Joan Baez: Go away from my window

Ventana en Essaouira. Fotografía: Lucía Hernández Coderch

Go away from my window
(Canción tradicional norteamericana interpretada por Joan Baez)

Go away from my window
Go away from my door
Go away way way from my bedside
And bother me no more
And bother me no more

I’ll go tell all my brothers
Tell all my sisters too
The reason why my heart is broke
Is on account of you
Is on account of you

I’ll give you back your letters
I'll give you back your ring
But I'll never forget my own true love
As long as song birds sing
As long as song birds sing

Go away from my window
Go away from my door
Go away way way from my bedside
And bother me no more
And bother me no more

Farewell Angelina

Farewell Angelina
(Bob Dylan)
Interpretada por: Joan Baez

Farewell, Angelina
The bells of the crown
Are being stolen by bandits
I must follow the sound.
The triangle tingles
and the trumpets play slow.
Farewell, Angelina
the sky is on fire
and I must go.

There's no need for anger
There's no need for blame.
There's nothing to prove
Everything's still the same.
Just a table standing empty
by the edge of the sea means
Farewell, Angelina
the sky is trembling
and I must leave.

The jack and the queen
have forsake the courtyard.
Fifty-two gypsies
now file past the guards
In the space where the deuce
and the ace once ran wild
Farewell, Angelina
the sky is falling
I'll see you in a while.

See the cross-eyed pirates sitting
perched in the sun
shooting tin cans
with a sawed-off shotgun.
And the neighbors they clap
and they cheer with each blast.
Farewell, Angelina
the sky's changing color
and I must leave fast

King Kong, little elves
on the rooftop they dance
Valentino-type tangos
while the makeup man's hands
shut the eyes of the dead
not to embarrass anyone.
But Farewell, Angelina
the sky's embarrassed
and I must be gone.

The machine guns are roaring
and the puppets heave rocks
and fiends nail time bombs
to the hands of the clocks.
Call me any name you like
I will never deny it,
But Farewell, Angelina
the sky is erupting
I must go where it's quiet.

It ain't me, babe

It Ain't Me, Babe
(Bob Dylan)
Interpretada por: Joan Baez

Go 'way from my window,
Leave at your own chosen speed.
I'm not the one you want, babe,
I'm not the one you need.
You say you're lookin' for someone
Never weak but always strong,
To protect you an' defend you
Whether you are right or wrong,
Someone to open each and every door,
But it ain't me, babe,
No, no, no, it ain't me, babe,
It ain't me you're lookin' for, babe.

Go lightly from the ledge, babe,
Go lightly on the ground.
I'm not the one you want, babe,
I will only let you down.
You say you're lookin' for someone
Who will promise never to part,
Someone to close his eyes for you,
Someone to close his heart,
Someone who will die for you an' more,
But it ain't me, babe,
No, no, no, it ain't me, babe,
It ain't me you're lookin' for, babe.

Go melt back into the night, babe,
Everything inside is made of stone.
There's nothing in here moving
An' anyway I'm not alone.
You say you're looking for someone
Who'll pick you up each time you fall,
To gather flowers constantly
An' to come each time you call,
A lover for your life an' nothing more,
But it ain't me, babe,
No, no, no, it ain't me, babe,
It ain't me you're lookin' for, babe.

East Virginia

EAST VIRGINIA
Joan Baez

I was born in east Virginia
North Carolina I did roam
There I met a fair pretty maiden
Her name and age I do not know

Her hair it was of a brightsome color
And her lips of a ruby red
On her breast she wore white lilies
There I longed to lay my head

Well in my heart you are my darling
At my door you're welcome in
At my gate I'll meet you my darling
If your love I could only win

I'd rather be in some dark holler
Where the sun refused to shine
Than to see you be another man's darling
And to know that you'll never be mine

Well in the night I'm dreaming about you
In the day I find no rest
Just the thought of you my darling
Sends aching pains all through my breast

Well when I'm dead and in my coffin
With my feet turned toward the sun
Come and sit beside me darling
Come and think on the way you done

I still miss someone

I Still Miss Someone
Joan Baez

At my door the leaves are falling
A cold wild wind will come
Sweethearts walk by together
And I still miss someone

No I never got over those blue eyes
I see them everywhere
I miss those arms that held me
When all the love was there

I wonder if she's sorry
For leaving what we'd begun
There's someone for me somewhere
And I still miss someone

No I never got over those blue eyes
I see them everywhere
I miss those arms that held me
When all the love was there

I wonder if she's sorry
For leaving what we'd begun
There's someone for me somewhere
And I still miss someone

Diamonds and rust

Diamonds and rust
Joan Baez

I'll be damned
Here comes your ghost again
But that's not unusual
It's just that the moon is full
And you happened to call
And here I sit
Hand on the telephone
Hearing a voice I'd known
A couple of light years ago
Heading straight for a fall

As I remember your eyes
Were bluer than robin's eggs
My poetry was lousy you said
Where are you calling from?
A booth in the midwest
Ten years ago
I bought you some cufflinks
You brought me something
We both know what memories can bring
They bring diamonds and rust

Well you burst on the scene
Already a legend
The unwashed phenomenon
The original vagabond
You strayed into my arms
And there you stayed
Temporarily lost at sea
The Madonna was yours for free
Yes the girl on the half-shell
Would keep you unharmed

