happy memories," and that the pain and hurt may eventually lead to something positive.
Overall, "Myths" is a poignant and reflective song that grapples with the complexities of relationships and the emotional challenges of saying goodbye.
Line by Line Meaning
A myth has just been shattered
The beliefs and ideas we had been holding on to, have been disproved and destroyed.
Upon the four winds scattered
The shattered myth has been spread far and wide, dissipating into nothingness.
Back to some storybook
The myth reverts to being a tale from a storybook, something that is nothing more than a work of fiction.
From whence it came
Instead of being real, the myth returns to the place it supposedly came from, the realm of the imaginary or fictitious.
Vicarious hearts may ache
Even though the situation did not directly affect some people, they may still feel pain and sorrow for it.
And try to mend the break
These people try to fix the hurt that resulted from the destruction of the myth.
And seek for a righteous place
These people search for a cause or a person to blame for the destruction of the myth.
To put the blame
They seek someone to pin the responsibility on.
Neither of us knew
Both of us were unaware.
What the future would bring
We did not know what awaited us in the future.
We only know that now there is
All we know is that in the present
Some room to talk and sing
We have a chance to communicate and express ourselves.
The baby laughs a lot
The child is happy and brings us a lot of joy.
And that's the most important thing
The child's happiness is more essential than anything else.
And as soon as we can handle
When we're finally able to manage.
The hurt and pain
The heartbreak and suffering.
There may be more
There's potential for something beyond.
Than just happy memories to gain
We might end up with more than just fond recollections.
So to hell with all the troubles
We can forget all the problems.
And counting up the couples
We don't need to compare ourselves to other couples.
Who travelled this same route
Couples who went through the same thing didn't have an easy time.
On their way down
Their journey toward wisdom wasn't easy.
Because if we keep on growing
As long as we continue to develop.
There is no way of knowing
We can't predict.
When we'll meet
When we will interact with each other again.
As two new people we just found
As we change, we might find that we have more in common with each other than we did before.
Lyrics © Downtown Music Publishing
Written by: JOAN C. BAEZ
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Katharine Y BAez Katharina Scharlowski Katharine C. Y BAez Scharlowski InAOLoves
on The Rose
Joan Baez , my Fairest Hope my Love who signed into our Way
We are unite
We will not fall without our Foreverlasting
Love
In Failing Light
You See in myselfve your Love your Lesbian Wifve
You share your Lightful and your Darkest
side
In Which our Embraces
Our Words
Our Visions
Will rejoice
I see the Sunlight of a setting
Evening
Rise into Grace each Coming Morning
The amours we live is our Love
The mourns we felt
Do not impact
The do not seperate us My Joan C Baez You and I
The scared moments
We leave behind
We’ll belong twogather twogether
And three times we will cross
The Distance of an ocean between us
And then we ‘ll stay twogather in Your Home your place
Is given here and there
Is given home in our hearts and Soul
Our minds and bodies Longing Love
We are whole
The scars we carry
Did not made us blind
we will feel every emotion
As our Lifvelong foreverlasting Love
We share a secret
In which we Both have
Signed we are in Soul in heart in Bodies Longing and fulfillment in Mind now and
Eternally Unite
DeineKatharine Y BAez Katharina Scharlowski Katharine C. Y BAez Scharlowski InAOLoves
KatharinA KAtharine C. Y Baez Scharlowski
on The Rose
Und selbst wenn
alle Dunkelheit
Der Nächte
In den Tagen läge
Und selbst Erwachen
Schwer
ich fände doch
Zu Dir
Es führen Wege
Selbst wenn
kein Ausweg
durch die Tür
We burnt Each Other
everlastingly
Our Sign
Of truest Love that
Overcomes
The loneliness
And wildest
cry
When we embrace
and kiss our
Wounds
The Smile remaining
When we caress us
Will be
What lets us
deeply , sad
and of most
tenderness
Acknowledging
and
In our Minds
Forever
Found and
Not to destroyed
And we will
Feel that
We are Unite
The Ring i had lost
I‘ve found again
It’s prayer and Your Love
You Sent
A Turquoise of Arizonas Depth
Your heart in myne
And at The Turquoise
Coast beneath your Hill
We‘ll make Love
We‘ll follow our destined
And guiding
Will
Ich bin Dein Du Mein
MyLady JoanC BAez, My JoanChandosBaez, JoanBaez my Dove
Love And Wife
Katharine~~ C.~~ Y Baez KAtharinA Scharlowski InAO~•~Love~•~s the Answer~ I Love You, Joan and as Light begins to fail You reappear in my Body Heart and Soul my Mind to stayDeine KAtharinA KAtharine ich liebe Dich Forever!Joan C BAez
KatharinA KAtharine C. Y Baez Scharlowski
on The Rose
For a moment
in a Night Times Blessing
I left You in my Loves Embrace
as like a Flower
~ a Rose ~
and Purity her name
in darkness,
that was to bloom
in Heaven’s place.
