Joni Mitchell - The Fiddle And The Drum Lyrics






And so once again
My dear Johnny my dear friend
And so once again you are fightin' us all
And when I ask you why
You raise your sticks and cry, and I fall
Oh, my friend
How did you come
To trade the fiddle for the drum

You say I have turned
Like the enemies you've earned
But I can remember
All the good things you are
And so I ask you please
Can I help you find the peace and the star
Oh, my friend
What time is this
To trade the handshake for the fist

And so once again
Oh, America my friend
And so once again
You are fighting us all
And when we ask you why
You raise your sticks and cry and we fall
Oh, my friend
How did you come
To trade the fiddle for the drum

You say we have turned
Like the enemies you've earned
But we can remember
All the good things you are
And so we ask you please
Can we help you find the peace and the star
Oh my friend
We have all come
To fear the beating of your drum





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Joni Mitchell The Fiddle And The Drum Comments
  1. 2.... ....

    More than half a century, and once again I cry when I hear this song.

    Every time.

    2.... ....

    Perhaps, part it's more relevant than ever. Not to mention how sad and painfully beautiful it still is.

  2. R.... Z....

    some things never change

  3. L.... ....

    If this was the only song she ever wrote & performed, it'd still merit ranking her with the greatest ever....

  4. J.... ....

    Maynards voice > Joni's voice

  5. d.... b....

    Acoustics

  6. T.... J....

    Cover version is better.

  7. A.... P....

    This is great, but I prefer the original.

    A.... P....

    At the beginning, if you remove that earwax, she tells you, "this is a song I wrote for..."

  8. f.... p....

    'Can we help you find the peace and the star?"
    That's very sweet.

  9. J.... v....

    And now we're right back here again.
    As relevant now as it was then, if not more.
    The US is spewing hate at everyone else, and when they ask why... .

  10. M.... ....

    she should have done it more like apcs version....

  11. M.... S....

    Yes, A Perfect Circle brought me here. What matters is a New generation listening to her music.

  12. D.... T....

    Relevant then...relevant now. Perhaps even more so.

  13. B.... B....

    I never knew she wrote this... wow. Respect.

  14. T.... Q....

    totallly digworthy...Joni. Wowie.

  15. d.... ....

    Haunting, beautiful.

  16. S.... T....

    I hope Joni doesn't mind but I sang this in a live broadcast the day after the election. So moving, so relevant.

  17. H.... ....

    This is giving me goosebumps. I love the cover by A Perfect Circle too.

  18. A.... R....

    brilliant... some messages retain their relevance over the years

    A.... R....

    And some grow truer still.

  19. L.... L....

    Haunting

  20. G.... C....

    Beautiful and powerful. Although I knew the album well when it first came out, I was still a child (9 years old), and never saw her live--I didn't know she had that kind of presence as a performer.

  21. h.... ....

    Singing in protest DID make a difference... it's just that some politicians didn't listen for a while...until they did... regarding the Vietnam war and Civil Rights Movement

    h.... ....

    BRAVO, well said..........

    h.... ....

    and it also showed you how much power the president actually has, when one wants to stop a war.. jfk

    h.... ....

    It's just a protest that need to keep on beng made... again and again. I believe it made/makes a difference. But I don't think we'll ever get to stop protesting.

  22. o.... ....

    handshake for the fist...exactly...how come when I meet a brother on the street in new haven.we hit each others fist?......where did that start?...a.i.d.s? violence? Ronald reagens years?.....I like the full body hug better.....joni knew this way back...I'll take the handshake...I will take the fiddle

  23. F.... ....

    perfect circle did this better

    F.... ....

    No point arguing with idiots over this. Joni's is the original while APC's was a remix. They are incomparable and maynard couldn't pull off an acapella as well as Joni. By the way, Maynard was in no way responsible for the editing or sound productions for Emotive. I bet most of these wannabe fans don't even know the name of APC's producer..

    F.... ....

    It was a cover, not a remix. And it was superior to the original. 3 times better in fact.

    F.... ....

    Forestxavier20, I prefer the studio version of APC's rendition of this, but their live versions pale in comparison to this (without the choral effect they put on it in the album).

    F.... ....

    +Avery Milieu you should've hung these treasonous fucking pigs in the streets and pissed on their bodies, and then burned them. I understand that you thought love would win, but sometimes it doesnt. sometimes you need to fight fire with lava, take their hatred, and just multiply it by a million. Grab hell, and drag it into the depths of your soul, and then wrap it around these pitiful worms' necks and keep squeezing. BUT you didnt, and now we're here. And somebody will have to either be the sacrificial lamb, or the goat of Mendez. There is no in between.

