28
The realities of the Vietnam War were always top of mind for the singer-songwriter.
[Fame] was a struggle.
She herself had alreadybeen incarceratedfor the cause.
We in the revolution didnt want to hear about that.
When there were people at home to be taken care of, why are we spending all this?
So I didnt allow myself the joy of watching somebody land on the moon.
That was where I was politically and with my family.
The film even includes recordings of her therapy sessions, which she says have helped her heal.
Why be so vulnerable?
It was time, she says.
And the fact is, I have nothing to lose now.
You performed at Woodstock at 28 while six months pregnant.
What do you remember about it?
What can you say about Woodstock?
Well, you know what, I just wrote a poem about Jimi Hendrix.
You wanna hear it?
I will be absorbing that for a long time.
In your 20s, you were compared to Gandhi, and cultural critics called you The Barefoot Madonna.
Were you aware of the impact you were having as it was happening?
Im not sure I was.
On the other hand, who really knows?
Say at Woodstock, how much did we know how historic that was going to be?
You find that out afterwards.
Tell me about your memories of Martin Luther King Jr.
When you speak about him in the documentary, it brings up emotion, still.
What people dont get to see is his sense of humor.
And I was gratefully in the inner circle, on and off, for a number of years.
So I heard the folks, him and his lieutenants, joking constantly.
You talk about being addicted to the activism.
By giving so much to the world, it also cost you personally.
As we see in the film, your son really suffered from your absence while he was growing up.
I may have been addicted to it, but I chose things very carefully.
Theres nothing I regret having done.
It was difficult for me to watch.
I was watching, Joan Baezgoes to Cambodia and Im thinking, Why Cambodia?
Why not with my kid?
Thats one of the most beautiful parts of the film.
We see how close you are with him now.
I think its never too late to repair.
And therapy was enormously helpful to us, to Gabe and me.
Speaking of relationships, does it bother you that people are still interested in your relationship with Bob Dylan?
Why do you think that is?
You know, Im not sure.
The stars lined up for a reason, but that doesnt explain why its been so long-lasting.
[It was] some kind of bizarre fairy tale.
That went on for quite some time, probably until I finished the painting.
Its as though I washed away all of the BS that had been going on for decades.
Instead of harboring negative stuff, I was fortunate to have it disappear.
When you sing Diamonds and Rustnow, which was inspired by him, do you think of him?
It depends on the audience.
If its an audience Im not crazy about, I could be thinking about my grocery list.
If its a wonderful audience, I know theyre fantasizing about the whole thing.
But there are people who have no idea what the song is about.
Yeah, sometimes I have images of way back then.
And a lot of times I want to chuckle because the song is this idealistic story.
In the documentary, you say, Im not that good at one-on-one relationships.
Im great at one-on-2,000.
What do you mean by that?
Well, not everybodys lucky enough to say that.
So I make a joke of it, but the fact is that Ive still chosen that.
I just dont want to do that.
I read that you dated Steve Jobs.
And you replied, But not at the same time.
Yes, it caught her off guard because she thought she had caught me off guard.
How did that experience change you?
Well, I gained 8 pounds.
It wasnt a difficult place to be.
It was a rehabilitation center.
I didnt have to get phone calls.
I didnt have to do mail.
I bought a lot of stuff at the commissary and ate too much.
And I was with my mother both times, so we had a chance to spend some time together.
What motivated you to go to therapy at age 50 and unearth your childhood trauma?
Was it to rebuild your relationship with your son?
No, that hadnt even begun yet because I was so unaware.
I was sonot presentfor so much of his life.
No, I just really couldnt go on.
It was unexplored territory.
And I knew it would take a different kind of work from what I had always done.
And youre bravely sharing this publicly now because you want to leave as honest a legacy as possible?
Its the right [time].
My family is gone.
My son totally gets it.
The only concern was for my granddaughter, who saw the movie and loved it.
I dont think it took so much courage; it just took a decision.
Do you feel freer now?
I was riveted, watching how you confronted your parents with your experience [of abuse].
You heard their denials of it.
And then, theres this footage of you with both of them toward the end of their lives.
How did that work?
I will tell you one thing because its important: They do not remember.
Its not as though they were lying when they say that it was made up.
To them, they have no memory of what went on.
And I understand blocking [it], because I did that for 50 years.
Iwantedto remember, and it took that work [in therapy] to remember.
They didnt want to remember.
Youve guided us through times of terrible division.
Do you have wisdom for this moment, when so many people are in pain?
Go make good trouble, and make a run at remain a decent human being.
This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.
This article was originally published onNovember 16, 2023
