Judy Collins - Albatross Lyrics






The lady comes to the gate dressed in lavender and leather
Looking North to the sea she finds the weather fine
She hears the steeple bells ringing through the orchard
All the way from town
She watches seagulls fly
Silver on the ocean stitching through the waves
The edges of the sky

Many people wander up the hills
From all around you
Making up your memories and thinking they have found you
They cover you with veils of wonder as if you were a bride
Young men holding violets are curious to know if you have cried
And tell you why
And ask you why
Any way you answer

Lace around the collars of the blouses of the ladies
Flowers from a Spanish friend of the family
The embroid'ry of your life holds you in
And keeps you out but you survive
Imprisoned in your bones
Behind the isinglass windows of your eyes

And in the night the iron wheels rolling through the rain
Down the hills through the long grass to the sea
And in the dark the hard bells ringing with pain
Come away alone

Even now by the gate with you long hair blowing
And the colors of the day that lie along your arms
You must barter your life to make sure you are living
And the crowd that has come
You give them the colors
And the bells and wind and the dream

Will there never be a prince who rides along the sea and the mountains
Scattering the sand and foam into amethyst fountains
Riding up the hills from the beach in the long summer grass
Holding the sun in his hands and shattering the isinglass?

Day and night and day again and people come and go away forever
While the shining summer sea dances in the glass of your mirror
While you search the waves for love and your visions for a sign
The knot of tears around your throat is crystallizing into your design

And in the night the iron wheels rolling through the rain
Down the hills through the long grass to the sea
And in the dark the hard bells ringing with pain
Come away alone
Come away alone...with me.





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Judy Collins Albatross Comments
  1. w.... b....

    3:00 Favourite line.( EDIT: just now sorry. ) 2:59

  2. w.... b....

    One of the best songs I have ever heard. I only discovered if the strange name. It for me belongs something put of a classic Disney more specific the original Princess trio. Snow White/Snowers, Cinderella/Cinders,Aurora/Rose. Watching Snowers masterpiece and then Cinders and Rose's tomorrow. Sorry I just really love this song.

  3. w.... b....

    (Gasps)Ooh,/Oh,beautiful.

  4. B.... ....

    Such a haunting song............................

  5. M.... T....

    Judy’s Masterpiece!

  6. P.... P....

    sometimes I thinkI learned everything there is to know about music from this song

  7. f.... c....

    BRRRRRRRR.... GIVES ME CHILLZZZ

  8. T.... P....

    She should have written more. Subsequent albums were mostly covers and I lost interest, but this entire album will always be a favorite.

  9. U.... ....

    This Judy Collins song is one of the musical backdrops for a part of my life... the part with nostalgic, bittersweet almost mysterious feelings. Her words send my imagination to visualize a train traveling along a sea side in darkness on a rainy night, like a steel beast driven to unknown, almost endless journeys...

  10. s.... ....

    Todd Edwards - Never Leave 🤫

  11. R.... L....

    Judy Collins, Carly Simon, James Taylor, Moody Blues came out with their music at the perfect time for me. I was a troubled teenager and they are the #1 reason I didn't go down a dark path of destruction. My life has been long and blessed and I thank them for helping me to get through those tough times. They have my never ending love and gratitude.

  12. D.... L....

    taking a breather after listening a dozen times--she used to come to the family farm in CT to record-known as Grandma, she is a treasure who introduced my young daughter to the beauty of music and song.

  13. m.... ....

    love it!

  14. 0.... ....

    Joanna Newsom brought me here

  15. F.... N....

    It's all about color and gems and fabric, (dressed in lavender and leather) and it's wonderfully consistent.

    She watches seagulls fly
    Silver on the ocean stitching through the waves
    The edges of the sky

    F.... N....

    That's always been my favorite line.

  16. c.... ....

    And in the dark the hard bells ringing with pain

  17. T.... F....

    such a lively piece of poetry, beautiful vivid imagery,

  18. M.... H....

    Nice job! Thanks a lot for this. <3

  19. o.... ....

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DppM6b4Zu_A similar voice

  20. f.... ....

