Though born in Seattle, Washington (where she spent the first ten years of her life), she moved to Denver, Colorado, in 1949. As a child Collins studied classical piano with Antonia Brico, making her public debut at age 13 performing Mozart's Concerto for Two Pianos. It was the music of Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger, and the traditional songs of the folk revival of the early 1960s, that piqued Collins' interest and awoke in her a love of lyrics. Three years after her debut as a piano prodigy, she was playing guitar. She eventually made her way to Greenwich Village, New York City, where she busked and played in clubs until she signed with Elektra Records, a record label with which she was associated for 35 years. In 1961, Collins released her first album, A Maid of Constant Sorrow, at the age of 22.
At first she sang traditional folk songs, or songs written by others, in particular the social poets of the time, such as Tom Paxton, Phil Ochs, and Bob Dylan. She recorded her own versions of seminal songs of the period, such as Dylan's "Mr. Tambourine Man" and Pete Seeger's "Turn, Turn, Turn". Collins was also instrumental in bringing then little known composers to a wider public; for example, she recorded songs by Canadian poet Leonard Cohen, and Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell.
With her 1967 album Wildflowers, she began to record her own compositions, the first of which was entitled "Since You've Asked". This album also provided Collins with a major hit, and a Grammy award, with her version of Joni Mitchell's "Both Sides Now", which reached #8 on the Billboard Hot 100.
1968's Who Knows Where the Time Goes was produced by Stephen Stills (of Crosby, Stills & Nash), with whom Collins was romantically involved at the time (she is the "Judy" of the Stills-written CSN classic "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes"). It had a mellow country sound, and included Ian Tyson's "Someday Soon" and the title track, a Sandy Denny song which has been covered by several artists.
By the 1970s, Collins had a solid reputation as an art song singer and folksinger. She had also begun to stand out with her own compositions. She was also known for her broad range of material: her songs from this period include the traditional gospel song "Amazing Grace", the Stephen Sondheim Broadway ballad "Send in the Clowns" (both of which were top 20 hits as singles), and her own compositions such as "My Father" and "Born to the Breed".
In 1979 she posed nude on the album "Hard Times For Lovers".
In more recent years, Collins has taken to writing, producing a memoir, "Trust Your Heart" in 1987, and two novels. Though her record sales are not what they once were, she still records and tours. One of her more recent albums is a collection of songs based on her novel Shameless. She performed at US President Bill Clinton's first inauguration in 1993, singing "Amazing Grace" and "Chelsea Morning". (The Clintons have stated that their daughter Chelsea was named after Collins' recording of the Joni Mitchell song.)
Activism
Like other folk singers of her generation, Collins was drawn to social activism. She is a representative for UNICEF and campaigns on behalf of the abolition of landmines. Following the 1992 death of her son Clark Taylor at age 33 after a long bout with depression and substance abuse, she has also become a strong advocate of suicide prevention. Her 2003 book, Sanity & Grace, chronicles her recovery from her son's suicide and attempts to provide some comfort and guidance to other families dealing with the loss of a loved one to suicide. She describes the "Seven T's" as a means for going through this process of recovery: Truth, Therapy, Trust, Try, Treat, Treasure, and Thrive. The Truth is that there should be no guilt in suicide; Therapy helps people express their emotions and seek grief counseling; Trust is the effort to believe that one can make it through the loss and keep a belief in life and in the future; Try means to stay away from drugs and alcohol or any excess--including overeating--as a means to deal with the loss and pain; Treat means to take care of the mind, body, and spirit with exercise and meditation; Treasure means to keep the memory of the moments to be treasured, and for this Collins recommends writing and keeping a journal; and Thrive means to be positive, hopeful, open to love and others, and continuing to know that you can rebuild your life on a basis of hope.
Awards and recognition
Grammy Award, Best Folk Performance or Folk Recording, "Both Sides Now", 1968
Grammy Award, Song of the Year, "Send in the Clowns", 1975
Nominated with Jill Godmillow for an Academy Award for the documentary "Antonia: A Portrait of the Woman" (1975), about her classical piano instructor, conductor Antonia Brico.
