Folk is the genre of specificity. Perhaps because of the genre’s roots in cultural storytelling, folk artists can really paint a picture for an audience. From the wilds of Colorado to intimate relationships, the three folk songs below are sonic portraits. Like any great painting, these lyrics bring flat images to life.
“Rocky Mountain High” — John Denver
John Denver’s music is as visual as any pastoral painting. He created softly colored, realistic portraits that transported the listener to wide-open spaces. He became inseparable from nature for a reason. His music is akin to still life, completely capturing moments in time with an artist’s touch.
“He climbed cathedral mountains, he saw silver clouds below / He saw everything as far as you can see,” the lyrics to “Rocky Mountain High” read. Denver has many songs that could comfortably fit on this list, but “Rocky Mountain High” is a stunning, classic example of his powers. The listener doesn’t just hear this song. They see themselves scaling mountaintops, feeling the crisp air, hearing an eagle cry, and settling down for a warm, western sunset. It’s a visceral, full-bodied experience.
“Our House” — Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
If Denver’s song captured the wilds, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young captured a vignette of domesticity in “Our House”. Inspired by the home that Graham Nash and Joni Mitchell shared, this song painted a portrait of that Laurel Canyon escape.
“Such a cozy room / The windows are illuminated by the evening / Sunshine through them, fiery gems,” the lyrics read. Only folk singers could bottle up the comfort of home as poetically as this. Like many great painters, Nash flexed his eye for composition, narrowing in on this one, tiny corner of the world.
“Tangled Up In Blue” — Bob Dylan
Speaking of Mitchell, Bob Dylan was inspired stylistically by her when he wrote “Tangled Up In Blue”. Playing off her album titled after the somber color, Dylan used that reference to paint his own downtrodden painting.
“We drove that car as far as we could / Abandoned it out West / She turned around to look at me / As I was walkin’ away / I heard her say over my shoulder / ‘We’ll meet again someday,’” Dylan sings in this folk song. He might’ve borrowed Mitchell’s palette, but he mixed the colors to make his own. Dylan has long been recognized for his specific, painterly lyrics, but this song proved just how visual he could get.
(Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)
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Go To Source | Author: Alex Hopper