    F.... ....

    Bruce you need a sense of humor.

  24. R.... E....

    There is an absolutely eerie piano accompaniment to this song originally. I've heard it. I would someday love to make a symphony using "Eastern Rain", "The Gift Of The Magi", "The Way It Is", and this song with it's piano

  25. a.... f....

    this is a song about war?

    a.... f....

    I believe this is a song about useless wars that our countries use to make one against another all the time.

    Wars only bring pain. Pain to the soldiers, pain to their families, pain to everyone that  lives in any country.

    a.... f....

    +art fernandez "Oh my friend, how did we come... to fear the beating of your drum..."

    a.... f....

    About succumbing to war.
    Leaving love behind in favor of hate/fear.

  26. c.... ....

    I really think A Perfect Circle did a good job on capturing sincerity and emotion from the audience in a different yet just as effective the way Joni Mitchell meant it to be.

    c.... ....

    I don't think they have already captured the harmony (and therefore the scales) of this song as Joni Mitchell meant it to be. I'm anxious to hear different interpretations of this song and it's hidden harmony.

    c.... ....

    I would honestly say that APC did this better. I like APC's rhythm more, and the notes were hit better.

    c.... ....

    APC's lead singer does some of the music for the Yellowstone TV series. Puscifer.

  27. J.... B....

    Thank you.  I haven't heard this song in years.  I used to sing it.  A song for then and now.

  28. R.... M....

    Whose version you like...whatever. She's got the spiritual balls of Emmanuel. 

  29. J.... M....

    Both Joni and James do an excellent job with this song. It's like comparing Shine down's version of Simple Man to Lynard Skynard's. They are both very good and without the first there wouldn't have been the second. Just enjoy the music man, it's a short song.

  30. R.... L....

    lovely song but can't help but prefer Tool's version.

    R.... L....

    it's actually A Perfect Circle who did the cover, but close the enough

    R.... L....

    ah yes of course. I should know that, I was listening to it the other day! I hear Maynard and think Tool.

    R.... L....

    What is wrong with you?

    R.... L....

    +Rob Lee I can't help but to point out it's A Perfect Circle, not Tool. Same singer, Maynard James Keenan. But different group.

  31. s.... ....

    People saying "she did not write this" should deliver their sources... cause it seems they're wrong :-)

  32. B.... H....

    Respectfully, yes, Joni Mitchell wrote this. If you found this (Joni original version) through poking around APC stuff, check out Joni Mitchell songs from the album Hejira. There are some songs there from her middle years that may bridge a gap for you. Jaco Pastorius was the bass player and he was transformational in many ways. I would urge anyone to explore him also.

    B.... H....

    Hejira was a masterpiece..Don JUAN'S RECKLESS  DAUGHTER.. JACO JACO...this concert forshadows her concert in the round to come 30 ?? years later

    B.... H....

    My personal favorite was her Dog Eat Dog album.

    B.... H....

    *HEJIRA* is one of the Greatest and Most Criminally and Idiotically Underrated and Overlooked Albums in History. 3 years later Ms. Mitchell released a **GREAT, GREAT** Album almost as Great as *HEJIRA* and *BLUE* : *MINGUS* ...

  33. S.... R....

    She did not write this. 

    S.... R....

    What? Hahaha!

    S.... R....

    Sam Reed didn't write that.

    S.... R....

    She wrote this for the dumb yanks

  34. s.... ....

    "Big yellow taxi" & "both sides now" are classics..... The rest of her work was "boring rubbish".
     OK........ So, she's 2 hits ahead of me.

    s.... ....

    @***** Ha Ha. Yeah it's good fun getting our sub continent brethren squabbling and bitching and hissing and biting. Some of them go right off.
    Long may the harassment continue.

    s.... ....

    @***** That was Melanie, not Joni Mitchell. 

  35. B.... K....

    What a refreshing thing to see on the internet: a Justified opinion! Thank you for posing it. I find myself very much in agreement.

  36. A.... C....

    Are you listening America?

  37. S.... B....

    very violin like voice and sinfony

  38. T.... ....

    It seems as though we are about the trade the fiddle for the drum again with all this Syria business.

  39. g.... ....

    check out A Perfect Circles cover of this. goosebumps

  40. P.... F....

    Still true today!

