Joni Mitchell-The Magdalene Laundries (Live in Japan)

[writer4peace]

Such power and compassion.

[johnnyjemimah57]

Such a powerful song.  Those poor women and what they had to endure. Life is cruel.

[iaingbrennan]

Great tuning this song is played in:-

BF#BEAE, sounds deep and resonant on a 12-string, chords are easy...

[akrotirifry9]

I'm a guy, and as much as I may play hyper-masculine testosterone charged heavy music live, I have to say that I wouldn't dare to cover this song live. I won't be able to carry through without bursting into tears.

[jlynnwm]

Just saw the movie The Magdalene Sisters.... as sad as it was the included documentary on the DVD was just heart wrenching.... a lesson for us all to question everything and everyone including ourselves.... and to think for ourselves...

[zoedaria]

This is a very intense song with an insight into what happened in the laundries/ very very enlightening

[lustylaura1]

if you really look into it & knowing the catholic church was behind it ,, it makes you ashamed to be catholic ,, i hope all those who passed through these places find peace in their lives xx

[thedridis]

I did not realize this was a song about something real until I searched for it on Youtube. The song just always moved me, but I did not really know it was about something true. Holey moley.

[mygirlruth]

@thedridis

JONI'S SONGS ARE TYPICALLY WRITTEN ABOUT TRUE LIFE EVENTS AS SEEN THROUGH HER

INSIGHTFUL EYES.

[buttership]

Brilliant.

[alastairI]

Very moving song. I can see why she's been voted in the top 100 guitarists of all time (?Rolling Stone)

[kenmeyerjr]

Man...just look at that right hand dancing over the strings....I am a visual artist and have never liked the word, 'talent.' but seeing something like this makes me believe it.

[madamexfiles]

@kenmeyerjr

Then you ought to appreciate the magnificent left-handed strumming by Barbara Lynn in the video of her live performance of «You'll Lose A Good Thing»! Worth checking out!

[Queenie270755]

A great and sad song, - as I see, she was accompanied from the great piper oft The Chieftains, Paddy Moloney. Thank you for uploading!

[whotookaegir]

What year is this from?

[SupernalOne]

Now we have the Vatican standing firm covering up habitual widespread pederasty by the priesthood. It goes to show how a corporation will use completely unethical means to protect its own interests and cover up its sins. And where is God in that? Maybe it's time for the good Catholics of the world to take back the Church from its self-styled holy men.

[PinkPrism008]

I had never heard the story behind this song until now. This takes my breath away. All her songs had pertinence and as a young woman in the 70s I clung to all her

songs and gently molded who I became through the lyrics and sounds of Joni Mitchell.

[heimdallhinfrode]

Ouch, she should have tuned up before this song.

[21dandandan12]

@heimdallhinfrode it's supposed to sound like that

[heimdallhinfrode]

@21dandandan12 I know that it's a non-standard tuning if that's what you mean. My point is that one of the strings is slightly and very audibly off.

[csnowutube]

@heimdallhinfrode I love Joni, but my first thought when she started was, "I've never heard her guitar out of tune before." Wonderful song and person. peace.

[gilliser]

Barramonm, i think it's generally accepted here that these laundries happened in many countries, the movie and Joni's song are just good examples of just what went on in these places. Many years of pain and suffering.

[hip2beesquare]

a reminder of intolerance and misunderstanding? More like a reminder of total brutality of women!! Also the absolute evils of the Catholic Church

[SickRose72]

@hip2beesquare

I agree. 'Intolerance and misunderstanding' is WAY too polite. 'Hatred' and 'misogyny' seem more appropriate to me.

[Damis101]

It's really a shame that people haven't figured out yet that it's the religious beliefs that make us inhumane to others--not the other way around. The more you put your faith in your "faith" the farther you entrench yourselves in confusion and fear and shame. This is classic "The Letter A" (A for for adultery)

[jetmoo]

I wish there was no war in this world. no cruelty, none of this stuff.

I don't understand inhumanity. I makes me sad. I wish everyone in this world could just get alone.

it reminds me of hilter and the gas chambers as well as the laundries. how can people do this type of thing?

[gilliser]

@jetmoo just think of what a world we could live in if everybody did get along, all of our tax dollars going to fix the enviornment, make life better for humans, and not towards building war machines world wide.

[1servantofJehovah]

Does Jehovah God not see the hypocritical religious leaders who CLAIM to represent him?

So I shall scatter them like stubble that is passing along in the wind from the wilderness. This is your lot, your measured portion from me, is the utterance of Jehovah, because you have forgotten me and you keep putting your trust in falsehood. And I myself also will lift up your skirts over your face, and your dishonor will certainly be seen... I have seen your disgusting things. - Jeremiah 13:23-27

[NolanBryanLynch]

Oh. I see she's playing with the Chieftains. Ok.

[NolanBryanLynch]

Is that Paddy Moloney or his doppelganger?

[rosebudblacklace]

Hooray for everybody here for caring.

[mufcjc]

Sinead O Connor was in those laundries. High Park Drumcondra. Hell in the name of God

[TheNigelr]

Joni - thank you for caring for your fellows, henhenstoll, thank you too for thinking of us!

[metalphysical]

just drawing attention to the horrors of what Church and state condoned is possibly a beginning.

the movie is so hard to watch, being native and catholic and poor and fatherless and growing up on the harsh prairies I can sympathize with the brutality these woman endured but in no way feel the suffering of shame and guilt that was put upon them.

my song is It's to late to apologize" to Canada and all the entitled ones and the powers that be!

[Angushelen]

I love her accent,

[ApocalypsePlough]

What accent??

