74 • UNCUT • OCTOBER 2019
isplayedprettily.“Iamprettyclumsy.LikeI havea
enchantforwalkingintothings.Infact,I havesome
rettyscraped-upkneesrightnow– I slidontheice.
thinkit’sonlyfittingthatif somebody’sreallystrong
ndcanreachoutandhelpothers,thattheyalsohave
qualamountsoffragileaspectsthatpeoplewantto
elpthem[with] too.I doneedhelpsometimes.
“IthinkI’minnatelystrong,butalsoI havea lotof
eoplewhohelpme,”shecontinues.“AllenGinsberg
wasactuallythefirstpersontocomerightafterFred
ied,likeonlya monthortwo,totrytogetmeback
o work.BobDylancontactedme,gavemewordsof
ncouragementtocomebackoutintotheworkfold.
ll I wantedtodowhenwetouredwithBob,andwe’ve
ouredwithhimtwice,is toshowhimtherespectthat
e deserves,beopen,andbethereif hewantedtotalk.
didtalkwithhima fewtimes,andthefewtimes
thatI talkedtohimwehadrealconversations.He
encouragedmetoworkagain.Bothofus– wehave
certainsimilarities,certainwaysthatwe’resimilar
thatmakesit hardforustotalktoeachother,butwe’ve
alwayshadwarmandrespectfulconversations.
“Icansaythatwhenwesangonthefirsttour
together– wesang‘DarkEyes’forlikeeightor 10
nightsandwedid‘KnockingOnHeaven’sDoor’once
- theywerereallysomeofthegreatestmomentsofmy
lifeinperforming,whereI feltthemostproud,the
mostconcentrated.I didn’tfeelallexcited;I justfelt
thisactualdeep,humanpride,andI’llalwayshave
that.It wasn’tlikeit wasglamorous– wewereinsome
shitty places – I just felt this, like I said, deep pride.
peopleneededdifferentkindofworkoutthere.They
neededtobesupported,theyneededtobeschooled,
theyneededtobewarned,andtheyneededtoconsider
theirlifestyles.I feltveryresponsibleforthekindof
workthatcamefrommeinthatparticularperiod.”
Sincetheveryfirsttimesheputonherdullblack
BeatlebootsandtookthestageatStMarksChurch
todeliverhermystical,electrifyingpoetry,Smith’s
obligationshavebecomemoreacute.Heraudience
longagogrewbeyondNewYork’sincestuousBowery
artsscene,hershamanisticexhortationsnowelevated
totheworld’sstage.Or,indeed,SanFrancisco’s
ConcourseExhibitionCenterwhere,afterherbook
signing,Smithdeliversa publicreadingandperforms
ashortset,accompaniedbyherthen-partnerand
bandmate,OliverRay.Theaudienceofmorethan
500 peopleis mixed– everyonefromschoolchildren
upwards.Afterwards,Smithreflectsonwhathas
changed– andwhathasstayedthesame– sinceshe
beganplayingoutsidetheartcocoonofNewYork.
“Ourpeopleseemedtofinduswhereverwewent,
andtheenergywashigh,”sheremembers.“Wealways
toldthemthesamething:‘Youneednevercomeseeus
again,orlistentous.Gooutanddoyourownwork,
whateverthatworkmaybe.Focusonyourselfandthe
peopleinyourimmediatecommunity.Rock’n’roll
belongstoyou.’Inthe’70s,I sawrock’n’rollasthe
hopeofthefuture.I onlyspeakEnglish,butI found
myselfgoingtocountriesallovertheworldand
communicatingthroughrock’n’roll.I imaginedthat
wewereusingthegloballanguageofthefuture,and
thathavingthiscommonlanguagecouldonlyleadtoa
greaterunderstandingofeachother.Fredtoldmethat
whentheywereyoung,theMC5thoughttheycould
conquertheworld.Formeit wasmoreaboutcreatinga
newone,lettingpeopleknowthattherewerenew
lands,newterritory,newpossibilities to explore. I felt
rock’n’rollwasourla nd.”
NEWYORK, 2001
S
mith’salbumssincehercomebackaretheworkofan
artistgrowingolderandbecominglonelier.Justas
GoneAgainwasa memorialtoherdeardeparted,
so1997’sPeaceAndNoisewasfreightedwithfurtherloss
- fromthedeathofAllenGinsbergtotheAidsepidemic
andtheHeaven’sGatetragedy.Smith’soracularpowers
had,it seems,becomesupersededbymoreelegiac
qualities.Asitstitlesuggests,though,GungHooffered
a senseofrenewal,a quickeningofthepulse,asSmith
tookonpolitical,environmentalandsocialissueswith
renewedvigour,evencastingherselfasSalome,General
Custer’swife,andeventhevengefulspiritsofAfrican-
Americanslaves.Soit is thatSmith, in 2001, seems more
atpeacewithherlifeandwork.
“Youhavetoletyourlovedonesgo,evenasyoucherish
theirspiritasyoumoveforward,”sheacknowledges.
Overthepastfewyears,she’sappearedmorecertain
ofherplaceintheworld.A quietauthorityhas
replacedthosetentativeearlystepsbackintoa public
space.Atthesametime,thereis somethingabout
Smiththatbringsouta protectivenatureinpeople.
“Whydopeoplewanttoprotectme?”Smithasks
rhetorically,inherapartmentinNewYork’sSoHo
district,whereshe’slivedsincemovingbackfrom
Detroitin1997.Asmucha curioshopasa home,with
diffusedlighthighlightingfoundobjects,penandink
drawingstossedoverbrokentablelampsoronan
overstuffedchair,andscarredwoodenchestswith
religiousephemera,a singlepinkballetslipper,
chipped coffee cups and bits of rocks and feathers
Beatbuddies:
withAllen
Ginsberg,
1975
“Hehelps
watchover
me”:with
Michael
Stipein New
Yo rk , 2 017
PATTI SMITH
CINDY ORD/GETTY IMAGES FOR UNDP; RICHARD E. AARON/REDFERNS
“Ithought
rock’n’roll
wastheglobal
languageof
the future”