  41. A.... D....

    Very very nice. Really enjoyed listening. Alyre & Lorenzo Old Time Music.

  42. l.... ....

    One of the most beautiful and relevant songs ever written, by one of the very few "true" artists. Not understanding this is not understanding life...

  43. h.... ....

    This woman is so beautiful in every way.

  44. h.... ....

    This was filmed the day after Woodstock.

  45. T.... ....

    Generally your title says you are overcompensating.

  46. T.... ....

    Be careful Jennifer, his channel is the name of a MAJOR brand of dial combination lock used for safes etc. Aren't we so impressed?

  47. T.... ....

    Your channel name is a major brand of dial combination lock? Oh that's so impressive. Who cares ?

    A cappella IS a song.

  48. S.... ....

    and what exactly does my title say? And are you so sure?

  49. S.... ....

    fuckstick my name is Sargent, its a major brand of dial combination lock, you think you are smart for correcting the spelling of my name, when you are wrong entirely from the very beginning of your sentence, fuck you go listen to a fiddle

  50. M.... ....

    The fact that she made this song is significant. Try listening to it for what it is instead of bashing it because it doesn't sound like your shitty pop music.

  51. b.... ....

    1969.08.18 The Dick Cavett Show

  52. E.... ....

    Dunno what your are all talking about, she is terrible, sounds like a pub singer.

  53. J.... H....

    In response to SargentandGreenLeaf..whose title alone says it all....

  54. T.... P....

    You'd have to be dim not to understand the contemporary resonance of her thoughts in this song.

  55. S.... ....

    a couple thoughts...
    A. get a band and write music to it or its not a song
    B. My aunt sings better in the kitchen
    C. Thankgod for the 80's and pop music for raising the bar on vocalism
    D. APC's version sounds worse and im a fan of apc
    E. Stop putting incomplete songs on albums, it was a minor annoyance with cd's, you just skip the track, but i can see more problems occuring with the youth and downloading, and paying 1$ for a song that has no music, and no point really, short length also

  56. M.... ....

    Anyone know where and when this was recorded?

    M.... ....

    MCDexX
    Day after woodstock

  57. M.... ....

    I doubt that A Perfect Circle would welcome the rather silly rivalry among certain fans of the different versions involved. APC wouldn't have recorded their cover if they didn't like the original. It's usually only fans, not artists, who pit one version against the other. Show respect for both the songwriter and for the group that liked the song so much that they recorded it themselves. I have my favourite but which one it is is irrelevant; I respect both versions.

  58. 9.... ....

    This is quite chilling - June Tabor's version on Abyssinians is equally so.

  59. k.... ....

    I think the point is that yes, she made the great song. But, the style and sound of APC is better according to many people.

  60. O.... M....

    I like apc's version soo much better! I don't like Mitchell's style of singing at all, but her messages were (and most still are) very strong!

  61. Z.... ....

    A Perfect Circle brought me here. But very intentionally.

  62. V.... ....

    Pretty much it. Without this we wouldn't have had the APC interpretation at all and we would have lost out.

  63. E.... A....

    an anti-war song, yet you still manage to make a war over whose version is better?!?!

    you all are arguing which version is better, and you forgot why this song was written, your juvenile arguments lost the real meaning of the song, and i think you should look at the message behind it, rather than which version suits you best.

    step out of yourselves for a bit, and shout "no" to war.

    E.... A....

    Agreed. And Joni's isn't a "version". She wrote the words, and music, the entire song, and presented it. Without her there is no song.

  64. g.... ....

    Makes my eyes well up. It reminds me of a ballad from the days of the Irish revolution. So stirring... so still... so sublime.

  65. E.... T....

    To all who said this song was "ruined" by APC then FUCK YOU! Don't bash in Maynard for giving the song a somewhat better sounding harmony! He didn't ruin it! If you ask me or a lot of other people he made it just as good as the original. But seriously if anybody had anything to say about my opinion in a bad way......... I DON'T GIVE A PERFECT FUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!! :DDDDD

  66. E.... T....

    Ok first of all. All of you who say APC "ruined" this song..... FUCK YOU. They gave this song some harmony. Just because Maynard made the song sound that much better doesn't mean you should say he fucked it up! The original is good but sounds better with harmony thanks to A PERFECT CIRCLE and if any body on here bashes me for this comment then............. I DONT GIVE A SHIT ABOUT YOUR THOUUGHT ON MY OPINION! But yeah.......... :)))))

  67. S.... ....

    @1sexualninja1
    No, they didn't? They made an own, quite interesting version of it with brilliant vocal work. A version that I actually enjoy more than the original. Doesn't mean it IS better or worse. But c'mon...fucked? No way.

