Early early in the game
I taught myself to sing and play
And use a little trickery
On kids who never favored me
Those were years of crinoline slips
And cotton skirts and swinging hips
And dangerously painted lips
And stars of stage and screen
Pedal pushers, ankle socks
Padded bras and campus jocks
Who hid their vernal equinox
In pairs of faded jeans
And slept at home resentfully
Coveting their dreams
And often have I wondered
How the years and I survived
I had a mother who sang to me
An honest lullaby
Yellow, brown, and black and white
Our Father bless us all tonight
I bowed my head at the football games
And closed the prayer in Jesus' name
Lusting after football heroes
tough Pachuco, little Neroes
Forfeiting my A's for zeroes
Futures unforeseen
Spending all my energy
In keeping my virginity
And living in a fantasy
In love with Jimmy Dean
If you will be my king, Jimmy, Jimmy,
I will be your queen
And often have I wondered
How the years and I survived
I had a mother who sang to me
An honest lullaby
I travelled all around the world
And knew more than the other girls
Of foreign languages and schools
Paris, Rome and Istanbul
But those things never worked for me
The town was much too small you see
And people have a way of being
Even smaller yet
But all the same though life is hard
And no one promised me a garden
Of roses, so I did okay
I took what I could get
And did the things that I might do
For those less fortunate
And often have I wondered
How the years and I survived
I had a mother who sang to me
An honest lullaby
Now look at you, you must be growing
A quarter of an inch a day
You've already lived near half the years
You'll be when you go away
With your teddy bears and alligators
Enterprise communicators
All the tiny aviators head into the sky
And while the others play with you
I hope to find a way with you
And sometimes spend a day with you
I'll catch you as you fly
Or if I'm worth a mother's salt
I'll wave as you go by
And if you should ever wonder
How the years and you'll survive
Honey, you've got a mother who sings to you
Dances on the strings for you
Opens her heart and brings to you
An honest lullaby
Joan Baez - Honest Lullaby (04:15)
Joan sings a song dedicated to her son in Freiburg, 15 July 2007.
Better then ever. Joan now has a nice warm voice with more depth and color. upper register soprano has gone but her voice is even more beautiful and honest as always. loved it.
Author: hottestday - 2 years, 2 months ago
5
beautiful
Author: jacquesmees - 2 years, 4 months ago
6
It was fun to hear her sing this song long after Gabriel has flown the coop, so the speak! Joyful, too, to hear her venture into her upper vocal range. Glad she took those voice lessons over the years! Yeah, age has robbed her of a few high notes and some vocal horsepower, but that glorious Baez voice has taken on some wonderful "flesh" and depth and is still an instrument of awe! Gracias A La Vida, Joan!
Author: mounthopebay - 2 years, 6 months ago
7
"And in my voice you will hear [the earth's] tragic drone rise liquidly in liquid lingerings, like watery words awash." Thank you for the video of this song and thank you, Joan, for helping me survive all these years: "yi, yi, yi, yi" to you "little darling."
Author: odovicor - 2 years, 3 months ago
8
JB's phrasing constantly becomes warmer and more interesting despite the loss of her Joan Southerland range. I love the wordless singing she always been peerless at that.