Poets, Priests, Legends and English Papers

[Carolyn]

Hi all! I'm working on a paper about Has Anyone Written Anything for You and I was hoping to get some opinions on the "poest, priests of nothing, legends" line. From what I can find, all Stevie has ever said is that it's about rock stars.
If anyone has more quotes, or personal opinion they'd be willing to share, I'd appreciate it GREATLY!
Thanks in advance!

[celestenadia]

Stevie has been quoted as saying that it means "master of nothing":nod:

[miriamswell]

I am going to assume you are writing about the entire song, because it is hard for me to think about the quote out of that context. HAEWAFY is one of Stevie’s multi-layered stories. As she has said herself, she was initially inspired to write because of a visit to the memorial drinking fountain erected by Joe Walsh for his daughter who was run over and killed. Stevie has said that Walsh took her on this little expedition because she was complaining about issues he felt were trivial and he wanted her to experience “true tragedy.” In turn, Stevie wanted to pay tribute to Walsh’s experience – hence the song. He had done something momentous for her and she wanted to return the favor. Over the years it has evolved into a classic Stevie “anthem,” and the Walsh connection has faded with time. I think that as Stevie aged and weathered rough patches in her life and career, it became a song about connecting with her audience. It is her gift, her celebration of her fans and their seemingly bottomless love and acceptance. In a very real way, Stevie’s audiences =are= her children and her legacy. She has said that she was put on this earth to do what she does and not to be a wife and mother, but we all want to leave something of ourselves behind in the end. In Stevie’s case perhaps it is her music and her fans. HAEWAFY also seems to address what seems to be a thread that weaves in and out of many of Stevie’s major songs – namely the desire that she not be forgotten. “I want you to remember me.” And from Rhiannon “he says, “Don’t leave me now. “

In fact, one of the primary themes addressed on “RAL” is this fear of abandonment or being left behind or lost in the mists of obscurity. I think for many reasons, Stevie has an intense fear of abandonment. “I Sing For the Things,” “Imperial Hotel,” “The Nightmare” and “Some Become Strangers” all address this issue in one way of another. I think partly these feelings stem from her recognition that her substance abuse was interfering with her ability to write and perform, as well as interact in a sane way with the people around her. I think she probably had some foreshadowing about Lindsey’s departure from the band and that probably felt like the ultimate abandonment and betrayal. And I think she felt herself receding into her own dark spaces and losing site of her joy.

As for the ending lines “Poet, Priest of Nothing, Legend,” it almost seems to belong to another song. The body of the song is very nurturing and loving while at the same time being a plea for love. These last lines have always struck me as somewhat taunting, skirting the edges of hostility and anger, but in a very passive aggressive way. Stevie seems to be implying that while the various men over the years have all been poets and legends, it is not because of the work they do – or don’t do. Hence, “Priest of Nothing” seems to refer to someone whose achievements, life and very existence are hollow and meaningless. The adoration and success enjoyed by these men was not earned – heroes are born, idols are made. Assuming this started out as a song for Walsh -- who is a nasty, rude little man IMHO -- Stevie may have been putting a single thorn amongst the roses, if you will.

Again, as Stevie and the song aged, she probably came to realize the disparity and outright sexism that exists in the music world. She herself has said countless times that she was never able to do what she wanted, it always involved cajoling, seducing, luring a man around to her way of thinking. Speaking strictly for myself, I think that must have generated an incredible amount of rage that never really manifested itself overtly. So in that sense, the end lines are a stab at rock and roll men – once they reach a certain level of prominence and fame, all they really have to do is show up; whereas we all know how hard Stevie and other female rock and rollers have had to work, simply to be acknowledged as peers and not accessories or sex objects. There is an article somewhere where she refers to herself as a “priestess of too much.” Again alluding to the disparity between how much she works and what she sees the rock and roll Highway Men doing – or not doing.

At the same time, I think it is probably a pretty heady thing to know that you can influence powerful men, even if it is covertly. I will not subject anyone reading this to a Marxist Feminist deconstruction of male versus female power and authority, but basically, authority is power that is culturally sanctioned and is almost universally the privilege of men. On the other hand power does not have to be culturally sanctioned, it is the ability to affect change. In the case of women who rarely have access to authority, they use their power secretly, slyly and covertly to influence the various men in their lives who =do= have authority. Once again the nomenclature “Priest of Nothing” is very apt and quite relevant in that it refers to something that is assumed as an entitlement, rather than as a privilege.

I think HAEWAFY, like Rhiannon and so many of Stevie’s other hugely successful songs, is a song that has matured along with Stevie and in that process strayed away from the original and overt meaning. I think it evolved from a sort of love song/ballad/memorial for Walsh specifically and her audiences more generally into a song that is very much about and for her audience. She has said of this song that she wrote it for “some guy,” but that he’s not important anymore, what is really important, what gives her life meaning, is her audience. And she is right, the man is long gone, but the fans remain. Likewise with the “Poet, Priest of Nothing, Legend” line. In the original song, it is all singular, as though she is referring to a specific man who has had a huge impact on her life. Over the years, it has evolved into the plural as her lovers and other important men in her life have left or failed to live up to her expectations or longings. Ironically, this has always struck me as one of her most poignantly lonely songs.

Wow. That was long and preachy. Sorry. I hope you find something useful admits all that babbling. Good luck with the paper!
Kind regards,
~Mim

[BellaDonnaGypsy]

Isn't the full quote something like, "and when she tells them about the men in her life..."? Or at least she adds that in sometimes. So that is the way I understand it; the men in her life have been "poets, priests of nothing, legends". Which is pretty true! :)

Laura.

[Bella Figura]

Mim, what a great essay, you put forth some great points. I loved it...dissertations like your makes the Ledge all worth while...

Carolyn, definetely show how the song has evolved over time from it's one dimension love song to it's current multi-layered tribute song to Stevie's fans who have taken and survived the journey with her...it's one of her gifts to take an old song and let it evolve in performance...she's also done this quite effectively with Stand Back which could have died of over-exposure years ago...

I also think the placement of a song on an Stevie album is important (Stevie herself has said she is big on the sequencing of songs on such albums as Rumours and Enchanted) which is why I always link this song with The HighwayMan, Beauty and the Beast, I Still Miss Someone, Jane and Love Is. I think each of these songs are directly written for a specific person in Stevie's life, but in time, become a mirror image into her own soul...

[Carolyn]

Thank you all so much for your replies, they are all very helpful!:)

[Julie2920]

wow, mim!!! i guess you've given this a little bit of thought.......
btw, you write beautifully, if that was babbling, i'm very impressed. i think you hit it dead on. this is exactly how i've tried to explain this song to my friends who are "outside the fold". thanks for the superb analysis. and carolyn, i hope you get an "A"!!!

[FiercestCalmSea]

Awesome job Mim...there isn't a whole lot that i can add to that...everyone has had some really great points...the only thing i can say is that for me...even though i don't relate to every single lyric...this is the ultimate Stevie concert song for me...i think i realized that this summer when i was lucky enough to be hanging over the side of the stage,head in hands,just watching and listening and seeing how much she puts into belting it out..it is amazing :)

[miriamswell]

Thank you for all the kind words. (ducks head and blushes) You are all very, very sweet. One of my favorite things about this board is getting to pick apart Stevie's songs.
~Mim