> Sandy Denny > Songs > Bert Jansch: Where Did My Life Go?

Where Did My Life Go?

[Bert Jansch]

In 1979, Bert Jansch recorded this song with Conundrum for their CD Thirteen Down. Eleanor McEvoy did a fine recording of this on the Bert Jansch tribute CD set, People on the Highway, in 2000. She is cited in the liner notes:

“… I was immediately drawn to Where Did My Life Go? The circling melody, quirky phrase lengths, and melancholy lyrics all appealed to me. Every facet of the song seemed to re-enforce the concept of one who had no idea “where their life had gone.“ I assumed that these sentiments were autobiographical - that the references to cocaine, champagne and high living all related to Bert Jansch himself. However, just before I recorded the song, I phoned Jansch biographer Colin Harper to see if he could clear up a problem I was having deciphering on of the lyrics. Imagine my surprise when he told me that the subject of this song was not Jansch but was, in fact, Sandy Denny. I decided there and then to do a solo version of the song with a very simple piano accompaniment. My aim was to try and capture the solitude of someone who is looking on to their own life as a stranger, and is powerless to change or regain control of that life.”

Lyrics

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