    As a teenage male at the time, this taught me a lesson on how to see the world from a feminine POV. Anyway, apart from that I have never forgotten the overall imagery of the song. "And in the dark the hard bells ringing with pain" made me think of the Christianity I was rejecting at the time (and since). I also learned that "friend of the family" was a euphemism for a family sanctioned suitor, not necessarily welcomed by the marriageable "object", so to say.

  21. C.... L....

    Also, a wonderful Faerie song, full of beauty, longing, and a touch of seduction

  22. C.... L....

    One of the greatest pieces of lyrical poetry ever produced in the English language. And that's just the words to the song! The voice(!) and the musical arrangement (not so much just an accompaniment as it was almost a duet between the voice and the instruments). Probably my all time favorite song

  23. J.... C....

    My favorite Judy Collins song. The imagery is . . . words fail.

  24. r.... c....

    A song that grows and grows upon you. Come away....alone....with me.

  25. C.... ....

    My favorite Judy Collins song.

  26. P.... N....

    Forgotten what a great song this is... Saw Judy at a folk festival 2 years ago, she still has it, sang a lot of her best known songs but she didn't perform this.

  27. s.... ....

    In my mind, this is a perfect song. There's not a single line that's not packed with meaning. I used to use the lyrics to teach my English students about metaphors. First, I would hand out the lyrics printed on paper as if it were a poem (which of course, it is). Then once we had discovered/interpreted all the symbolism, I would play the song. It was amazing to see. The class was absolutely spellbound. There were always a few students (both male and female) trying surreptitiously to wipe away tears.

    I've always loved this song, and I've wondered how she ever got together with Joshua Rifken. His orchestration is mesmerizing.

    s.... ....

    My mind too. The song is a great example of how someone, a writer, can use the English language to evoke emotions.

  28. d.... s....

    wasnt this used in the movie... the subject was roses along with who knows where the time goes

  29. M.... M....

    Surely her best. Ryan's Daughter. The French Lieutenant's Woman. Reminiscent.

  30. C.... L....

    "the knot of tears around your throat is crystalizing into your design" - oh my Gods, what a beautiful line! :)

  31. a.... g....

    who's here because of Joanna Newsom?

  32. L.... H....

    I loved his song for years, one of the most beautiful songs ever written..........

  33. D.... D....

    I was 11 when this album came out. Older siblings had it. But this song in particular echoed through my heart and through my teens and beyond. Haunting, compelling, wonderful. Moves me now as much as it did then. It astonishes me.

  34. P.... D....

    Joshua Rifkin was one of my late uncle, composer Harold Shapero's, top protegés during the decades that Harold was chairman of the music department of Brandeis University. I was so excited at 16, in 1967, when l bought this album, that my uncle knew its arranger. Mr Rifkin returned to classical music shortly thereafter, and has continued to make his mark for decades.

  35. M.... M....

    Matchless. The lyrics haunt at the strangest times.

    M.... M....

    The lyrics are fantastic. I think these are the best I've ever heard in a song.

  36. F.... ....

    And here some of it is, thank you Judy.

  37. F.... ....

    Do we have to talk about the eisenglas, or leaded glass, such as you might have experienced at your dentist? Could we not look/listen to words and hear instead the "I sing glass"? Judy left us a lot.

  38. N.... B....

    This music reminds me that when I was a child there would sometimes be a children's program on Saturday afternoon television especially made for children. Nothing stupid like today's television. They originated far away in a New York City studio -- everything so foreign from what I knew in my small town. Watching intensely, I felt connected to the big world out there.

  39. D.... D....

    Check our Rufus Wainwright's version of this song as well. Gorgeous and haunting.

  40. D.... S....

    hauntingly beautiful

  41. L.... M....

    I heard this song a long time ago. When I heard it again recently, I swore it was a dramatic piece of some sort. I understand it was part of the soundtrack of "The Subject Was Roses," a hit play back in the 1960s. Haven't seen the film version. If anyone can shed further light, I would be interested.

  42. F.... ....

    Best lyrics for a song that I have ever heard. Hate to say that as a bookshop owner I have very recently sold my lp. But I still have her songbook.

  43. F.... ....

    The prince she was looking for was, I think, Leonard Cohen. I wish she could have accepted the longish nose.

