Joanna Newsom, Only Skin (live), Herbst Theatre, San Francisco, CA, Nov. 25, 2019 (HD)

[@TimBracken]

Thanks for watching my video. I gathered all the videos I shot at this concert in a KZbin playlist: kzbin.info/aero/PLwdc0qZNx0tZebgvnH9KZStkKvu_qy5Tk . The songs are Sadie, Only Skin, In California, The Things I Say, Sapokanikan, Time As A Symptom, Anecdotes, Good Intentions Paving Company, and Peach Plum Pear. Enjoy!

[@louise4558]

This really is brilliant- thank you so much for uploading them all.

[@VoldakHorasimov]

“Fire moves away” but that’s not to say it’s not one of my favorite songs

[@impendio]

This song is 1286 words long with no repeating lines, she’s inhumanly good. It’s mind boggling.

[@Adderkleet]

I know what you mean, but the "fire moves away" refrain is repeated once and almost-repeated once.

[@not_emerald]

Very few artists can do it -- usually singer songwriters. To my mind right now I can only think of Bob Dylan.

[@Eywalian]

why would you say i was the last one is repeated like 4 times

[@pedroeduardoferrari3364]

@@not_emerald Perhaps, but he's not playing multiple complex harmonic parts in the hardest string instrument in existence while singing in multiple keys.

[@jonathanlgill]

Ys is a genuine masterpiece of an album.

[@MossCoffin]

The fact that she can perform this live is astounding. Truly one of the greatest composers and musicians ever

[@jamieleethomson9065]

sometimes i think life is pointless, and then i listen to joanna

[@alreiber2732]

Came here to remind myself of that fact. This is worth being alive for.

[@raleighjoyner5829]

Life isn't pointless but it is thundering blissful towards death

[@dprice81]

You create the meaning

[@Otto-Webb]

I find great bliss in the pointless, primordian nature of life.

[@anais559]

@@Otto-Webbeh sisyphus

[@rayankiyohiro3676]

this might be the greatest song of all time

[@stefizccore]

It is

[@soccerjunkie7]

Yes.

[@ofcgirl1439]

waltz of the 101st lightborne >

[@rowanbassman540]

At 0:35, right as Joanna begins to sing, one audience member sighs with recognition and another whistles quietly. For me, those tiny bursts of appreciation don't feel like disruptions at all -- they make this performance all the more intimate.

[@DisasterZone-rh1wh]

I would have recognized it with the first note + pause, and would have jump out my skin.

[@worldtradeandstockunlimite9829]

in the most entirely non-romantic, non-sexual way, Joanna Newsom is one of the most beautiful human beings to have ever existed. The way she plays the harp is like a god literally pulling at the heart strings. There simply isn't a word or words to describe this sensation.

[@yyg4632]

it seems harp is an angels instrument for a reason

[@jonismorgellons]

I'm a big fan too but...idk man, she's a real person who you don't know personally.

[@GrobbingThistle0]

the unbroken silence of the audience for 16 minutes says it all!

[@pakyum1]

This entire performance is a work of art, as well as athleticism. It's a real achievement. I will spend my whole life reading into the beauty of these lyrics. This song always blows me away and brings me to tears; it evokes memories of childhood, and all the emotions life has to offer. She's a true gem, and we must protect her! Songs like this are rare.

[@fairlyadorablepancreas3746]

Is there some place I can find interpretation of her song's lyrics? I love them and I'd love to understand the lyrics deeper they're poetry

[@benwrong6855]

Yes, beyond my words!! As for living musicians/songwriters, I think Joanna is in a different league

[@HiroinUV]

Is not athleticism, it's just music

[@benjamincera1806]

You’re a work of ART

[@donnyymorg]

@@HiroinUV Endurance is involved in a 16 minute song like this

[@kidsmoked]

There are so many brilliant lines but the ones that especially give me the feels by the way she sings it are: "And when I cut your hair, and leave the birds all of the trimmings I am the happiest woman among all women."

[@sherbertvalley]

i love that lyric SO MUCH!!

[@leeeorama]

My favorite is the line that ends "heartbroke and inchoate." Like who says stuff like that? And makes it so sticky and beautiful?

[@DisasterZone-rh1wh]

I'm from Rural Northern California and have a deep connection to the land and the surroundings and the culture, and when she says "the cities we passed are a flickering wasteland but his hand in my hand made them pale and harmless..well down in the low lands the crops are all coming, we have everything, life is thundering blissfully toward death in a stampede of his fumbling green gentleness..." I just weep and dream of home at 11:14

[@pheebles101]

I tried to put this on in the background while doing something; but ended up enthralled watching and listening for the entire duration.

