Listen to singer-songwriters Joan Baez and Dar Williams perform as a duet in this impromptu rendition of “If I Wrote You”, written by Dar Williams. This exclusive performance is from the cutting room floor of award-winning filmmaker Mary Wharton’s Joan Baez: How Sweet the Sound (2009).
Joan Baez and Dar Williams Sing “If I Wrote You”
I never thought you were the letter writing type
So now I see the words you chose the way you write
So I started to write back about the trees in the snow
And I saw a bird, couldn’t see what it was but I thought you’d know
You always surprised me
And if I wrote You
If I wrote You
You would know me
And you would not write me again
And when the spring came and flooded all the streams
It’s like how you got the night you told me all your dreams
And when the barn roof sagged after an icy bout
It’s like how you got when you knew the truth was the only way out
But not the only way
And if I wrote you
If I wrote you
You would know me
And you would not write me again
We drew our arms around the bastard sons
We never would drink to the chosen ones
Well you know the way I left was not the way I planned
But I thought the world needed love and a steady hand
So I’m steady now
And I’m so happy
I had to tell you
And I love you
And you will not write me again
You will not write me again
You will not write me again