  44. p.... ....

    OMG! Mum used to play this on the ax for me and my brother when we were toddlers. It brings me back to preschool 1978.

  45. E.... W....

    I lost my wife a few months ago and this song puts me in mind of her.  My Dina I miss you so.

  46. S.... ....

    I've been hearing this song while working in a grocery store, and never knew what the name was. I'd been searching and searching and finally I've found this song, and I'm never forgetting it.

  47. Z.... B....

    The first album I ever bought. I was nine years old. My friends mother would play this album when I'd visit. Made a huge impression on me. Judy's voice is angelic. Leonard Cohen's songwriting is magical

  48. G.... P....

    Beautiful, emotions woven like a silk blouse

  49. D.... S....

    Quite remarkable and utterly beautiful.  How many people know that this is played in the film version of "The Subject Was Roses" (ca. 1967) as background when the Patricia Neal character walks desolate along the beach?

    D.... S....

    I didn't know, but I haven't seen t he film. Thanks for the alert in case I ever see it.

    D.... S....

    D. Smith I do and I'm only 40

    D.... S....

    That was my intro to the song. That wordless sequence on the bus on the way to Spring Lake NJ. Masterful marriage of music and Pat Neal. On the bus, having dinner, approached by a lonely man, then walking on the beach.

  50. D.... A....

    I remember I was in High School in 1967 and playing this every night
    as I pretended to do my home work. Love you Ms Judy

  51. T.... B....

    Her voice is like silver bell! I have loved this song since childhood! I'm now 61 years old!

  52. D.... M....

    "making up your memories and thinking they have found you"...yea so many people think they knwo me, and they know nothing about me
    Great song!

  53. D.... T....

    ...america's freedom is dependent on the mercies of press propaganda,born of a paradox,that a free press demands that government has no censured broadcasting tool,this is a fallacy,the most favoured and trusted media broadcaster in the world is the BBC,which itself was born as a mouthpiece for preferred state viewpoints,without repressing other independent press agencies,america at present has only one dimensional news reporting,numerous press agencies are almost offensive in their loyalty to any one faction....with none being representative of the true bigger picture,or any obvious way for government to communicate its will or proposed policies,thus leaving the land of the free bereft of a voice it can trust above others,and so is thrust from source to source without a vision which unites...too many jigsaw pieces in too many games fielded with too many players,if america wishes to be truly effective then it should speak boldly to all,giving freedom to oppose what they trust as conviction,don't worry,it's often the case that a leader's willingness to stand by fruitless policy which endears the public to such leaders,since it is the integral character of one's leadership which outweighs all individual policies and gains the most steadfast support.....scrapping limits on presidential terms helps a bit too,jesus would refuse to stand in a candidacy which puts an office clock above prudent and trusted hands.

  54. F.... ....

    Lace around the collars of the blouses of the ladies ...I'm crying again. I thought only Emily Dickinson could do this to me.

    F.... ....

    FirstUsedBooks what a line

  55. F.... ....

    What can I say? "The knot of tears around your throat is crystallizing into your design." Did I hear this right? Have I misheard? Please tell me one or two other lines of English poetry that compares.

    F.... ....

    Right? Always one of the lines that gets me, every time.

  56. S.... C....

    One of the most incredible things humans have done so far period. I had the pleasure of hearing and seeing Joanna Newsom cover this last week and the beauty of the experience will haunt me, hopefully until the day I die.

  57. F.... ....

    I can't put it as poetic as she does, but this song is one of the gemstones that form my necklace of memories from the '60s.

    F.... ....

    what a lovely way to speak of memories... sad to say my 'necklace of memories' when it comes to my brother, my sweet dear brother who I will ALWAYS love and adore...we parted due to his alcoholism and anger...but...knowing I have a 'necklace of memories'...thank you for those words... i cry sometimes for losing him... he is such a lovely person... sorry...i look thru these messages trying to find something to make me feel better...so thank you...


    i always sing in my mind...'come away alone...and sail with me again, Kerry..my brother...' I worry about him...and miss him...i hope he finds a happy time and remembers me, his sister ... and no...we were brother and sister...dear friends ... i wish and pray he is so safe and happy... thank you tho for your written words...bless you

  58. C.... ....

    My very favorite Judy Collins song, pure poetry.