[@ninahooper5233]

same lol oops but not sorry

[@youngglink]

This song structure is ridiculously amazing

[@JunisFairytales]

I cannot hear Joanna or Only Skin without hearing the most delicate, innocent part of my eternal soul sigh with the longing of recognition; of home.

[@nathang4682]

Man her voice sounds so good here...It's got the intensity of what her voice was when she originally did the song but presumably she's not shredding her vocal cords lol. Hate that she did this tour to get herself back to where she can play all these ridiculously difficult songs and then the pandemic happened...gimmie that new album and tour announcement with the full band for 2022 JN come on lol

[@Elwyn_the_Weird]

she plays the first notes and I get choked up...

[@katythekyng]

me too.

[@micaaaaaaaaaaa]

same

[@YoshiRivas]

same here

[@kidsmoked]

Yep, me four. Memories of seeing her live.

[@gibberconfirm166]

I remember getting the Ys album and walking around NY. But I had had the bootleg Sawdust and Diamonds tracks I listened to when I wrote my novel, too.

[@jackfox7566]

she is so abundant and her artistry is so large

[@mattstalker4084]

The whole thing is awe inspiring, but the two hands so close playing that pattern from 14:47 is just mind blowingly complex.

[@zarataylor3190]

So beautiful, so powerful. Her lyrics are literally transcendental poetry.

[@Rehhhhhhhhhhhhh]

I don't even consider them lyrics. Her poetic texture is up there with literary giants. I can only compare Joanna Newsom to great poets like Dickinson and Shakespeare.

[@itselote]

i'm speechles, i can't believe it took me so long to discover her music but i'm so glad i did

[@synchrogenesis]

One of the few singular musical geniuses of our time.

[@MINDTHEHEADPHONE]

A true genius. This is unbelievable.

[@Simone-dj5sy]

salve Léo

[@micaaaaaaaaaaa]

você por aqui!

[@nomart4888]

A truly complex and robust piece of music. From beginning to end, to even grasp what each of the verses represent to her during the time she was writing this, to connect them and figure out what was intended through the song as a whole and the instrumentation guiding you through an endless path of lushness filled with tragedy. I cannot express how important this song is to the humankind and there´s still a lot to be discussed and discovered from it.

[@4Shaman]

She writes with the painful edge of a Brontë og Shelley, poetry in every word

[@Islamacleod]

truly the best written song of all time, would give anything to see her live

[@saturnesss]

I had front row seats to see her on this tour at the Hollywood Legion. Still devastated it got cancelled, I just hope I get to see her live someday because this is so beautiful 😩

[@TimBracken]

Ugh, I feel your pain. I still can't believe that was her last tour. I guess one consolation for folks in LA is that she apparently did a one-off show there in 2023 where she premiered a whole bunch of new songs: www.setlist.fm/setlist/joanna-newsom/2023/the-belasco-los-angeles-ca-3bbd9a3.html

[@saturnesss]

@@TimBracken yeah I heard about it, but she was a surprise opener, so no way to know unless you happened to be at that particular Fleet Foxes show. But a good sign for a new album! She’s also set to play a festival in Utah soon. Hope that means more tour dates 🤞

[@DisasterZone-rh1wh]

I just weep uncontrollabley through this whole song. It's a long song to weep too 😂 but I just can't help it. Thank you Joanna for the yearly emotional release.

[@womaninthewave]

One of the best songs ever created

[@jasonjaworski2834]

Love her smile at the very end there in response to a mid-set standing ovation. :)

[@briangoodman8990]

I was lucky to see Joanna perform years ago. She is certainly a national treasure.

[@n0twist1]

6:00 that part ALWAYS gives me chills. i've yet to see her live, but attending one of her shows is on my bucket list

[@strangenessandcharms]

Same 🥲

[@leeallen3633]

same as well haha

[@EzrasChanel]

Same here.

[@parsley346]

The way she does the duet part at the end alone is absolutely incredible!! Thank you so much for uploading this!

[@alexlight4178]

Well I'm a better person for having witnessed that whole performance. Thank goodness for Joanna and for everything that makes her possible.

[@jonathanmiranda1002]

I’ve been listening to this song everyday for the past 6 years during my morning drive to work and until tonight I thought of listening to the live version… equally beautiful.

[@dannybowden5296]

Eye wateringly good! I've had the great pleasure of witnessing Joanna live twice and pray one day I will again. Sublime talent!

