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
Seabirds
Joan Baez Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Don't worry about my politics
They are what they are
I work best when I get some rest
Right now I'm in a bar
Overlooking the whole wide world
It's over the Pacific
This could be terrific!
And the seabird struggles in the wind
She topples, balances again
The lady sitting next to me
Is gazing in the eyes
Of the stranger sitting next to her
Who is mouthing truths and lies
He's actually quite nice I guess
He has an honest look
He doesn't know I've lost my mind
Scribbling in this book
And the seabird struggles in the wind
She topples, balances again
Consumed by the evening's masterpiece
Completely introverted
From here I could stare down eternity
Leave alone and not feel deserted
I'm tired of interesting faces
And the dull ones make my weep
Don't ask me what my sign is
Instant intimacy runs cheap
The ocean is so bountiful
It spreads from coast to coast
The winds scale off the whitecaps
And the things I love the most
Come wafting up into my lap
In the colors of the great sunrise
Children holding cupcakes
With paradise in their eyes
And the seabird struggles in the wind
She topples, balances again
Four big pelicans just flew by
The room got very still
One of them carried the breath of God
Tucked way back in his bill
I know it was the breath of God
It's the same as the secret of life
He's carrying it off to the Shah of Iran
To trade it for the end of strife
And the seabird struggles in the wind
She topples, balances again
© 1976, 1977 Gabriel Earl Music (ASCAP)
The song 'Seabirds' by Joan Baez is a narrative that describes the current state of the artist where she is seated in a bar, overlooking the Pacific Ocean while the seabirds struggle to stay afloat from the gusts of wind. She mentions that her political inclination is nothing to worry about and she works best when she gets some rest. The drunk situation she has found herself in could become terrific as the words start flowing. As she scribbles away in her book, the person sitting next to her is indulged in a conversation with a stranger, and she, marking their honest look, takes some inspiration from it, all the while claiming she's lost her mind. She talks about being consumed by the evening's masterpiece and how tired she is of interesting faces and dull ones. She is in awe of the ocean view from the bar and describes how the ocean is so bountiful and how the things she loves the most come to her in the colors of the great sunrise. She even mentions that children with paradise in their eyes are holding cupcakes. Suddenly, four big pelicans fly by, and she claims that one of them carried the breath of God tucked away in his bill, which he is off to trade with the Shah of Iran for the end of strife.
Line by Line Meaning
Don't worry about my politics
Don't concern yourself with my political beliefs
They are what they are
I won't change my beliefs
I work best when I get some rest
I function optimally when I get enough sleep
Right now I'm in a bar
Currently, I am at a bar
Overlooking the whole wide world
Observing the vast expanse of the world
It's over the Pacific
The location is above the Pacific Ocean
I've never written when I was drunk
I have never composed material while intoxicated
This could be terrific!
I may create something great
And the seabird struggles in the wind
The bird fights against the wind
She topples, balances again
She loses her balance and quickly stabilizes afterward
The lady sitting next to me
The woman seated adjacent to me
Is gazing in the eyes
She is looking into the eyes
Of the stranger sitting next to her
Of the unfamiliar person alongside her
Who is mouthing truths and lies
He is verbally reciting both factual and false statements
He's actually quite nice I guess
I believe he is reasonably pleasant
He has an honest look
His appearance suggests that he is truthful
He doesn't know I've lost my mind
He is unaware that I am mentally unstable
Scribbling in this book
Jotting things down in this notebook
Consumed by the evening's masterpiece
Captivated by the event taking place tonight
Completely introverted
Totally within my thoughts
From here I could stare down eternity
I could gaze into infinity from here
Leave alone and not feel deserted
I can be alone and not feel alone
I'm tired of interesting faces
I am weary of intriguing visages
And the dull ones make me weep
Uninteresting ones make me cry
Don't ask me what my sign is
Don't query about my astrological sign
Instant intimacy runs cheap
Swift emotional closeness is overused
The ocean is so bountiful
The sea has an abundant amount
It spreads from coast to coast
It stretches from one end to the other
The winds scale off the whitecaps
The gusts remove the white caps of the waves
And the things I love the most
And my most beloved items
Come wafting up into my lap
Float up towards me and settle on my lap
In the colors of the great sunrise
In the hues of a spectacular sunrise
Children holding cupcakes
Kids grasping and enjoying cupcakes
With paradise in their eyes
With an expression of pure happiness
Four big pelicans just flew by
A cluster of enormous pelicans recently flew past
The room got very still
The area became extremely silent
One of them carried the breath of God
One had the breath of God enclosed
Tucked way back in his bill
Hidden deep within its beak
I know it was the breath of God
I am certain that it was the breath of God
It's the same as the secret of life
It is identical to the secret of life
He's carrying it off to the Shah of Iran
He is transporting it to the Shah of Iran
To trade it for the end of strife
To barter for the cessation of conflict
Lyrics © GABRIEL EARL MUSIC
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