    C.... ....

    Yes it is, pure poetry delivered in a crystalline voice.

    C.... ....

    same here.

  59. F.... ....

    Judy, I cannot help but cry when I hear this song. Maybe there's something deeper that I should know.

    F.... ....

    You're not alone...it gets me every time. 🖤

  60. F.... ....

    And then there's the I sing glass or eisinglas windows of her eyes. An amazing "jeu de mots".

  61. j.... ....

    Happy Birthday, Judy ♡

  62. F.... ....

    Just look at the first two lines: "The lady comes to the gate/Dressed in lavender and leather." Absolutely beautiful, and it only gets better as the song goes on.

    F.... ....

    those lines sound like an image from a fantasy film, or the cover of a fantasy novel

  63. M.... R....

    Amazing poetry and orchestration that just carries you away into another world.

  64. M.... A....

    I bought this album the week that it came out. I have played this song so many times that it is beyond counting. It was not until 2008 that I was privileged to hear Judy Collins in concert. What a song and what a voice; it aches with purity.

    M.... A....

    +Michael Albutt Back around 1969 I hard her perform this in a concert at Jordan Hall in Boston. Only Judy on stage, accompanying herself at the piano, on a darkened stage. Magic and memorable.

  65. I.... M....

    Judy Collins' masterpiece. Brilliantly orchestrated by Joshua Rifkin. The duelling flutes set the scene with a repeating figure which continues unrelenting in the strings and the dark power of those French horns with "And in the night the iron wheels rolling through the rain..." And Collins flawless voice above it all.

    I.... M....

    FirstUsedBooks:
    Among other things in the album "Whales & Nightingales" there are two tracks - Nightingale I and Nightingale II. Nightingale I is a religious vocal track by JC, Nightingale II is an extremely beautiful orchestral version of Nightingale I by Rifkin. Did around on YT, you will find it.

    I.... M....

    I also thought this song was a masterpiece, but over the last thirty years I never got the impression that anyone ever felt deeply about this song. And, of course, Joshua Rifkin turns the whole thing into a magic perfectly congruent with Collins' voice. Nice to know you exist Ian McFadyen

    I.... M....

    Huh? I see no reference anywhere to KD Lang ever singing this song. Link?

    I.... M....

    Huh? I find no reference anywhere to KD Lang ever singing this song. Link?

    I.... M....

    A beautiful song.

  66. F.... S....

    This is my absolute favorite of her songs, and has been since I was very little.

    F.... S....

    SpamWarrior3000 It grows and grows upon you.

    F.... S....

    @russell campbell How I miss Judy and Joni. They were the soundtrack of my life. What's called a "great singer-songwriter" today usually isn't fit to carry their guitar picks.

    F.... S....

    Top 3.
    Equals. Both sides,Clowns and this...well,that's no way to say goodbye.

  67. D.... F....

    kissed (then lost) probably my true soulmate at Indiana University during this album in 1974. Still think about you, Susan, 41 years later. Wishing you happiness, from Dave.

    D.... F....

    I still think about Beth, who I lost at the University of Wisconsin in 1967.  We both have had good lives, though, and I am happy for her.

    D.... F....

    May one day you two will be reunited

  68. W.... K....

    I first heard albatross in a movie. it touched my soul, the sound of her voice, magical, the words. I close my eyes than it leads me to a peaceful place.

    W.... K....

    The Subject was Roses

  69. M.... T....

    Beautiful hopeful love song

  70. b.... w....

    Yes Judy's angelic voice free of affectations, yes Leonard's poetic songs free of cliche, but also the orchestrations so free of convention, they do not "back up" but instead they augment, they are not filling but take on a full role like another singer, the whole album is a masterpiece

    b.... w....

    Leonard didn't write this...Judy did

    b.... w....

    Yes, bit of a problem. This wasn't one of Cohen's songs.

  71. r.... ....

    I feel Kate Bush might have been influenced by this...

    r.... ....