[@asianmatt2012]

Rowing along, among the reeds, among the rushes I heard your song, before my heart had time to hush it! Smell of a stonefruit being cut and being opened Smell of a low and of a lazy cinder smoking And when the fire moves away Fire moves away, son Why would you say I was the last one? Scrape your knee: it is only skin Makes the sound of violins And when I cut your hair, and leave the birds all the trimmings I am the happiest woman among all women And the shallow water stretches as far as I can see Knee deep, trudging along - The seagull weeps ‘so long’ - I’m humming a threshing song - Until the night is over, hold on Hold on; Hold your horses back from the fickle dawn I have got some business out at the edge of town Candy weighing both of my pockets down Till I can hardly stay afloat, from the weight of them (and knowing how the commonfolk condemn What it is I do, to you, to keep you warm: Being a woman. Being a woman.) But always up the mountainside you’re clambering Groping blindly, hungry for anything; Picking through your pocket linings - Well, what is this? Scrap of sassafras, eh Sisyphus? I see the blossoms broke and wet after the rain Little sister, he will be back again I have washed a thousand spiders down the drain Spiders’ ghosts hang, soaked and dangling Silently from all the blooming cherry trees In tiny nooses, safe from everyone - Nothing but a nuisance; gone now, dead and done - Be a woman. Be a woman Though we felt the spray of the waves We decided to stay, 'till the tide rose too far We weren’t afraid, 'cause we know what you are; And you know that we know what you are Awful atoll - O, incalculable indiscreetness and sorrow! Bawl bellow: Sibyl sea-cow, all done up in a bow Toddle and roll; Teethe an impalpable bit of leather While yarrow, heather and hollyhock Awkwardly molt along the shore Are you mine? My heart? Mine anymore? Stay with me for awhile That’s an awfully real gun And though life will lay you down As the lightning has lately done Failing this, failing this Follow me, my sweetest friend To see what you anointed In pointing your gun there Lay it down! Nice and slow! There is nowhere to go Save up; Up where the light, undiluted, is Weaving, in a drunk dream At the sight of my baby, out back: Back on the patio Watching the bats bring night in - while, elsewhere Estuaries of wax-white Wend, endlessly, towards seashores unmapped Last week, our picture window Produced a half-word Heavy and hollow Hit by a brown bird We stood and watched her gape like a rattlesnake And pant and labor over every intake I said a sort of prayer for some rare grace Then thought I ought to take her to a higher place Said, “dog nor vulture nor cat shall toy with you And though you die, bird, you will have a fine view.” Then in my hot hand, she slumped her sick weight We tramped through the poison oak, heartbroke and inchoate The dogs were snapping, so you cuffed their collars While I climbed the treehouse. Then how I hollered! Where she’d lain, as still as a stone, in my palm, for a lifetime or two; Then saw the treetops, cocked her head, and up and flew (While back in the world that moves, often, according to The hoarding of these clues) Dogs still run roughly around Little tufts of finch-down And the cities we passed were a flickering wasteland, But his hand, in my hand, made them hale and harmless While down in the lowlands, the crops are all coming; We have everything Life is thundering blissful towards death In a stampede Of his fumbling green gentleness You stopped by; I was all alive In my doorway, we shucked and jived And when you wept, I was gone; See, I got gone when I got wise But I can’t with certainty say we survived Then down and down And down and down And down and deeper Stoke, without sound The blameless flames You endless sleeper Through fire below And fire above And fire within Sleep through the things that couldn’t have been If you hadn’t have been And when the fire moves away Fire moves away, son Why would you say I was the last one? All my bones, they are gone, gone, gone Take my bones, I don’t need none Cold, cold cupboard, lord, nothing to chew on! Suck all day on a cherry stone Dig a little hole not three inches round - Spit your pit in a hole in the ground Weep upon the spot for the starving of me! Till up grows a fine young cherry tree When the bough breaks, what’ll you make for me? A little willow cabin to rest on your knee What’ll I do with a trinket such as this? Think of your woman, who’s gone to the west But I’m starving and freezing in my measly old bed! Then I’ll crawl across the salt flats, to stroke your sweet head Come across the desert with no shoes on! I love you truly Or I love no-one Fire moves away. Fire moves away, son Why would you say that I was the last one, last one? Clear the room! There’s a fire, a fire, a fire Get going And I’m going to be right behind you And if the love of a woman or two, dear Could move you to such heights Then all I can do Is do, my darling, right by you

[@freshblushlover]

the way this is just muscle memory for her i just....

[@pEAcEgrL8]

She is insanely talented. In awe every time I listen.

