Rhiannon ad-libs
 

So, I've been listening to clips of "Rhiannon" from the Henley shows/Gold Dust Tour, and I'm wondering when she says, "Would you even tryyyyy...? I DON'T THINK YOU DO!" if anyone else besides me is thinking, "Do what?"

I love the way Stevie delivers those lines, and I think that I've been so caught up in her delivery that I never really thought about them much before. Are those two lines supposed to go together? If so, shouldn't it be, "I don't THINK YOU WOULD!" (Although that doesn't have the same punch as "do." :p )

~Kat

Late in the Tusk tour, near the end of Rhiannon she would say "Is that what you want?" I found out that this was her saying to the audience Hey, we've been on the road for a F*&^in year!!! we've given you people all we have and it's almost killed us. that's how I intrepeted it anyway. Does anyone else remember her saying that? This happend in August-September 1980, the last leg.

I wondered the same thing yesterday, and then I figured she was saying, "I don't think you do [try]"....like she's making a statement to someone...it's one of those lines that's eaten a hole into my brain, and is on a continuous loop rattling around in there! :]

Just another example of Stevie taking "poetic license" to skewer the laws of grammer. Past tense. Present tense. First person. Second person. Third person. Etc... all is fluid and subject to change in the land of Stevie. I can somewhat accept it as part of her idiosyncrasies.

But the one that makes me cringe most:

The earth and the sea and the sky IS at rest with the ocean.

Yeah, I suppose youre right on that one. The 2 and's are a little much too, but what the hell right?

Some of my favorite Rhiannon ad libs were from the last part of the 1983 touring, when she started screaming: "Did you see her/I think that yes you did/Did you see her/And you say, in your wildest wildest wildest heart ... blah blah blah/Well yes you did"

Etc. etc.

And during the acoustic intro, she would sing: "And you say 'Rhiannon'/And she says 'Well I have to go'/And you say ''Well what do I do?' "

That's an ancient rhetorical device Stevie is using known as parataxis. It's stylistically reminiscent of the Homeric epics.

edit: Actually, the use of the repeated coordinating conjunction means it ain't quite paratactic.

I don't see what's not to get...

What the person in question is not "doing" is "even trying".

I've wondered that myself, and I've come to the conclusion it's sort of a response to her own question. Do you even try? I don't think you try.

BTW, David MN :

I'm green with envie . . you photos of your Edge handshake with Stevie . . .I was lucky enough to get a handshake on the July 1 concert, but I couldn't get my camera to my b/f in time for him to get a picture, and I can't find any video or photos of it!!! And photos with Mick and Lindsey . . . awesome!! :D :thumbsup:

I thought it was at the end of Sisters of the Moon??? "Is this what you want from me?"
Probably no wonder I can't find a recording of it - I could be looking for the wrong song!
I also interpreted it as a "how much more can I give you, damnit!"

Speaking of Sisters of the Moon, I noticed that when Lindsey sang a verse on the Mirage DVD, he sang "Some say illusion is her game." As I was watching the Tusk documentary over the weekend, I noticed that when Stevie sang "Some say illusions are her game," Lindsey looked at her and smirked. Not sure if it was because that line irked him or what.