    @rockmonst3r Or even Peter Gabriel!

  72. F.... ....

    "The knot of tears around your throat is crystallizing into your design."  Sorry folks, but I cannot imagine or recall a poet who has put it more poetically.  My only, and faint, hope is that Leonard (Cohen) will before he croaks acknowledge the importance of Collins and her voice, in partnership or covering his songs (not that his wasn't great) that took his music/poetry to another level of listenership.

    F.... ....

    @FirstUsedBooks For all that I have remained in awe of Cohen's poetry, I cannot bear his vocals. There is a certain vulgarity to Cohen that vanishes with the subtle refinement's of Judy's interpretations and pure crystal voice. They were in tune with each other as artists and it was a match made in heaven.

    F.... ....

    @Valkyrie Sardo And a match that gave birth to Judy's own songs, considering she'd been hesitant to do any writing. But with Cohen's cajoling and encouragement, she found it within herself to create "Since You've Asked," and subsequently a career's worth of gems, polished well by her lilting unaffected soprano.

  73. F.... ....

    I guess she's too perfect to attract a following.

    F.... ....

    @FirstUsedBooks She has a nice following. Check out her social media.

    F.... ....

    +Mark Merzweiler She's a legend to me too. I think Albatross is the most beautiful song in terms of lyrics combined with melody that I have ever heard.

  74. F.... ....

    You must barter your life to make sure you are living.  Think about this folks.  It's important, or at least it's important to understand where Collins was coming from.

  75. j.... k....

    It's a song about royalty and fame.
    I picture princess Di or anyone stuck in trappings like hers.
    The metaphor of the tower by sea captures the feeling perfectly.

    j.... k....

    @josh kenney What an uplifting interpretation - fascinating... She was taken out by those who had baited her purely for her pure royal blood - something Chaz doesn't have. You should pass on that thought and song to others - those who brought about her 'end' in this dimension simply 'crucified' her... Veritas omnia est ...

    j.... k....

    Interesting, I've always had a similar thought, although I always think of Jackie Kennedy Onassis, our "royalty" from the '60s.

    j.... k....

    Totally credible - a rare, good woman in today's social ''reality'' being' ''conveniently dealt with'' by those whose undeserved social status is threatened by the natural affection felt for that good soul by the population masses... I can't see the same ever happening to that current presidential nominee...

    j.... k....

    Yes, it's a song about the paradox that being an artist, sharing your innermost thoughts and feelings for a living, leads to being, in a sense, public property while at the same time producing a sense of loneliness.
    The song starts off creating an evocative image of an attractive young woman, receiving suitors and admirers but suddenly surprises us with...
    "You must barter your life to make sure you are living.
    And the crowd that has come
    You give them the colors
    And the bells and wind and the dream."
    ... which kind of jolts us, because suddenly the song is referring to itself. The third person (the lady) turns into a second person "Even now by the gate with your long hair blowing" - which is really a first person. We, the people listening to the song, are the "crowd" and Judy is the "lady" who is giving us these images. The song seems to say that the process of sharing (bartering) her life with her audience leads, oddly, to doubts and loneliness. (As many people felt the public life of Diana did.) The lady, despite being popular, is trapped behind the "isinglass windows of her eyes" (isinglass being sheets of mica that were used for windows in situations like furnaces where ordinary glass would break). And despite all her bartering, there is still a longing and yearning in her heart that the crowd never knows about. Does the title "Albatross" mean that art and fame are a kind of burden?

    j.... k....

    Without too much attempted (on my part) explanatory detail, after a fair few years of research leading to my own tentative conclusions concerning current human interaction', I'd say social 'reality', at present, is invisibly primitive in its symbiotic, inter-attention/presence energy parasitic 'normality' and not what it should be: 100% self-efficient appreciation of individual uniqueness in another. This leads, possibly, to such ponderable songs being written.