Discography
Maid of Constant Sorrow (1961)
The Golden Apples of the Sun (1962)
Judy Collins #3 (1964)
The Judy Collins Concert (1964)
Judy Collins' Fifth Album (1965)
In My Life (1966)
Wildflowers (1967)
Who Knows Where The Time Goes? (1968)
Whales and Nightingales (1970)
Both Sides Now (1971)
Living (1971) (Live)
Colors of the Day (1972) (Greatest Hits)
True Stories, and Other Dreams (1973)
Judith (1975)
Bread and Roses (1976)
So Early in the Spring (1977) (15th anniversary collection)
Hard Times for Lovers (1979)
Running for My Life (1980)
Times of Our Lives (1982)
Home Again (1984)
Trust Your Heart (1987)
The Stars Of Christmas (Selected Especially For Avon) (1988)
Sanity and Grace (1989)
Fires of Eden (1990)
Baby's Bedtime (1990)
Baby's Morningtime (1990)
Judy Sings Dylan... Just Like a Woman (1993)
Come Rejoice! A Judy Collins Christmas (1994)
Shameless (1994)
Voices (1995)
Christmas at the Biltmore Estate (1997)
Forever: An Anthology (1997)
Both Sides Now (1998)
Classic Broadway (1999)
All on a Wintry Night (2000)
Judy Collins Live at Wolf Trap (2000)
Judy Collins Sings Leonard Cohen: Democracy (2004)
The Essential Judy Collins (2004)
Portrait of an American Girl (2006)
Videography
Baby's Bedtime (1992)
Baby's Morningtime (1992)
Junior playing the operator of a home for unwed mothers opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger
Christmas at the Biltmore Estate (1998)
The Best of Judy Collins (1999)
Intimate Portrait: Judy Collins (2000)
Judy Collins Live at Wolf Trap (2003)
Wildflower Festival (2003) (DVD with guest artists Eric Andersen, Arlo Guthrie, and Tom Rush)
Bibliography
Trust Your Heart (1987)
Amazing Grace (1991)
Sanity and Grace: A Journey of Suicide, Survival and Strength (2003)
Suzanne
Judy Collins Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You can hear the boats go by, you can spend the night forever
And you know that she's half crazy that's why you want to be there
And she feeds you tea and oranges that come all the way from China
And just when you want to tell her that you have no love to give her
She gets you on her wavelength and lets the river answer
That you've always been her lover
And you want to travel blind
And you think you'll may be trust her
For she's touched your perfect body with her mind
And Jesus was a sailor when He walked upon the water
And He spent a long time watching from a lonely wooden tower
And when He knew for certain only drowning men could see Him
He said, "All men shall be sailors then until the sea shall free them"
But He Himself was broken long before the sky would open
Forsaken, almost human He sank beneath your wisdom like a stone
And you want to travel with Him
And you want to travel blind
And you think you'll maybe trust Him
For He's touched your perfect body with his mind
Suzanne takes you down to her place by the river
You can hear the boats go by you can spend the night forever
And the sun pours down like honey on our lady of the harbor
And she shows you where to look among the garbage and the flowers
There are heroes in the seaweed, there are children in the morning
They are leaning out for love and they will lean that way forever
While Suzanne holds the mirror
And you want to travel with her
And you want to travel blind
And you think maybe you trust her
For you've touched her perfect body with your mind
The song "Suzanne" by Judy Collins is a poignant and evocative ballad of love, spirituality, and transformation. The song begins with the singer telling us about Suzanne, a woman who lives by the river and seems to have a mystical quality about her. The singer is drawn to her despite her oddities and they spend time together, with Suzanne serving him tea and oranges from China. Suzanne seems to have an almost hypnotic power over the singer, drawing him onto her wavelength.
As the song progresses, we hear about Jesus, a sailor who walked on water and spent a long time watching from a lonely wooden tower. He realized that only drowning men could see him and declared that all men shall be sailors until the sea shall free them. However, Jesus himself was broken long before the sky would open, forsaken and human, sinking beneath the singer's wisdom like a stone.
The song ends with Suzanne taking the singer to a place where he sees hope and beauty amid the garbage and the flowers. And the singer wants to travel with Suzanne, both literally and metaphorically, trusting her and touched by her mind.
Line by Line Meaning
Suzanne takes you down to her place by the river
Suzanne guides you to a peaceful place by the river
You can hear the boats go by, you can spend the night forever
The experience is so serene, it feels like time is standing still and you can stay forever
And you know that she's half crazy that's why you want to be there
Suzanne's unconventional nature is intriguing, making you want to be around her
And she feeds you tea and oranges that come all the way from China
Suzanne nourishes you with exotic treats
And just when you want to tell her that you have no love to give her
You feel like you don't have anything to offer her emotionally
She gets you on her wavelength and lets the river answer
Suzanne connects with you on an emotional level and the surroundings provide answers
That you've always been her lover
The connection with Suzanne has been strong and timeless
And you want to travel with her
You desire to experience more of the world with Suzanne
And you want to travel blind
You trust Suzanne so much that you are willing to let her lead you blindly
And you think you'll may be trust her
You are contemplating whether you can trust Suzanne
For she's touched your perfect body with her mind
Suzanne has connected with you on a deeper, emotional level
And Jesus was a sailor when He walked upon the water
Drawing a comparison to Jesus' ability to walk on water
And He spent a long time watching from a lonely wooden tower
Jesus observed the world from a distance
And when He knew for certain only drowning men could see Him
Jesus realized that the people who believed in him were in dire need of support
He said, "All men shall be sailors then until the sea shall free them"
Jesus spoke of the struggles of life, and how humanity must find its own way
But He Himself was broken long before the sky would open
Jesus endured hardships and struggled with his own existence
Forsaken, almost human He sank beneath your wisdom like a stone
Despite his divinity, Jesus was still human and was weighed down by the wisdom he imparted
And you want to travel with Him
You desire to be on a higher journey with Jesus
And you want to travel blind
You trust Jesus so much that you are willing to let him guide you blindly
And you think you'll maybe trust Him
You are contemplating whether you can trust Jesus
For He's touched your perfect body with his mind
Jesus has connected with you on a deeper, spiritual level
And the sun pours down like honey on our lady of the harbor
The sun radiates down beautifully on Suzanne
And she shows you where to look among the garbage and the flowers
Suzanne shows you the beauty that can be found among both the bad and good of life
There are heroes in the seaweed, there are children in the morning
The world holds inspiring people and new beginnings
They are leaning out for love and they will lean that way forever
People will always crave love and seek it out in the deepest corners of the world
While Suzanne holds the mirror
Suzanne guides you through the looking-glass to show you how deep the rabbit hole goes
And you want to travel with her
You desire to experience more of the world with Suzanne
And you want to travel blind
You trust Suzanne so much that you are willing to let her lead you blindly
And you think maybe you trust her
You are contemplating whether you can trust Suzanne
For you've touched her perfect body with your mind
Suzanne has connected with you on a deeper, emotional level
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Leonard Cohen
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind