Ode to Patti

2021


While Patti Smith was singing “A Hard Rain’s a Gonna Fall” at the Nobel Prize award ceremony, she paused suddenly because she forgot the words. Apologizing coyly, she then continued on. Having watched a recording of this over and over I felt overwhelmed by the rawness and brilliance of this performance, for the words that were being sung and for the struggle of the artist who was truly caught between their meaning and the moment.