 In days of yore, sailors would mark their journeys with tattoos. A swallow marked every 5,000 nautical miles. An anchor represented the crossing of the Atlantic. These tattoos were signs of wear, travel, and experience, remembrances of arduous journeys, and friends lost along the way. It's this tradition that inspired one of Joni Mitchell's finest pieces of poetry. Blue. Mitchell may not have been a sailor, but her trade has its own way of commemorating life's experiences. For as long as people have put words to music, singers have put their hearts out to the world. They've taken the pains and joy of their life and put them into song. Just as sailors who've traveled the world will cover their arms in tattoos, singers who have lived and loved will leave a trail of songs in their wake. And so, songs are like tattoos. You know I've been to sea before.