#monkey and bear

[scrunkled]

quicky 035

[moondust009]

one of Joanna Newsom’s most brilliant, evocative lines that we NEVER talk about is from Monkey and Bear:

“Oh, the hills are groaning with excess,

like a table ceaselessly being set..”

I do feel that this partly a reference to the “inexhaustible bounty” that is produced by nature and by human labor, but it also evokes such gorgeous ghostly, otherworldly imagery of tables piled high with the most sumptuous of foods. Once one plate is finished, another is put forward by unseen hands.

also, that that is what we see when we look at a hill “groaning” with the excess of vegetation, that we see it transformed into ornate dishes of food and not simply vegetables in their natural state.

surely illustrating what is also happening to Ursala in this song - muzzled, made to dance and wear clothes, transformed from the natural state of her bear hood into something constructed and unreal, only to transform, yet again, at the end of the song, into something that strangely enough exists between nature and human construct - a constellation.

Joanna….her brilliance knows no bounds and is continually renewing

[zebreacadabra]

Perfect zoetrope art for a Joanna Newsom LP design

"But for now, just dance, darling C'mon, will you dance, my darling? Darling, there's a place for us Can we go, before I turn to dust? Oh, my darling there's a place for us"

(lyrics from Monkey and Bear - Ys)

[rebelsandreverb]

Joanna Newsom for AnOther Magazine S/S06

[mellowchouchou]

Joanna Newsom - Ys - full album

Emily 00:00

Monkey & Bear 12:08

Sawdust and Diamonds 21:37

Only Skin 31:33

Cosmia 48:26

[terresviolettes]

But for now, just dance, darling

C'mon, will you dance, my darling?

Darling, there's a place for us

Can we go, before I turn to dust?

Oh, my darling there's a place for us

[selkiesparrow]

I’ve been thinking about how tactile Joanna’s lyrics are. There’s so much expression of love through touch. Holding and touching and pawing. Hands, hands, hands. I find the physicality of her words infinitely stirring and beautiful. There’s so much tenderness in the way you hold something or someone. There’s strength and vulnerability in your hands too. A more rough or possessive touch can cause pain instead of care. But Joanna’s touch is grounding and earthy and warm.

[wildwren]

But for now: just dance, darling 

Come on will you dance, my darling?

Darling, there’s a place for us

Can we go before I turn to dust?

Eardwulf & Eadith, The Last Kingdom // Monkey & Bear, Joanna Newsom

for @perkinwarbeck​ and with their very generous assistance sourcing screenshots