Black and White: The White Tent The Raft

Jane Siberry: The White Tent The Raft

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So far this week, my fellow Star Makers and I have done a good job of covering the black part of our theme. The white songs that have appeared so far have been linked to black musical counterparts. But there are many fine songs with white titles, that are not linked to anything. The White Tent The Raft is one of these.

You could be forgiven for thinking that Jane Siberry’s songs are always straightforward and sweet, based on what I’ve posted of hers before. But I usually think of her songs as being rushes of surreal imagery, with shifting musical settings under the words. It’s like being woken suddenly from a dream. You are left with a jumble of pictures and feelings that almost make sense. There are repeating motifs, whose meaning is just beyond your grasp. You want to go back to sleep, and reenter the dream, in hopes that it will sort itself out. And every time I listen to Jane Siberry’s best songs, I have that sense of reentering a dream. The White Tent The Raft is a fine example of what I mean.