[@jedionboard1233]

I first heard this wonderful opus of a song on Classic fm years ago, totally mind blown, then i saw Joanna at the Royal albert hall a few weeks later,,,, WOW,,,, WONDERFUL,,,, HOW ON EARTH CAN SHE REMEMBER THE WORDS ???!!!,,, Its a full story,,, i am in pure wonderment at how she can remember EVERYTHING. AMAZING . " All my bones, they are gone, gone gone ". XXX.

[@sweetnessofbeing]

This is my favorite Joanna Newsom song and THAT DRESS 😱😱😱😍😍😍

[@nectarandice]

I know I've commented my thanks for this video before, but still... Tim, you were doing angel's work when you chose to share this one! Thanks again! It's the cleanest live version of Only Skin I have ever heard (in person/recorded)!!

[@TimBracken]

Hi, nectarandice, I really appreciate this comment. This KZbin hobby gives me a chance to share unique musical moments with other fans like me. So I love it when one of my videos resonates like this. All the best, Tim

[@yyg4632]

she is so angelic, perfect for the harp even her fashion is

[@RebeccaSmith77]

oh god, when she gets to the "all my bones" part, I sob my face off.

[@leeeorama]

If you saw someone in the audience fully crying, that was me.

[@heatheryyy]

This was the first song I heard of Joanna's and it was instant love, I never get tired of it, ever

[@rebekahkelly3291]

on multiple occasions I've come home before everyone else from the bars, put a face mask on, and look up these lyrics and sing along on the bathroom floor

[@kittums]

thank you so much for preserving this show! i was here. second song in the set and she received a standing ovation. just gorgeous.

[@louiexx5637]

Wooooooooooooooooow what a breathtaking, enchanting, mindblowing performance

[@eduardogomez3759]

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THESE RECORDINGS omg... her mind........

[@nectarandice]

Oh, my! High Def!! Seems like a pretty high action harp she's got there. I love, love how loose and jazzy she has become through this tour. Many thanks to you for sharing! 😚

[@TimBracken]

Thanks! I'm happy you enjoyed this. I totally agree with you about her performances this tour. By the way, FYI, I also uploaded "Sapokanikan" and "Sadie" from this show, and will post some more, including a medley of "Time, As A Symptom" and "Anecdotes" later this morning. That performance was really cool because she switched back and forth between the piano and the harp mid-song. All the best, Tim

[@jacobprince6602]

Tim Bracken omfg you recorded the switcheroo 😭😭😭

[@nectarandice]

@@TimBracken Gosh, that's great! Glad you could see her :D

[@nectarandice]

@@jacobprince6602 Sooo Good!!!

[@itsclurg]

I cried during most of these songs in person... good memories

[@MarleeTheKing]

I come back to this video so often, thank you so much for capturing this beautiful moment!

[@ralfrecknagel4760]

Well, this is by far my favorite song of her YS record ... and I have to thank Whitney B. for this recommendation. "I love you truely .. or I love no one" says all. Epic. Stay safe in these difficult times.

[@Farcallo]

Oh my god. How is this even possible. Absolutely absurd how good this is. It made me tear up.

[@xo.d_munii]

joanna is hella talented 👏 the concentration it takes to play the harp is crazy and to play it that well?? and she's singing beautifully too

[@Ayrtz111]

I don't know who you are but you're awesome, thanks for recording!

[@Obsessedandstuff]

wow. breathtakingly beautiful! got chills multiple times during this song and even teared up at the end. wish i couldve been in that room listening to this live.

[@tomelliott7861]

The few seconds after "finch down" (11:10) are just so perfect.

[@robertsuthers9105]

this is what skill looks like

[@e0e1e3e2]

she’s amazing like holy crap

[@micaaaaaaaaaaa]

how can this be real

[@zZZZzzZzzZzzzzzzZzzzz000]

Ikr

[@zZZZzzZzzZzzzzzzZzzzz000]

She kills me every time

[@benwrong6855]

Bloody love you Joanna, you make it easy to see the beauty that is all around us

[@nourghaddar4298]

Wow... what a master she is

[@AlienCatTweets]

Amazing talent, I love her storytelling and hope to see her live sometime.

[@YoshiRivas]

Everything about this video is PERFECTION

[@matthijsvdnet]

Oh my... that was amazing. Thank you so much for uploading this

[@starification]

I just discovered her music last year...oh the wasted years 😭

[@strangenessandcharms]

this song broke me and it put me back together. it saved my life.

[@vervor]

Absolutely mindblowing

[@Well_Edumacated]

mind blowing.

[@snosaerable]

i still can’t believe how this song starts.

