Joni Mitchell’s “Song for Sharon” describes the lesbian desire the narrator had for her childhood friend, Sharon. This is shown through her desire for, but lack of, a lover and marriage and aversion to children.
The narrator mentions her relationship status to Sharon many times in this song; as if she is trying to emphasize that she is single and that Sharon is the reason. Whenever the narrator brings up wanting a relationship, she directs the song at Sharon. When discussing leaving her man at the North Dakota junction, she is speaking directly to Sharon. She didn’t just say that she left him, she directed it to Sharon. This could be an indication that she left her man for Sharon. She goes on to say that she went to the Big Apple to face the …show more content…
Nearing the middle of the song, the narrator explains that she went to every wedding in Maidstown when she was a child. She would watch the kisses and the tears that were shared and she would specifically watch the “pretty lady in the white lace wedding gown.” There is no mention of the groom, and while a wedding is said to be the bride’s day, it is odd that she would not mention him at all. She then goes on to say that the love would stimulate her illusions “more than anything.” Her looking at the kisses, the bride, and calling her idea of love an illusion can all indicate that she was interested in Sharon but knew she couldn’t act on it. At the end of the poem, when she talks about the “apple of temptation” and the “diamond snake around her arm” it indicates that she does want to get married but her dream wedding would be a sin. The apple and snake are bible references of Eden where Eve fell to the sin of temptation by eating the apple. If the narrator got a diamond engagement ring from her desired lover, it would be seen as a sin as it would be a lesbian …show more content…
When comparing her life with Sharon’s at the end, she brings up Sharon’s family twice. Both the narrator and Sharon grew up musicians and Sharon gave that up to have kids. The narrator, wanting Sharon her whole life, never wanted kids and sees this as a disgrace. Sharon could have loved the narrator, not had kids and continued making music. Overall, the narrator’s language puts children in a distant view and this is because she never thought of having any. When the narrator’s friends called saying that she needed to have kids, she says that the only thing she wants is a lover. If she wants Sharon to be her lover, she would be unable to have kids without a man somehow involved. Until she can get the love of her life, she doesn’t care about something like having children. She also links children with men in the beginning of the poem. “Big boat chuggin’ back with a belly full of cars…” is a vision of pregnancy, but not a very feminine one. Putting a masculine tone to this image of pregnancy is another piece of evidence that she isn’t interested in pregnancy. She also doesn’t mention women when talking about the Indian kids on the bridge. She mentions that they are like their fathers. She equates pregnancy with needing a man to be a father. Since she loves Sharon, there is no man to be the father of her
The narrator mentions her relationship status to Sharon many times in this song; as if she is trying to emphasize that she is single and that Sharon is the reason. Whenever the narrator brings up wanting a relationship, she directs the song at Sharon. When discussing leaving her man at the North Dakota junction, she is speaking directly to Sharon. She didn’t just say that she left him, she directed it to Sharon. This could be an indication that she left her man for Sharon. She goes on to say that she went to the Big Apple to face the …show more content…
Nearing the middle of the song, the narrator explains that she went to every wedding in Maidstown when she was a child. She would watch the kisses and the tears that were shared and she would specifically watch the “pretty lady in the white lace wedding gown.” There is no mention of the groom, and while a wedding is said to be the bride’s day, it is odd that she would not mention him at all. She then goes on to say that the love would stimulate her illusions “more than anything.” Her looking at the kisses, the bride, and calling her idea of love an illusion can all indicate that she was interested in Sharon but knew she couldn’t act on it. At the end of the poem, when she talks about the “apple of temptation” and the “diamond snake around her arm” it indicates that she does want to get married but her dream wedding would be a sin. The apple and snake are bible references of Eden where Eve fell to the sin of temptation by eating the apple. If the narrator got a diamond engagement ring from her desired lover, it would be seen as a sin as it would be a lesbian …show more content…
When comparing her life with Sharon’s at the end, she brings up Sharon’s family twice. Both the narrator and Sharon grew up musicians and Sharon gave that up to have kids. The narrator, wanting Sharon her whole life, never wanted kids and sees this as a disgrace. Sharon could have loved the narrator, not had kids and continued making music. Overall, the narrator’s language puts children in a distant view and this is because she never thought of having any. When the narrator’s friends called saying that she needed to have kids, she says that the only thing she wants is a lover. If she wants Sharon to be her lover, she would be unable to have kids without a man somehow involved. Until she can get the love of her life, she doesn’t care about something like having children. She also links children with men in the beginning of the poem. “Big boat chuggin’ back with a belly full of cars…” is a vision of pregnancy, but not a very feminine one. Putting a masculine tone to this image of pregnancy is another piece of evidence that she isn’t interested in pregnancy. She also doesn’t mention women when talking about the Indian kids on the bridge. She mentions that they are like their fathers. She equates pregnancy with needing a man to be a father. Since she loves Sharon, there is no man to be the father of her