Now I see you standing
With brown leaves falling around
And snow in your hair
Now you're smiling out the window
Of that crummy hotel
Over Washington Square
Our breath comes out white clouds
Mingles and hangs in the air
Speaking strictly for me
We both could have died then and there

Now you're telling me
You're not nostalgic
Then give me another word for it
You who are so good with words
And at keeping things vague
Because I need some of that vagueness now
It's all come back too clearly
Yes I loved you dearly
And if you're offering me diamonds and rust
I've already paid

Jesse

JesseJanis Ian

Interpretada por Joan Baez

Jesse come home, there's a hole in the bed
Where we slept; now it's growing cold.
Jesse your face, in the place where we lay
By the hearth, all apart, it hangs on my heart.

And I'm leaving the light on the stairs
No I'm not scared; I wait for you
Hey Jesse, it's lonely, come home.

Jesse the stairs in the halls, recalling
Your step; and I remember too.
All the pictures are shaded and fading in grey
And I still set a place on the table at noon.

And I'm leaving the light on the stairs
No I'm not scared; I wait for you
Hey Jesse, it's lonely, come home.

Jesse the spread on the bed,
It's like when you left, I kept it for you.
All the blues and the greens have been recently cleaned
And are seemingly new; hey Jess, me and you.

We'll swallow the light on the stairs
I'll fix up my hair, we'll sleep unawares
Hey Jesse, it's lonely, come home.

Fennario

Fennario (Canción tradicional escocesa)
Joan Baez

As we marched down to Fennario,
As we marched down to Fennario,
Our captain fell in love with a lady like a dove.
They call her by name pretty Peggy-o.

What will your mother think pretty Peggy-o?
What will your mother think pretty Peggy-o?
What will your mother think
When she hears the guineas clink,
The soldiers all marchin' before you-o?

In a carriage you will ride, pretty Peggy-o.
In a carriage you will ride, pretty Peggy-o.
In a carriage you will ride with your true love by your side,
As fair as any maiden in the are-o.

Come skippin' down the stair, pretty Peggy-o.
Come skippin' down the stair, pretty Peggy-o.
Come skippin' down the stair combin' back your yellow hair,
And bid farewell to sweet William-o.

Sweet William is dead, pretty Peggy-o.
Sweet William is dead, pretty Peggy-o.
Sweet William is dead, and he died for a maid,
The fairest maid in the are-o.

If ever I return, pretty Peggy-o.
If ever I return, pretty Peggy-o.
If ever I return all your cities I will burn,
Destroying all the ladies in the are-o.
Destroying all the ladies in the are-o.

Donna, Donna

Donna Donna

Interpretada por Joan Baez

On a waggon bound for market
there’s a calf with a mournful eye.
High above him there’s a swallow,
winging swiftly through the sky.

How the winds are laughing,
they laugh with all their might.
Laugh and laugh the whole day through,
and half the summer’s night.

Donna, Donna, Donna, Donna; Donna, Donna, Donna, Don.
Donna, Donna, Donna, Donna; Donna, Donna, Donna, Don.

Stop complaining said the farmer,
Who told you a calf to be?
Why don’t you have wings to fly with,
like the swallow so proud and free?

How the winds are laughing,
they laugh with all their might.
Laugh and laugh the whole day through,
and half the summer’s night. Donna...

Calves are easily bound and slaughtered,
never knowing the reason why.
But whoever treasures freedom,
like the swallow has learned to fly.

How the winds are laughing,
they laugh with all their might.
Laugh and laugh the whole day through,
and half the summer’s night. Donna...

La letra de esta canción la escribió Aaron Zeitlin (1889-1973) y la música la compuso Sholom Secunda (1894-1974). Ambos eran judíos y la escribieron en la época del nazismo. La versión original era en yidish y se titulaba Dana Dana. Pero el éxito llegó cuando Joan Baez la cantó en inglés en 1960. (Fotografía de Joan Baez de Dana Tynan)

Love song to a stranger

Love song to a stranger
By Joan Baez

How long since I've spent a whole
night in a twin bed with a stranger
his warm arms all around me?
How long since I've gazed into
dark eyes that melted my soul down
to a place where it longs to be?
All of your history has little to do
with your face.
You're mainly a mystery with
violins filling in space.

You stood in the nude by the mirror
and picked out a rose
from the bouquet in our hotel.
And lay down beside me again, and I watched the rose
on the pillow as it fell.
I sank and I slept in a twilight with only one care
To know that when day broke and I woke
that you'd still be there, you'd still be there.

The hours, for once, they passed slowly, unendingly by
like a sweet breeze on a field.
Your gentleness came down upon me and I guess I thanked you
when you caused me to yield.
We spoke not a sentence and took not a footstep beyond
our two days together which seemingly soon would be gone,
soon would be gone.

Don't tell me of love everlasting and other sad dreams
I don't want to hear.
Just tell me of passionate strangers who rescue each other
from a lifetime of cares.
'Cause if love means forever, expecting nothing returned,
then I hope I'll be given another whole lifetime to learn.

'Cause you gave to me oh so many things it makes me wonder
how they could belong to me.
And I gave you only my dark eyes which melted your soul down
to a place where it longs to be.