{"id":2291,"date":"2023-09-26T11:01:54","date_gmt":"2023-09-26T18:01:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/irenejackson.com\/songblog\/?p=2291"},"modified":"2023-09-26T11:02:02","modified_gmt":"2023-09-26T18:02:02","slug":"songs-i-like-edith-and-the-kingpin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/irenejackson.com\/songblog\/songs-i-like-edith-and-the-kingpin\/","title":{"rendered":"Songs I Like – Edith And The Kingpin"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Song: Edith And The Kingpin Artist: Joni Mitchell<\/strong> (Originally published Feb.27, 2012)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recently there was a popular hash tag on Twitter regarding your favourite lyrics. I don’t normally participate in those (perhaps I should!), but this time I decided to post a couple of lines from a song that I’ve always loved because of the lyrics. It’s a Joni Mitchell song called “Edith And The Kingpin” from her 1975 album, The Hissing of Summer Lawns:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anyone who knows me, knows that Joni Mitchell is one of my favourite songwriters<\/a>, and this lyric to me exemplifies her poetry-that-comes-alive-with-music talent.  There are many poets out there and many lyricists, and more often than not, they are not interchangeable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A lot of poetry just doesn’t work with music, but Joni Mitchell and Bob Dylan were poets who were able to put music to their poetry seamlessly.  The poetry has to be approachable, and the music has to be perfectly married to the words.  This is a jazzy Joni Mitchell album, with Edith and the Kingpin being one of it’s smoother pieces.  One of the passages that gets me is this one:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His eyes hold Edith
His left hand holds his right
What does that hand desire
That he grips it so tight<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Joni has a way with visual lyrics…I can “see” his grip on his own hand, there’s an intensity about the idea of his eyes holding Edith and the his obvious desire for her.  Even the fact that she uses the word “grip” instead of “hold” or any other choice, gives it that added intensity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the chord progression, it slips into a Bb6\/9-5<\/strong> to an Em7\/A.  <\/strong>Now if that throws you, Joni actually plays in an open tuning of: D A E G C E so creating these jazz chords takes on a whole new dimension.  Don’t worry, you don’t have to know how to play guitar to read the rest of this, but when you listen to the song, moving into that passage has the effect of a bridge or a pre-chorus, although there is no chorus in this song.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In another “bridge”, she sings:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Women he has taken
Grow old too soon
He tilts their tired faces
Gently to the spoon<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

That line “He tilts their tired faces gently to the spoon” is, again, so visual for me.   The fact that he’s in charge of them, that they are obvious addicts and totally under his control comes together so well in four short lines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you’ve never heard the song, listen to it on the video below, and here are the lyrics for you to read along with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The big man arrives
Disco dancers greet him
Plainclothes cops greet him
Small town, big man, fresh lipstick glistening
Sophomore jive
From victims of typewriters
The band sounds like typewriters
The big man he’s not listening<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

His eyes hold Edith
His left hand holds his right
What does that hand desire
That he grips it so tight<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Edith in the ring
The passed over girls are conferring
The man with the diamond ring is purring
All claws for now withdrawn
One by one they bring
His renegade stories to her
His crimes and his glories to her
In challenge they look on<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Women he has taken grow old too soon
He tilts their tired faces
Gently to the spoon<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Edith in his bed
A plane in the rain is humming
The wires in the walls are humming
Some song some mysterious song
Bars in her head
Beating frantic and snowblind
Romantic and snowblind
She says his crime belongs<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Edith and the Kingpin
Each with charm to sway
Are staring eye to eye
They dare not look away
You know they dare not look away<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Love it!
~ IJ<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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