  76. M.... M....

    this record got me through the most difficult time in my life. a young soldier headed to viet nam, her voice sustained me, helped me to escape the horrer

    M.... M....

    well, thanks for your caring answer. Be very careful of ideas that hew to some predetermed conclusion, I'm reading H. R. McMasters book, "Dereliction of Duty", which tells of how millions of my fellows were sent to Viet Nam and many of whose names are etched on that black wall. We were lied to. All those listed died for NOTHING. No good was ever wrought, no people were set free, and the people who lived there, my god, where were You???? By the way, who are you, and why do you care about old men who suffer for the deeds that were done "dirt cheep"?

    M.... M....

    I am "Party of One", a mythical, transpartisan adviser living only in "twitterworld" on my SSDI survival Fed funds; Having chronic injury, I have spent the years since 1996 reading books+developing theoretic constructs that sometimes prove novel or useful. My life really rests upon the words&works of those who preceded me-now including you&those who have informed your life & moral conscience. I am badly out of practice-and often out of touch, due to life threatening illness now resolving because I had access to medical care, albiet somewhat delayed. I care about the young and old, who were promised an ideal,, an integrity that has been lacking in the very way our govt does business. We can still fight for a moral and ethical conduct standard in and outside of govt, that the reasons for war are honest, clear, compelling and that our Constitutional rights are equal to those granted currently to special interests, Biz&select religious orgs. I dont know that we can preserve this Nation, but I pray I will die while still fighting. I earn no recognition or funds for my efforts, but some have been substantially threatening enough-in the sense of being legally valid- to current power structures that I have suffered for that effort. I therefore, am wounded in a way that is earily similar to the wounds of war; I am really thankful for your reply, as I am seldom responded to. I wish you and those who live in your experience, a comfort in your aging years. Mine are shot by virtue of illness, so I can relate to living a haunted existence. Blessings, and be well;that is my prayer gift to you. Laura Coker coke.seitz twtr.Party of One.

    M.... M....

    i love your simple story as well it helped me thu highschool verry introverted and shy an artist hiding from everyone...afraid that i too might be in a war .lenard cohen and henry david therow also saved me

    M.... M....

    @Laura coke.seitz we have wars largely because as a specie we have an innate love of violence If we think about entertainments violence in movies in books, in sport, teams are token armies frequently competing in campaigns a series of matches to win the crown, Tennis players are gladiators individual combatants you know what I mean. Why was the US in Vietnam they didnt really believe that idiocy about dominoes? look at Vietnam now America's little friend so why the US make war on them? waste all that human effort all those innocents and all that innocence because enough shit heads in power wanted to have a war... Why is the question? Its not money they just rob you anyway its the action they love all that lovely shiny hardware all those super virile long pointy things that can go bang. All that secrecy shit all the organising, that marvelous cooperative effort to commit murder Look what inspires us ..dominance Yes Sir! Everywhere hierarchies . good luck anyway

    M.... M....