Everybody from the Canadian Prairies speaks like her. Some with stronger accents, some with slighter, some just like her......but, basically, that's the way everyone here speaks.

[circleof42]

As far as I'm aware those Magdalene laundries also existed in Canada, Australia and the UK. Why doesn't she mention that in her intro? Is she afraid to embarrass her own country (Canada)?

[ApocalypsePlough]

If you Wiki Magdalene Laundries, there's not one mention of Canada. I'm not saying they didn't exist here....She has said this song was inspired by a story she read in a magazine she picked up at the supermarket in BC.

Joni is not afraid to criticize Canada. She has done so numerous times. Although, she is becoming a little softer as she gets older.

[Barramonm]

@circleof42

I don't think that is a fair comment. I'm Irish and don't think there is anything wrong with only saying Ireland. It was on a much larger scale in Ireland. People were in the know about what happened in them at the time and just accepted it. It was not so widespread in the other countries. It was mostly Irish Catholics that were in the laundries in UK, Canada etc. Joni is also playing with The Chieftains who are an Irish band so it makes sense that she should just mention Ireland.

[annamariabrown]

the last magdelene laundry in Ireland closed in 1996 that is not so long ago....I myself was in a mother and baby home run by the nuns in ireland and my son was taken from me and adopted at birth in 1981...

NO MORE SECRETS AND LIES

[RondelayAOK]

This is bad history getting repeated. These kinds of early social institutions, work farms, were a marked step forward from such things as debtor's prison and the gutters. There's no question that some were poorly run. . . but they were the liberal solution to the day's human problems.

[RondelayAOK]

I'll add to this: 200 years from now, people will be amazed at how barbaric we are in 2008. . . giving drugs to kids with attention deficit disorder, committing abortion, putting children in foster homes, institutionalizing some mental disorders and so forth. It's easy to criticize the past, especially when you pull out selective instances of mistreatment.

[o0micmac0o]

"Poorly run"? - you make it sound like they were inefficient, or a bit hard-going - read the story behind them & how the abuse continued until quite recently.

[bergonibros]

this hurts me

[Bluesnout]

The nuns and priests who sexually and physically abused these poor people should be held to account and the Irish State in particular should be made to pay for the Roman Catholic terror imposed upon members of their society.

[Paddy234]

Ireland is catholic and always will be athiest, these were not people of god who commited these crimes

[o0micmac0o]

I'll probably regret asking, but go on . . . can you explain what you mean by this?

I understand & agree that the people who committed such abuses are not acting in accordance with Christian teachings, but why is "Ireland Catholic & atheist"?

Surely not everyone should be accused of being false, cruel, mad & evil like some of those involved in the Magdalene Laundries have been?

[Paddy234]

lol i was stating that ireland is catholic and referring to bluesnout as athiest

[o0micmac0o]

Ah OK, that makes sense, but I actually agree with Bluesnout - the state (or The Church?) *should* compensate those who were abused by members of the Church.

I'm not sure how having this opinion defines Bluesnout as an atheist, but either way, each to his/her own in my book.

[Paddy234]

yes i agree but i would think that the state would of already compensated them by now though as i'm sure they were forced too after the truth came out

[o0micmac0o]

I'm not so sure that all those who were abused were compensated.

Wiki & its sources suggest that people who were abused as children in Irish Orphanages were compensated after a 2002 inquiry, but for some reason this didn't help those who suffered in the Magdalene Laundries.

[o0micmac0o]

Likewise, even if some of the 30,000 women were lucky and perhaps did not suffer sexual, physical or emotional abuse in the Laundries, they should be recompensed for the unpaid work that they were forced to do in these profit-making institutions.

Have you seen Peter Mullan's film? (The Magdalene Laundries) It's very good, but shocking - though several of the survivors argue that the reality was even more brutal.

[DAVIDSILVERCA]

This is what made Turbulent Indigo such an amazing album and a Grammy winner. I love hearing Joni's music in a live arena. Though I have heard her say she does not like performing, her music sounds so much more powerful live. I saw her at the Greek Theatre in 2001...I would do anything to see her live in a small venue.

[eclecticstars]

she is being a bit evasive here. the song clearly comments on what amounts to slavery and abuse. All my friends that were taught by nuns have nothing but bad to say about them. Its not just a nice song it is something that should be taken to the court of European rights and should result in nuns and priest put in jail and there families. Ps i am not an anti catholic, just a believer in justice and fairness. I also think it is a fantastic song. good on you Joni

[RubyLeeDall]

Haha, you can't just randomly sling nuns and priests into jail.

You have to incriminate the specific ones.

plus, all this was stopped years ago.

[o0micmac0o]

agreed, you can't indiscriminately sling people into jail, but many went unpunished & the innocent were themselves punished.

Plus "all this stopped years ago" - I'm sorry but I just don't believe that. The laundries existed through to the 1970s, so some of the abusers & abused are still alive. & I'm sadly sure that abuse by those in positions of power continues throughout the world.

About the song - something sounds really out of tune (guitar?) - very unlike Joni.

[RubyLeeDall]

I'm not saying it stopped years ago as in people dont get abused, I'm saying we cant hold present nuns and priests for blame for what was done years before them. :)

This song is sad though :(

It reminds me of a book i read called My Fathers Daughter.

[o0micmac0o]

yes, of course - only the guilty should be brought to account (though some of them may well still be around).

[musicloveranthony]

she always sounds so much more at home on an acoustic, to me :)

[ridemyspiral]

this song gives me the chills, it's gorgeous live

[hejira1]

real nice version (arrangement) of this song!