[dar-list] Obscure (but amazing) SOTW: How Do I Work?

[mirinda.kovacs at thomson.com]

I've never heard this song before.
The lyrics are intriguing.

You know, in all the years I've been on this list I guess I've never
seen it discussed how Dar feels about people sharing her music.  Is she
opposed to people sharing those old songs or does she support it?  I'd
love to hear some of these older songs that made it on small circulation
but never onto commercially produced cds.

Had someone not sent me a few MP3's of Dar like 6 years ago and said
they thought I might like them I would have missed out on so much great
music.  My all-time favorite band (Indigo Girls) is all for file sharing
so I am used to that world where literally everything is available.  I
don't want to post a message to this list asking for someone to send
this song to me if it is against the rules.

:)
Mi Rinda

-----Original Message-----
From: dar-list-bounces+mirinda.kovacs=thomson.com at folkserv.net
[mailto:dar-list-bounces+mirinda.kovacs=thomson.com at folkserv.net] On
Behalf Of Wood Alexander
Sent: Sunday, October 21, 2007 4:07 PM
To: dar-list at folkserv.net
Subject: [dar-list] Obscure (but amazing) SOTW: How Do I Work?

Ever since I got copies of Dar's first two tapes a few years ago, thanks
to Scott Green and his fundraising project for the now-defunct Snowden
Environmental Trust, I have been amazed by some of the songs on them
that never made it to Dar's more widely distributed albums --
particularly "How Do I Work?" and "For Everyone."

I can't say I have any deep analysis of the lyrics of "How Do I Work?" I
didn't even know them all until I found them on an Internet lyrics site
today. The song seems to be essentially a meditation on the artist's
life. But, to me, it's a stunningly beautiful song, and a look into the
soul of a stunningly beautiful person.

My favorite passage is this one:

In class the teacher dressed in tweed
Said to fly around the room like milkweed.
And she told me I twirled like Martha Graham.
At the time I just turned away,
But if only she knew
How I danced in my room that night
When everyone had gone to sleep.

I know this SOTW is a little unfair in that this tape is hard to get.
But I hope those who know "How Do I Work?" will contribute lots of
thoughts, and I hope it will one day make its way into wider
distribution.

Alex

How Do I Work?
By Dar Williams
(From the tape "I Have No History")
Lyrics from http://www.lyricsmania.com

I chopped off that braid of hair.
My neighbor hooted and people stared,
So I tried to look haughty, more occupied.
I lost the weight, I go for walks,
Sometimes I'm out a hundred blocks.
And my clothes are like caverns in which I hide.
When I return the doorman's there.
Oh, if only he knew
The service
Not of his open door
But of his open smile to me.

CHORUS:
How do I work?
How am I put together?
I still do not know
Though it's late in the hour
Oh I have some ways to go.
How can I grow without just growing old?

I remember me as a child,
I often shrugged and seldom smiled.
In the mirror I asked, "Is this all I am?"
In class the teacher dressed in tweed
Said to fly around the room like milkweed.
And she told me I twirled like Martha Graham.
At the time I just turned away,
But if only she knew
How I danced in my room that night
When everyone had gone to sleep.

CHORUS

So now into my life of computer mail
And a single mark hanging on its nail
Someone entered where no one has even tried.
Oh, there has been so much for me
Out of all the greatness in this small city.
I believe I have beauty coiled up inside.
Sometimes I think that I can be tapped
Just like a barrel.
Oh, I'm crazy, yeah.
I laugh at myself,
Another lonely kid grown up.

How can it work?
How can we live together?
I still do not know
Though it's late in the hour
Oh I have some ways to go.
Help me grow.
I'm just growing old.
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