[@pheebles101]

aaaaaahhhh goosebumps already at a minute in

[@UpchurchBrand]

I once missed seeing Joanna Newsom live in Perth, WA. It still make me sad thinking about it

[@alexlight4178]

I'm perplexed, what do I need to do to be aware of her shows ahead of time? She ain't on social media... Just now seeing that she played shows last year

[@sheab101]

I became aware of it through fan groups on Facebook, but you can also periodically check Drag City to see if she has tour dates posted

[@molluzc]

and google alerts!

[@alexlight4178]

Thanks. I’m following drag city on Instagram so hopefully I’ll catch her now

[@Rehhhhhhhhhhhhh]

I periodically and frantically check Drag City every month lmao. I was actually here at this performance and my literal only regret in life is not going to see her again the following night.

[@Drfresh1402]

I sampled this woman in track I made for the roots. What an inspirational artist.

[@sheab101]

Thank you for your work, it was awesome!

[@bronsonh.3741]

you casually made a song for the roots? 😭 what song

[@ruthiemarchand7624]

@@bronsonh.3741 must be Book of Right On sampled for Right On

[@sakthikumaran4294]

wow that was you? thank you

[@heather4415]

Beautifully otherworldly. This is the music you hear after you've fallen asleep in the middle of a ring of toadstools and taken away to the fairy world.

[@annowen1689]

incredible.

[@snosaerable]

love spending time on this feature of a song.

[@Fanny-ej6ob]

Pure genius, she's a godess.

[@טליהכהן-ז8ד]

Wow thank you Joanna! ♡

[@frederikkymartin]

so impressive everyday i wish she would appear on spotify

[@arielvir7820]

she’s on apple music !

[@strangenessandcharms]

No. Spotify is the banana of the music industry. She refused to be a part of it.

[@sarahfromtheuniverse]

Simply breathtaking. What a talent.

[@lukewilliam3601]

Not that she needs it, but she'd make a killing if she ever sold a DVD set of her live shows. I

[@mattjordan2526]

Can’t fathom how you could watch and not admire this

[@liltick102]

She is extraordinary, what else is there to say - she’s better than Bob Dylan and as good as Tom Waits lyrically and a wonderfully talented multi-instrumentalist.. simply better than most are, she has a hugely special quality that solely rests in her songwriting and musical merit- she relies on no gimmick or appearance, not even necessarily a stylistic constraint- she is anchored to a terrestrial sound of her own, but that which she flourishes to be sure - to territory she reaches in her music that goes beyond this Earth. We’re lucky even to exist in this timeline to freely listen, she’s like a holographic card.

[@J0ELLEx]

I'd love a new recording of Ys now that she's improved so much vocally~ she's able to give this an emotional flavor that wasn't as present on the album.

[@kenkoopa7903]

I don't really see the need for this; I think her vocals on the album were plenty emotive. Sawdust & Diamonds and Cosmia both strike me as particularly raw.

[@LiviJoyann]

Didn't realize I was hypnotized until the end, wow

[@DaveSullivan860]

A treasure. Thank you!!!

[@saddfilmore1111]

I watch this once a week.

[@saddfilmore1111]

back again, years later just to say RIP to those spiders...

[@powdowski]

How is she so amazing

[@Annapaz25]

What a performance. Are you sure she's only 10 fingers in those hands? I love Joanna.

[@ericdoce4974]

You only need 8 to play harp!

[@amgm1996]

Fire moves away; fire moves away, son. Why would you say i was the last one?

[@dinospumoni5611]

1. Beethoven 2. Captain Beefheart 3. Joanna Newsom Maybe Bach should be in there somewhere but Jesus Christ what a genius Joanna is.

[@HannahFlorenceBriggs]

This song always makes me cry

[@siddhikadam3092]

Can someone please find a instrumental violin version of this. It's so amazing. Or atleast the sheet music???

[@OAnIncurableHumanist]

sheet music is available on the Joanna Newsom Transcription Project wordpress site, you can Google it

[@jumpjet4959]

oh my god she is fucking insane (in a cool way)

[@AntonMekanik-h2j]

Гений нашего времени...

[@Scadufax2001]

Mind blowing. Indescribable beautiful.

[@dezastruos]

14:42 and on.... wow!

[@taeyeonsnose7003]

im out of breath after watching her sing that climax

[@alinem.7174]

1:34 so beautiful 😮

[@oliviaaus1086]

someone better convince this woman to put her music on Spotify

[@soody4975]

she says it's a ripoff for artists and good on her. Buy her albums.

[@vanhoest]

She convinced me to leave Spotify!

[@idontwanttopick]

"Spotify is like a villainous cabal of major labels. The business is built from the ground up as a way to circumvent the idea of paying their artists."