AN EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH THE QUEEN OF FOLK MUSIC
Joan Baez talks with editor-in-chief Anastasia Stanmeyer about her new film and debut poetry book
I was so taken by the young woman in the film I Am a Noise and how she moved through her life with all that attention thrust upon her . What would you tell your younger self ? Ease up . Ease up on yourself . I was really hard on myself . I wanted to do things fairly and do things right , but it was exhausting . I didn ' t know how to do otherwise , so I did what I could . It would be nice to have been able to take a break . Because of the psychological state I was in , I really couldn ' t take a break yet .
When you were 13 , you wrote the words , “ I am a noise .” Does that statement still describe you today ? I didn ' t choose it . I think it ' s right for the movie , but I thought , Oh , that ' s interesting that I wrote that when I was so young . It probably saved me because it gave me a foundation . Being that noise continues today . Hopefully , a lot of it is fun , a lot of it is silly , a lot of it is not as deadly serious as I was back then . But , I am still a noise , there ’ s no question about that .
The last scene in the movie , I Am a Noise , you dance in the roadway with your beautiful dog . Can you express what that scene felt like ? It ' s hard to express the extent to which I felt , as though I ' d been through the tunnel and come out the other side . That dance and that little thing where I ' m just sitting in the grass , I saw the expression on my face and I thought , ah , yes , that ' s what it was like . It was a real internal peace that I suppose you have periodically in your life , but not on a fairly permanent basis . A real peace . I ’ m just glad that face is in the film . That field was one of my places I would just rejuvenate . I would often dance in the full moon for ages .
Where is that field located ? It ’ s right across the street from where I live . It ' s been a real blessing .
You mentioned in the film that your social consciousness was developed before your voice . And you acknowledged that you were the right voice at the right time . Can you expand upon that ? Folk music had just begun to unfurl itself across the land . And then around the world . It was a countercultural thing . The curious thing about it is that it became cultural . All of a sudden , your grandfather could turn on the radio , or your brother could turn on the radio , and it was no longer a counterculture . It was part of our daily listening and part of the TV . So that was an interesting little jump from being a bunch of hippies with guitars to being taken seriously for our music . Because of the nature of the times and of us , we became political .
So it became mainstream ? It did , in a way ; some of it did , yes . Which is both good and bad , but for the most part good , because I think it was worthy music . It was being honest , as honest as it can be in that field . As you saw in the film , my big battle was trying to stay clean in an industry that was not known for honesty and forthright behavior . We tried to just remain honest and true to ourselves . Because we had the Woody Guthries and Pete Seegers before us , you could see that it could be done .
Yes , and we have Arlo Guthrie right here in the Berkshires ! You also said that you weren ' t so great with one-on-one relationships , but with one-on-2,000 relationships . Those are fine for me . ( Laughs ) You don ’ t have to risk anything , except missing a note or two . I say I live alone , but I don ' t really live alone . I have a lot of people around ; I just don ' t have a partner . That ' s a choice . That ' s what I was really not able to do . Then , when the time came that maybe I could , I just thought , you know , I ' ve done enough work . I ' m comfortable where I am , and I ' ll just be as creative from here as I can be . Because I didn ' t have a desire to try and add that to my life — another person , a partner . I ' m still comfortable with my one-on-2,000 .
How did you come to terms ( and become comfortable ) with the fame ? For a while , I had decided I wasn ' t going to take limousines anymore , because that was too privileged . And so I said , “ Okay , no more limousines .” And then somebody came to pick me up in a Volkswagen bus . And it was really old and funky and didn ' t smell good . I said , “ You know , forget this shit . I want my limousines back .” So it came over time , different things happened . Believing that you ' ve earned a red carpet was hard for me . I don ' t know what I believe anymore , but I enjoy the hell out of it . That took a while to reach that stage .
In 1963 , Bob Dylan was a surprise guest at your performance at the Pittsfield Boys Club . Two weeks after that , you performed with Dylan at the March on Washington . I understand you are still emotional when you talk about it . I wish they played more than that one speech , because Martin Luther King , Jr .’ s speeches were magnificent . This brings up too much for me . I ’ m just overwhelmingly moved by what that man went through and what he did , and what he accomplished , and the fact that I got to be there for so much of it .
Can you tell me what the feeling was , looking out at that ocean of people ? I ' d rather pick another scene . King asked me to go to Grenada , Mississippi . I don ' t know if it was a weekend or something . He couldn ' t get there in time , and they had planned to have him there to walk those kids to school in Grenada . So he asked me to come , the reason that if I was there , the press would intimidate people from throwing stuff at these kids . I had a chance to see him in a modest little home in Grenada , and what he was like after he was exhausted and got off a plane . He was usually joking , but he was completely wiped out . Then they gave him the master bedroom of this lovely little tiny house , and he was in there , asleep . I was thinking that he reminded me of a chocolate drop on that pillow . He was so dark and so beautiful . And Andy Young said nobody wanted to wake him up , because he was supposed to be preaching shortly thereafter . But he was wiped out . And they said , “ Joan , you go wake him up .” I remember my palms were
Spring 2024 BERKSHIRE MAGAZINE // 15