    @joe foley Using my name allowed me to find you-for which I am deeply grateful.It is my honor to consider
    your queries&conclusions earned from your experiences of life, from Nam until now. I listen&study 99% of the time otherwise not spent in sleeping; I have changed my belief on the reasons&means by which Nixons escalation was made "legitimate"& I do not think our holding China,Russia+emerging Communist
    autocracies&dictatorships were being engineered. Until recently, I did not believe the "domino"theory. I do note that engineering conditions, esp including "Arab Spring" &the USA Nixon CIA Nazi/Socialist cult+mind control 1960's+70's revolution-which is nicely detailed in Bill Minutaglio "The Most Dangerous Man in America"&Church Committee (MK Ultra, Monarch,Dr Jolly West, Dr E Cameron psychiatrists). The CIA was importing Heroin,Thai sticks,&LSD&hiring distributers. Jerry Garcia (Grateful Dead) was hired by CIA. Dr Jolly watched Rev Jim Jones&cult for 10yrs; CIA was sent to build isolation tanks for his recruits.
    Jones distributed Hearst food aid when Patty was kidnapped&later joined the SLA-whose leader was visited by Berkley students in prison. Dr Jolly examined Patty&was highly impressed at how successful
    her indoctrination was. While you fought China/Rus+revolutionists, our US Nazi members-Richard Helms
    was CIA chief(destroyed MK series doc's)&with Nixon's plumbers expanded the already in progress
    Co-Intel-Pro (illegal FBI phone+home bugs,blackmail-but knew nothing about CIA black ops. I met a Nam vet recently-gave up home,hearth+wife to care for ailing Nam vet hoping to live just a bit longer-he told me CIA was bring chopper's loaded with Pot for the troopers. Black Panthers were given an embassy in Algeria (Communist coup)&thought themselves US Govt in Exile hoping to overthrow the USA with help
    from DPRK,China,Nam, Communist or what I think were covert Nazi Socialists within parts of Govt-engineering revolution. CIA developed "splitting", which included profound violations against Ted Kaczynski "Unibomber". We have so much we all need to share. We must recruit Corp Media to act as the public advocates-the purpose to which Constitutional protections were explicitly granted. Your voice,your view are crucial to our comprehension of the forces, & those who used them against us, which
    shaped our current "perception of reality." It is inconceivable for me to imagine what our lives might have been like had we not sent our strongest, most resilient&now extremely experienced Vets+survivors of that process. I will tag this site&hope you will return&share more of your knowledge&those feelings you
    select, as useful&important trail "markers"-we must create a means of aglommerating public knowledge,observations+public (citizen)solutions. We each have a unique State voter ID number; In theory, we might have our House Reps call for topic suggestions=healthcare systems benefits+duplications (medicare, medicaid,VA,private health Ins(benefits "Medical Information Bureau"data bank which quickly proves by outcome criteria&promotes rapid innovation in new treatments)+Medicare (20% co-pay, poor at innovation but great at catching bad outcome doc's&fraud).
    The insanity & horriffic treatment to which you all returned, was NOT NORMAL=not "genuine"because we at home were being manipulated, intro'd into revolutionary models of living, drugs, psychedellics,
    sexual revolution, fear of black race war(Helter Skelter Manson&cult almost certainly aided&watched by Dr Jolly, LSD mass doses/daily already part of MK series+CIA doc's experimented on Institutionalized kids+pregnant women. A women from Eureka told me her Mom was given LSD as an analgesic in labor,
    at now defunct Hosp by Lil Abner's theme park in Arkansas. She says she was born "psychic." No informed consent. Now no records. Read Most Dang Man if you can; I grew up in Huntington Beach,married a man who had been in "Children of God"cult-which came out of Billy Graham's Long Beach
    recruitment efforts. I thank God, you&all those who went to fight, did so. Current drug +immigration crisis Mexico boarder is being solicited by Marxist-Leninist Socialist group=Pueblo sin Fronteras, a trans-National political group actively recruiting esp C4 Nations(narco Trans-Nat Terrorist/criminal orgs)+teaching refugees they are to be considered Continental citizens, with full citizenship wherever they work or live. Tried to get Newspapers corrected-working on short OpEd AR Dem Gazette. Please stay in touch; we are both of the age&experience that correcting our future is our highest imperative.
    You fought a necessary war, but leadership was infiltrated, Nixon totally duped, mind control&Influence tactics were perfected. We are now in just another battle, in this long war; Thank you for offering me a reason, to synopsize some of the many facts(all from researched legit sources); Directed Democracy+Citizen Solutions&public journalism+research. Imagine what we could do, if AR DG +others),
    created a public format, where you could solicit additional facts, to the questions you rightly posed?
    Thanks for you time-the single commodity ordained to each, whose value has never properly been credited to each of us; I just got bladder cancer diagnosis, so while my appreciation for the limits of time&life is newly keen, you lived with that knowledge the whole time you were in field. Seeing violence
    is a way to immunize ourselves (so we imagine)from the real urgency+meaning of existence. Be Well. L

  77. J.... J....

    Wildflowers...Elektra 1967 Excellent and highly recommended

  78. D.... M....

    Euro with gypsy charm and looks as well as talent from both sides. Very few can possess it particular those born in America. So many women have tried and failed to be like her. But Judy didn't seem to be comfortable with other female musicians chemistry wise.

  79. F.... ....

    This is a near perfect song: voice, music, lyrics.  Look at how she wraps us in the colours of a certain portion of the pallete, bestows us with jewels.  Gives us images such as seagulls sewing the margin between sea and sky.  It makes me cry.

