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
The Lower Road
Joan Baez Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Bury this rosary
Somewhere out of town,
Somewhere out by the sea
And take this ring,
Give it to Emily
And tell her I'm peaceful now,
I will be rolling on, I will be rolling on . . .
Well I know that dream,
I know it all too well
Starts like a lonely voice
And shifts to a tolling bell
Like rain on a dusty ground
Small bones in the driest well
The spark breathes a fiery tongue
And the tongues kiss the cheek of Hell
I will be rolling on, I will be rolling on
I've had my part to play, now I am going home . . . .
There's no telling which way boys
This thing is gonna take hold
From the fruit on a poplar tree
To the bruise round a band of gold
From the blood in a far country
To the war of just growing old
We travel a long road
And it's lonely and it is cold
And we will be rolling on, We will be rolling on
We had our part to play now we are going home
We will keep rolling on
We will keep rolling on
'Cause for every midnight hour
There's always a rising sun . . . .
"The Lower Road" by Joan Baez tells the story of a man who is ready to depart from this world, asking to be cut down, buried elsewhere and leaving his ring to Emily. He has come to peace with the life he has lived and is ready for release. As he talks about his journey through life, the lyrics become more introspective as he talks about the dreams he knows all too well. The dreams are of anguish and pain, and it's like rain on a dusty ground or small bones in the driest well. The tongue is fiery while kissing the cheek of Hell. However, he's ready to leave despite the foggy future and not knowing what's in store. His message is for people who have lived their lives and feel the same way, emphasizing that everyone will keep rolling on alongside their part in this world.
Line by Line Meaning
Cut me down,
Please cut me down from execution as I am ready to face the end
Bury this rosary
Please bury my rosary with me, as it has been my faithful companion throughout my life
Somewhere out of town,
The location of my burial should be somewhere far from the town
Somewhere out by the sea
Preferably somewhere close to the sea, as it reminds me of freedom and peace
And take this ring,
Please take my ring as a token of peace
Give it to Emily
Give my regards to Emily and assure her of my peaceful state
And tell her I'm peaceful now,
Inform Emily that I'm finally at peace and content
Tell her I've been released
Let her know that I have been set free from the sufferings of the world
I will be rolling on, I will be rolling on . . .
I will continue to roll on in peace and freedom
Well I know that dream,
I have experienced that dream before
I know it all too well
I'm too familiar with the scenario that usually plays out in such a dream
Starts like a lonely voice
The dream often begins with a soft, lonesome voice
And shifts to a tolling bell
Then it gradually transitions to the sound of a bell tolling
Like rain on a dusty ground
The effect of the dream on the mind is just like rain on a parched ground
Small bones in the driest well
It becomes dry and shallow like a well with only small bones visible at the surface
The spark breathes a fiery tongue
The dream ignites and feels like it is breathing fire
And the tongues kiss the cheek of Hell
The feeling becomes so intense that it seems to touch the realm of Hell
I will be rolling on, I will be rolling on
I will keep moving despite such trials and tribulations
I've had my part to play, now I am going home . . . .
I have finished my part in this journey and now it's time to go home and finally rest
There's no telling which way boys
We can't predict the direction our journey will take
This thing is gonna take hold
We are helpless as fate takes hold of us
From the fruit on a poplar tree
Our journey is like the fruit on a poplar tree - unpredictable and fleeting
To the bruise round a band of gold
We may encounter hardships, symbolized by bruises, that cause pain
From the blood in a far country
We may encounter violence or war in far-off lands
To the war of just growing old
Aging and the associated struggles may form part of our journey
We travel a long road
Our journey is arduous and seemingly never-ending
And it's lonely and it is cold
It is a difficult road, fraught with feelings of loneliness and isolation
And we will be rolling on, We will be rolling on
Nevertheless, we will keep moving forward, come what may
We had our part to play now we are going home
We've played our role in this journey and it's time to go back home
We will keep rolling on
Our journey will have its ups and downs, but we will keep trudging on
Cause for every midnight hour
Despite the struggles and hardships, there's always hope and dawn
There's always a rising sun . . . .
The sun will always rise, signifying a new day and opportunity
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
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