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The Fiddle and the Drum
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Wikipedia article
"'The Fiddle and the Drum'" is a song by Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell; it was first recorded by Mitchell on her 1969 album 'Clouds'. It was one of the songs performed by Mitchell on 'The Dick Cavett Show' on August 19, 1969, when Mitchell appeared with some of the performers from Woodstock.[http://thenightowlpresents.blogspot.com/2010/08/this-date-in-rock-history-18-august.html Blog post on "Woodstock Show", with detailed rundown of the music]
The song's lyrics lament, from the position of an outsider, that America is "fighting us all" and has "[traded] the fiddle for the drum"; however, the singer can "remember/All the good things you are" and asks "Can we help you find the peace and the star?" As an anti-war song, it was one of the songs that became associated with opposition to the Iraq War; in particular, through the 2004 cover by A Perfect Circle.
The song provided the title for the 2007 ballet 'The Fiddle and the Drum' which Mitchell authored with Jean Grand-Matre, the artistic director of the Alberta Ballet Company.[http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/thearts/2011176937_fiddle25.html 'Seattle Times', February 24, 2010, review of American premiere] The ballet was filmed for an hour-long 2007 film with the same title.[http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/joni_mitchell_the_fiddle_and_the_drum/ Rotten Tomatoes entry for movie]
Covers
The song has been covered a number of times:
*1983 - June Tabor on her album 'Abyssinians'.
*2003 - Danilo Perez with lead vocals by Lizz Wright on his album '...Till Then'.
*2004 - A Perfect Circle on their album 'eMOTIVe'.
*2007 - The Spooky Men's Chorale on their album 'Stop Scratching It'.
*2008 - Karan Casey on her album 'Ships in the Forest'.
*2008 - Maureen McGovern on her album 'A Long and Winding Road'.
*2021 - Amanda Tosoff with vocals by Lydia Persaud on her album 'Earth Voices'.
See also
*List of anti-war songs
References
Category:Songs about fiddles
Category:Songs about drums
Category:Anti-war songs
Category:Songs of the Vietnam War
Category:A Perfect Circle songs
Category:Joni Mitchell songs
Category:1969 songs
Category:Songs written by Joni Mitchell
Category:Song recordings produced by Joni Mitchell
Category:Song recordings produced by Paul A. Rothchild
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