  68. B.... C....

    @1sexualninja1 You, sir, missed a couple of commas.

  69. B.... C....

    @roseevenstar You forget two things. For one, MJK's "vocal nuances", added with his unique vocal style, adds new and deeper feeling to the song. The second reason leaves all other arguments invalid. In the instance of a dispute involving MJK, APC, or anything loosely related to Tool, the opinion of the Collective Unconscious falls within the realm of truth, no matter the circumstance. You may continue to roam about YouTube "just sayin" anything you wish. Just don't expect to win any arguments.

  70. B.... C....

    @1sexualninja1 They fucked it or they fucked it up? Actually, it doesn't matter. Both statements are blatant falsities.

  71. B.... C....

    APC did it better.

  72. K.... K....

    Come on, guys! Joni Mitchell made a cover of "Summertime" herself, and both versions are genius. APC did fantastic work!

  73. T.... ....

    this was for a different era, apc's made it more modern for today

  74. K.... C....

    Amazing, after years of the APC song I only find out now that Joni wrote it! Incredible. Love both versions.

  75. m.... ....

    All music in Ireland sounds like this.

  76. K.... ....

    @mikedonn71 It's A Perfect Circle and they have done more amazing things with their little side project band in 1 album then you will have done in your entire life. So enjoy living in the past. Let me know how that works of for you.

  77. T.... ....

    @LiberacionIgualdad A Rock band? Thats fucking crap, they are more then just an ordinary rock band. APC is Alternative if anything, Mixing Metal, New Wave, and several others genres. I think its a good modern interpretation of the song.

  78. S.... �....

    This gives me the chills.

  79. S.... �....

    @mikedonn71 APC is short for A Perfect Circle, a modern yet not at all crappy rock band. You should listen to their version of this wonderful song, it's really worth a try. Keep an open mind.

  80. O.... R....

    Oh, love...

  81. m.... ....

    This version is stellar. Covering this like covering Stairway to Heaven is allowed but not in good taste.

  82. m.... ....

    What's APC? You're not referring to any crappy modern rock bands are you?

  83. A.... H....

    @roseevenstar The hardmonies is what made it better. Thank you for noticing.

  84. M.... ....

    @roseevenstar Bravo, my friend. Bravo. Well said.

  85. A.... L....

    The APC version rocks, but as an avid fan of both Joni and MJK, to all those people who say "APC did it better" you have to realize that there wouldn't be an APC version had Joni Mitchell not written such an amazing song to begin with..and it says something that MJK didn't change the song much at all for Emotive, they mainly added harmonies and a couple vocal nuances. Unlike a lot of the songs on Emotive that are completely different. Just sayin...

  86. m.... ....

    Being as MJK mentioned a deep respect for Joni Mitchell in past interviews, A Perfect Circle's take of this song is a flattering homage to Joni's contributions in music. Honestly, I didn't know it was a Mitchell song until watching this video. It was all the more pleasant a surprise.

    APC did this song at Red Rocks amphitheater just last night (8/2/2011) in the rain. It was a pretty powerful rendition.

  87. c.... ....

    APC is way better, go Maynard

  88. a.... ....

    a perfect circle deff did it so much better

  89. D.... L....

    @AltairSephiroth thats cus its maynard man!

  90. L.... L....

    This song is so beautiful, thoughtful, and chillingly true. This is coming from a citizen of the U.S., one of the ones that loves their country enough to tell it that it is terribly flawed.

  91. E.... S....

    Heart to heart

  92. T.... V....

    @BeautyOfVisual Have you ever heard of proper grammar when presenting a critique?

  93. T.... ....

    @McElroyPad ahh i didn't know that. thank you.

  94. T.... ....

    @stephenzimnoch every song on the album, Emotive, is a cover except for "passive."

  95. T.... ....

    this song is incredibly beautiful. i heard the APC version first, but the originals are always very great.

  96. m.... ....

    @OneManPants13
    exactly, man, "we have all come to fear the beating of your drum"... damn...
    when you think about it, this kind of feel not only for america but for all superpowers in the world is actual. everybody is just trebling and waiting who's gonna trade the handshake for the fist.

  97. G.... I....

    @BeautyOfVisual wow...

    where did you make you music studies?? 'cause i can't even read a damn music sheet but i know she's in time... as annoying as the syncopation maybe, she's in time...