In my dream I was late trying to get to the film centre for an interview recording, the landscape was like Italy and it was summer time. I took a narrow fragile fire escape which was not the correct route and later descended backwards, returned to trying to find the film centre but while climbing the fire escape a woman with her young daughter were behind me and playing Don’t Interrupt the Sorrow by Joni Mitchell. They said it was by Freddie Mercury. I interrupted and told them they were wrong, it was by Joni Mitchell. They were offended and told me again it was Freddy Mercury. I realized they were not capable of understanding their imaginary knowledge was just that. When I woke up I was impressed that a song went off in my dream. It’s as unusual to hear songs in dreams as it is to read writing. Later, I heard two people ahead of me, in the line for fancy coffee, discuss Billie Holiday when they played a song by her over the speakers. At one point they credited her with writing Strange Fruit. I thought if I interrupt them and tell them about the guy who actually wrote it, they’re going to start talking about Queen so I tried to stay quiet just so I could preserve the possibility that this could happen and be beautifully surreal but it was dependent on me trying to not care about their incorrect exchange.

“people misinterpreted the song as being sexual”

“how could anyone do that”

“they did”

“people are shits”

“she didn’t always play it even though it was like a hit for her”

“i read that, i read she wouldn’t do it if people couldn’t get it”

“you mean if people couldn’t understand it?”

“exactly”

“did she write it?”

“yes, it was her song, she sung it”

“that’s amazing, for that time too”

“certainly”

“she has rasp in her voice”

“rasp?”

“ya don’t you hear it?”

“i’d say class in her voice”

“uh huh”

“did she write god bless the child”

“maybe, probably”