"Guinnevere" is a song written by David Crosby in 1968. The song appears on

Crosby, Stills & Nash Crosby, Stills & Nash (CSN) were a folk rock supergroup made up of American singer-songwriters David Crosby and Stephen Stills and English singer-songwriter Graham Nash. When joined by Canadian singer-songwriter Neil Young as a fourth member, ...

's critically acclaimed eponymous debut album. The song is notable for its serene yet pointed melody and its unique lyrics, which compare Queen Guinevere to the object of the singer's affection, referred to as "m'lady".

Composition

In a ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' interview, Crosby remarked: "That is a very unusual song, it's in a very strange tuning (EBDGAD) with strange time signatures. It's about three women that I loved. One of whom was Christine Hinton - the girl who got killed who was my girlfriend - and one of whom was

Joni Mitchell Roberta Joan "Joni" Mitchell ( Anderson; born November 7, 1943) is a Canadian-American musician, producer, and painter. Among the most influential singer-songwriters to emerge from the 1960s folk music circuit, Mitchell became known for her sta ...

, and the other one is somebody that I can't tell. It might be my best song." According to

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most well-known and influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and ...

, the song was based on a three-note motif from the 1960

Miles Davis Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Davis adopted a variety of music ...

album ''

Sketches of Spain ''Sketches of Spain'' is an album by Miles Davis, recorded between November 1959 and March 1960 at the Columbia 30th Street Studio in New York City. An extended version of the second movement of Joaquín Rodrigo's ''Concierto de Aranjuez'' (1939) ...

''. The album CSN ''CSN'' may refer to: Companies * CSN Stores, former name of Wayfair, American e-commerce company * CSN International (Christian Satellite Network), religious radio broadcaster based on radio station KAWZ in Twin Falls, Idaho * ''Centrala Studies ...
(box set) contains a demo version of the song played by Crosby on guitar, Jack Casady of

Jefferson Airplane Jefferson Airplane was an American rock band based in San Francisco, California, that became one of the pioneering bands of psychedelic rock. Formed in 1965, the group defined the San Francisco Sound and was the first from the Bay Area to ac ...

on bass, and

Cyrus Faryar Cyrus Faryar ( fa, سیروس فریار; born February 26, 1936) is an Iranian-American folk musician, songwriter and record producer. He was active in musical, theatrical and performance events in high school. After graduating from high school ...

of Modern Folk Quartet on bouzouki. In the liner notes, Crosby says of the song: "When all my friends were listening to

Elvis Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

and 1950s rock 'n' roll, I was listening to

Chet Baker Chesney Henry "Chet" Baker Jr. (December 23, 1929 – May 13, 1988) was an American jazz trumpeter and vocalist. He is known for major innovations in cool jazz that led him to be nicknamed the "Prince of Cool". Baker earned much attention and ...

Gerry Mulligan Gerald Joseph Mulligan (April 6, 1927 – January 20, 1996), also known as Jeru, was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, composer and arranger. Though primarily known as one of the leading jazz baritone saxophonists—playing the instrum ...

and

West Coast jazz West Coast jazz refers to styles of jazz that developed in Los Angeles and San Francisco during the 1950s. West Coast jazz is often seen as a subgenre of cool jazz, which consisted of a calmer style than bebop or hard bop. The music relied rela ...

. Later I got involved with the folk music scene. After getting kicked out of

the Byrds The Byrds () were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1964. The band underwent multiple lineup changes throughout its existence, with frontman Roger McGuinn (known as Jim McGuinn until mid-1967) remaining the sole cons ...

I didn't have a plan, but I went back to my roots, and "Guinnevere" is a combination of these two influences."

Lyrical themes

The song also deals with the importance of freedom. It may have been written about Queen Guinevere from the perspective of a man addressing a woman; it has been speculated that Crosby wrote about her from the perspective of Sir

Lancelot Lancelot du Lac (French for Lancelot of the Lake), also written as Launcelot and other variants (such as early German ''Lanzelet'', early French ''Lanselos'', early Welsh ''Lanslod Lak'', Italian ''Lancillotto'', Spanish ''Lanzarote del Lago' ...

of ancient Welsh lore. "Guinnevere" could also be referring to Nancy Ross, who lived with David Crosby and (according to author David McGowan) drew pentagrams on the wall. She would leave Crosby in 1966 for Gram Parsons, who came from big money in Florida, in the orange/citrus business. These facts make the "Nancy Ross" theory more believable: in the song, Crosby sings that Guinnevere "drew pentagrams," and that "peacocks wandered aimlessly underneath an orange tree."

Personnel

* David Crosby: lead vocals, guitars * Graham Nash: lead vocals

Cover versions

Miles Davis recorded a version of the song during a January 27, 1970 session. It was first released, in edited form, on the 1979 compilation ''

Circle in the Round ''Circle in the Round'' is a 1979 compilation album by jazz musician Miles Davis. It compiled outtakes from sessions across fifteen years of Davis's career that, with one exception, had been previously unreleased. All of its tracks have since been ...

'', with a longer version appearing on the 1998 release of ''

The Complete Bitches Brew Sessions ''The Complete Bitches Brew Sessions'' is a four- disc box set of music recordings by trumpeter Miles Davis. The set collects all tracks Davis recorded between August 19, 1969 and February 6, 1970, including the 1970 double album ''Bitches Brew ...

''. According to David Crosby's 2016 podcast interview with

Marc Maron Marcus David Maron (born September 27, 1963) is an American stand-up comedian, podcaster, writer, actor, and musician. In the 1990s and 2000s, Maron was a frequent guest on the '' Late Show with David Letterman'' and has appeared more than forty ...

, Davis played it for Crosby at the former's home before releasing it. Crosby did not recognize any resemblance between Davis' version and his composition and Davis kicked him out of his house. In late 2017, Crosby tweeted that he changed his mind about Miles' recording: "Finally ....after so many years of not getting it ....I listened to Miles and his band doing Guinnevere....and got it..."

References

External links

* https://archive.today/20150411003043/http://www.davesweb.cnchost.com/nwsltr105.html {{authority control Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young songs 1969 songs Songs written by David Crosby