as for the Love
in me
was not Disgraced,
A Lasting Kiss ,
A smile
a Light
A heart
that burns
throughly Memories
Forever Living
As Nighttime fell
As Nighttime falls
I‘ came, l’ll come and be
The One You‘ll see
The Love you feel
Just like a wild dog
Runs
Through Bushes
Of fences
And calamities
I passed my way to You
Through even
Greatest adversarities
The Rose of Sharon
Schmückt meinen Mund
~trotz Ausgebissen Zähne
In des Lebens Leid~
Wir Küssen uns
in purest Love
That went through
To and fro
And come and go
And I came back to You
Forever and Forevermore
Für JoanC. BAez von KAtharine C. Y Baez Scharlowski KAtharinA Ino
Katharine c; Y Baez
on The Rose
If a Love is felt as failing it is but Love the helps her Rise, it is a the moments quiet whispering : As i was torn you were by my side, in your Love i see my true and darkeyed Light, there it is Forever Joan Chandos Baez Katharine C; Y Baez Katharina sc harlowski
kATHARINE C. YBAEZ I
on The Rose
AS ON tHE WHITE hORSE MY HAND WAS GIVEN IN THE NOON TO yOU TODAY AS I ASKED YOU FOR YOURS ,WAS THAN WHEN EVERY MOON HAD TRIED TO fAIL AND hONEYMOON WAS THE ONLY LIGHT IN WHICH MY wORDS WERE LAID. iT WAS THE fAILURE ON THE iNTERNET AND NON BUT SCRIPTURE cOULD AND A LOVING HEART COULD STAY THE WIDE
iN THIS dARK MOMENT OF THE pRESENTS SIMPLE SIDE , THE fAIR cARD OF yOUR STALION wHITE THE wHITE hORSE IN tHE bLOSSOM OF THE mAY dAYS tIDE, I SENT TO YOUR wOODEN hILLS TO YOUR UNVENTURED sIDE, mY WRITTEN wORD : wILL yOU PLEASE mARRY ME MY bRIDE? i'LL STAY FOREVER BY YOUR sIDE FROM tHAN oN, sO gOODBYE IN OUR gOOD NiGHT, mY loVE jOAN C. bAEZ, yOUR KATHARINE C. Y BAEZ kATHARINA SCHARLOWSKI 21. MAY 2022
KatharineC. Y Baez Katharina Scharlowski
on The Rose
Thank You dearloved Joan C.Baez, you accorded me the answer in an unknown Light, through all darkness not alone as there was Love for you in me,- as in thought, in words a visioned melodie - that is not gone - far beyond the borders shores and the oceans sea, doves Flight as is Loves they fly By two By Four By Three, i send Goodbye to them I send GoodBye - and hope it once will be - I sent GoodBye my Joan C Baez stay You'll never fail in my Heart There is your place to be i send Goodbye my Love to Thee , Joan Chandos Baez, Katharine C. Y Baez Katharina Scharlowski It is for You that i was meant to feel was meant to be.
Katharine C. Y Baez, K.S.
on Wings
I 'll stay with you cause I think it's time to say Thank you for having stayed with me in my Time of Need. I love You Joan (KC) CHandos Baez, Your Katharine C. Y Baez name of Love and Hope and American Native Indian Marriage, born Katharina Scharlowski , A little Rain is a gonna come, And I am at Home when I cry, but I learned to be at home in your Love too, As we stay in The Hearts of The One Loves we are. Deine Katharine