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Don Quixote · 04-02-2005, 09:43 PM

I agree with your analysis, Rez. Just a couple more notes:
If I recall correctly, "Minstrel of the Dawn" was the first cut on the LP (omigod, what's that?) on the vinyl (omigod, what's that?) album (omigod, what's that?). I think that you are right in that he wanted to establish a mood and a link, and to speak of himself and his work in the context of the minstrel tradition; hence the allusions to Steppin Fetchit, and "he's like an old-time troubador".
I think the love of music and the connection between the player and the audience are an important theme. When he writes "Just sit him down upon that chair/Go fetch some wine and set it there", he harks back to a time before rock stars and outrageous salaries and having the spectacle be the message instead of the music (and how much worse has it gotten over the past 35 years?). I'm sure he had no idea about this, but in the 13th century, a Spanish author named Gonzalo de Berceo, in a work about the miracles of the Virgin Mary, which was recited or sung to travelers and pilgrams, wrote about being happy to narrate the stories for, as in "Minstrel", "un vaso de bon vino" ("a glass of good wine"). In other words, he was happy to tell his stories, and to have his recompense be minimal, just something to make him feel happy and appreciated, because the message of the work was the most important thing. I think that he's trying to establish this same connection, in a different way, in "If it Should Please You"--here I am, this is what I am and what I do, hope you like it, let's make a human connection that only music can bring about. Does anyone know if he ever started a concert out with "Minstrel of the Dawn?" It would have been a natural.

I think that there are a couple of other personal notes, like the desire to please and to reveal part of himself and to make others happy, while also keeping some things personal and hidden, like a lingering sadness/depression: "Look into his shining face/Of loneliness you'll always find a trace/Just like me and you/He's trying to get into things more happy than blue."
There's more to say about this great song, but I've already been more pedantic and long-winded than I should have been (hazards of the professorial profession). I think that at some point we should analyze every GL song line by line, or at least in more detail than "it's my favorite because it reminds me of my old girlfriend and it makes me sad". There is much more to be extracted from this man and his songs.

04-02-2005, 09:43 PM	#12
Don Quixote Senior Member Join Date: May 2004 Location: Springfield, MA 01109 Posts: 309	I agree with your analysis, Rez. Just a couple more notes: If I recall correctly, "Minstrel of the Dawn" was the first cut on the LP (omigod, what's that?) on the vinyl (omigod, what's that?) album (omigod, what's that?). I think that you are right in that he wanted to establish a mood and a link, and to speak of himself and his work in the context of the minstrel tradition; hence the allusions to Steppin Fetchit, and "he's like an old-time troubador". I think the love of music and the connection between the player and the audience are an important theme. When he writes "Just sit him down upon that chair/Go fetch some wine and set it there", he harks back to a time before rock stars and outrageous salaries and having the spectacle be the message instead of the music (and how much worse has it gotten over the past 35 years?). I'm sure he had no idea about this, but in the 13th century, a Spanish author named Gonzalo de Berceo, in a work about the miracles of the Virgin Mary, which was recited or sung to travelers and pilgrams, wrote about being happy to narrate the stories for, as in "Minstrel", "un vaso de bon vino" ("a glass of good wine"). In other words, he was happy to tell his stories, and to have his recompense be minimal, just something to make him feel happy and appreciated, because the message of the work was the most important thing. I think that he's trying to establish this same connection, in a different way, in "If it Should Please You"--here I am, this is what I am and what I do, hope you like it, let's make a human connection that only music can bring about. Does anyone know if he ever started a concert out with "Minstrel of the Dawn?" It would have been a natural. I think that there are a couple of other personal notes, like the desire to please and to reveal part of himself and to make others happy, while also keeping some things personal and hidden, like a lingering sadness/depression: "Look into his shining face/Of loneliness you'll always find a trace/Just like me and you/He's trying to get into things more happy than blue." There's more to say about this great song, but I've already been more pedantic and long-winded than I should have been (hazards of the professorial profession). I think that at some point we should analyze every GL song line by line, or at least in more detail than "it's my favorite because it reminds me of my old girlfriend and it makes me sad". There is much more to be extracted from this man and his songs.