  80. T.... P....

    I believe this is the song she sang at Bobbys funeral.

    T.... P....

    Interesting. I've always connected it in my mind with Jackie Kennedy Onassis, but I didn't know that.

    T.... P....

    I'm not sure. It was so long ago. I've though of trying to ask her but I not know how.

  81. S.... D....

    Beautiful. I came to this via Rufus wainwright's masterful cover version. It reminds me strongly of the same territory that Tim Buckley was in on `Goodbye and Hello'. Beautiful unspoiled late '60's sunshine and beauty....
     

    S.... D....

    ....and of course her and Tim Buckley shared the same label (Elektra), and therefore perhaps the same arranger ? Fascinating stuff anyway...

  82. G.... T....

    All of us have strengths and weaknesses, including you and me, but most of us don't have strangers negatively posting things about us in forums like this. Whatever her faults, Judy will be always be equated with the coming of age of an entire generation, and her poetry, music and gift of song will endure. She's earned the respect, gratitude, and affection of millions of people of all ages, who connect her voice to places and people that they remember, and who grew in some sense because of her.

  83. G.... T....

    Judy wrote it.

  84. M.... W....

    ...the question is who wrote it?

  85. f.... ....

    Judy Collins is one of my favorite female singers of the 20th century. Like most of us, she had personal problems along the way and she got through them. She is still performing and sounds very good. For the 21st century, if you have not heard the name Jackie Evancho, check her out.

  86. M.... J....

    This is my favorite song on this album. For the reasons you mention.

  87. S.... L....

    Feeling...Johnathan Levingston the goéland .../....

  88. d.... w....

    Judy Collins shlt on most of the men in her life. Her selfishness prevented her from living a robust healthy one, being trapped in her addictions and bulimia. Steven Stills song about their relationship said it all. Use people, then throw them away.

    d.... w....

    dick weasel — Judy has been sober for many years. She and Stills are doing a major collaboration this year and next. Even the most selfish people can heal.

    d.... w....

    so you are a big fan then dick?

    d.... w....

    are you serious? Her selfishness caused her bulimia? What a crock of bullshit.

  89. b.... ....

    This song is eargasmic! The orchestra is sooo good, and her voice is so beautiful.

  90. D.... ....

    I heard this song as a teen boy when it was new. Living in the Cleveland OH area the landscape descriptions fit our region amazingly. North to the sea--found mostly along the American shores of the Great Lakes. Iron wheels, steeple bells, orchards, seagulls stitching through the waves, utterly common around the Great Lakes. For me she couldn't have set a more familiar stage to unfold her tale of young love from a woman's perspective. Thanks Judy, and poster.

  91. j.... c....

    don't know who posted this track,but thanks very much.

  92. M.... W....

    .....Huh? Her wikipedia page says:"Collins has been married twice."

  93. p.... ....

    Judy Collins never married nor had any long-lasting relationship. Listen to this song through that prism - it is autobiographic.

    p.... ....

    I mean, she had a son who lived until adulthood. That's a longterm relationship.

    p.... ....

    And listen to this song like it's a song, not an autobiography.

  94. J.... ....

    The imagery of this song... the lonely bigness of it all... it's extraordinary.

  95. j.... c....

    great voice and orchestration,brings back memories of london in 1970.

  96. U.... ....

    Good for you uckbee for I have missed those nights and weekends when Whales and Nightingales as well as Wildflowers played many times over.This was indeed 1970 though 1967 was the release of Wildflowers,everything sort of caught up in 1970 as both albums were listened to, as it were many times over.

  97. U.... ....

    It has been awhile since last I dreamt of riding on those beaches but indeed such is the authority that such songs can provide.This is that fine an album and more importantly it is that fine a contribution by Judy Collins own devices that Albatross is such a song.Enchanting,imaginative treatment of the heart.A truly lovely song,with lyrics that I listen to as you ride across the sands with amathest fountains.Great to listen to.

  98. J.... H....

    Phenomenal voice, talent, art, emotion, & songs: Judy Collins! The legend!

  99. m.... ....

    You're so lucky to see her live so recently , uckbee. Always really loved this song. Good health and long life , fellow JC enthusiast.