Joni Mitchell

[fox69]

"My Secret Place"

"My Secret Place"



I'm going to take you to
My special place
It's a place that you
Like no one else I know
Might appreciate
I don't go there with anyone--but
You're a special case
For my special place
For my secret place

People talk to tell you something
Or to take up space
Guess I'm only talking
To be talking to
Your pretty face
I don't talk much to anyone--but
You're a special case
For my special place
My secret place

I was born and raised
In New York City
I'm just getting used to Colorado--
Oh street bravado
Carry me
Why did you bring me to
A place so wild and pretty?
Are there pigeons in this park--
Muggers after dark--
In these golden trees--
In the secret place?

I'm going to take you to
My special place
It's a place no amount of hurt and anger
Can deface
I put things back together there
It all falls right in place--
In my special space
My special place

Once I saw a film
In New York City
That was shot in Colorado--
Girl meets desperado
In the trembling mountain trees
Out of all of the girls that you see
In bleachers and cafe windows
Sitting--flirting with someone
Looking to have some fun
Why did you pick me?
For the secret place

 

[fox69]

"Nathan La Franeer"

"Nathan La Franeer"



I hired a coach to take me from confusion to the plane
And though we shared a common space I know I'll never meet again
The driver with his eyebrows furrowed in the rear-view mirror
I read his name and it was plainly written Nathan La Franeer
I asked him would he hurry
But we crawled the canyons slowly
Thru the buyers and the sellers
Thru the burglar bells and the wishing wells
With gangs and girly shows
The ghostly garden grows

The cars and buses bustled thru the bedlam of the day
I looked thru window-glass at streets and Nathan grumbled at the grey
I saw an aging cripple selling Superman balloons
The city grated thru chrome-plate
The clock struck slowly half-past-noon
Thru the tunnel tiled and turning
Into daylight once again I am escaping
Once again goodbye
To symphonies and dirty trees
With parks and plastic clothes
The ghostly garden grows

He asked me for a dollar more
He cursed me to my face
He hated everyone who paid to ride
And share his common space
I picked my bags up from the curb
And stumbled to the door
Another man reached out his hand
Another hand reached out for more
And I filled it full of silver
And I left the fingers counting
And the sky goes on forever
Without meter maids and peace parades

You feed it all your woes
The ghostly garden grows

 

[fox69]

"Night In The City"

"Night In The City"



Light up light up
Light up your lazy blue eyes
Moon's up nights up
Taking the town by surprise
Night time night time
Day left an hour ago
City light time
Must you get ready so slow
There are places to come from and places to go

Night in the city looks pretty to me
Night in the city looks fine
Music comes spilling out into the street
Colors go flashing in time

Take off take off
Take off your stay-at-home shoes
Break off shake off
Chase off those stay-at-home blues
Stairway stairway
Down to the crowds in the street
They go their way
Looking for faces to greet
But we run on laughing with no one to meet

Night in the city looks pretty to me
Night in the city looks fine
Music comes spilling out into the street
Colors go waltzing in time

 

[fox69]

"Night Of The Iguana"

"Night Of The Iguana"



The tour bus came yesterday
The driver's a mess today
It's a dump of a destiny
But it's got a view...
Now the kid in the see-through blouse
Is moving in hard on his holy vows...
Since the preacher's not dead
Dead drunk will have to do!

Night of the iguana
The jasmine is so mercilessly sweet
Night of the iguana
Can you hear the castanets?
The widow is dancing
Down on the beach

The starlight is steaming
He'd like to be dreaming
His senses are screaming
Not to be denied...
But if the spell of the night should win
He could lose his bus
For the same sweet sin
That took his church from him
Then how will he survive?

Night of the iguana
The jasmine is so mercilessly sweet
Night of the iguana
Can you hear the castanets?
It's the widow and her lover-boys
Down on the beach

The night is so fragrant
These women so flagrant
They could make him a vagrant
With the flick of a shawl.
The devil's in sweet sixteen
The widow's good looking but she gets mean
He's burning like Augustine
With no help from God at all

 

[fox69]

"Night Ride Home"

"Night Ride Home"



Once in a while
In a big blue moon
There comes a night like this
Like some surrealist
Invented this 4th of July
Night ride home

Hula girls
And caterpillar tractors in the sand
The ukulele man
The fireworks
This 4th of July
Night ride home

I love the man beside me
We love the open road
No phones till Friday
Far from the overkill
Far from the overload

Back at the bar
The band tears down
But out here in the headlight beams
The silver powerlines
Gleam
On this 4th of July
Night ride home

Round the curve
And a big dark horse
Red taillights on his hide
Is keeping right alongside
Rev for stride
4th of July
Night ride home

I love the man beside me
We love the open road
No phones till Friday
Far from the undertow
Far from the overload

Once in awhile
In a big blue moon
There comes a night like this
Like some surrealist
Invented this 4th of July
Night ride home

 

[fox69]

"No Apologies"

"No Apologies"



The general offered
No apologies
He said "The soldiers erred in judgement
They should have hired a hooker"
No apologies
to the outraged Japanese
No "Sorry little girl"
The pigs just took her
Tireskids and teethmarks
What happened to this place?
Lawyers and loan sharks
Are laying America to waste

Freddie said that "Juan thinks, I think
He's the devil"
What a lofty title
For such a petty little tyrant
Bigger beasts abound
And they kick this world around
At this crazy speed
With violence and greed
Tireskids and teethmarks
What happened to this place?
Lawyers and loan sharks
Are laying America to waste

So what makes a man a man
In these tough times
As druglords buy up the banks
And warlords radiate the oceans
Ecosystems fail
Snakes and snails and puppy tails
Are wagging in the womb
Beneath the trampled moon
Tireskids and teethmarks
What happened to this place?
Lawyers and loan sharks
Are laying America to waste

The general offered
No apologies

 

[fox69]

"Not To Blame"

"Not To Blame"



The story hit the news
From coast to coast
They said you beat the girl
You loved the most
Your charitable acts
Seemed out of place
With the beauty
With your fist marks on her face
Your buddies all stood by
They bet their fortunes
And their fame
That she was out of line
And you were not to blame

Six hundred thousand doctors
Are putting on rubber gloves
And they're poking
At the miseries made of love
They say they're learning
How to spot
The battered wives
Among all the women
They see bleeding through their lives
I bleed--
For your perversity--
These red words that make a stain
On your white-washed claim that
She was out of line
And you were not to blame

I heard your baby say
When he was only three
"Daddy, let's get some girls
One for you and one for me."
His mother had the frailty
You despise
And the looks
You love to drive to suicide
Not one wet eye around
Her lonely little grave
Said, "He was out of line girl
You were not to blame."

 

[fox69]

"Nothing Can Be Done"

"Nothing Can Be Done"



Must I forgive you
Each time
And say you don't know what your're doing
There are no victimless crimes
I know of
Out here in these graffiti ruins
My love

Oh I am not old
I'm told
But I am not young
Oh and nothing can be done
Don't start
My heart
Is a smoking gun
Oh and nothing can be done

I heard you leaving
Late last night
I heard you screaming down the mountain
Like you were running red lights
(Red lights)
You had some trash-can-rock-band pounding

Oh I am not old
I'm told
But I am not young
Oh and nothing can be done
Don't start
My heart
Is a smoking gun
Oh and nothing can be done

Must I surrender
With grace
The things I loved when I was younger
(Sweet embrace)
Must I remember your face
So well
What do I do here with this hunger

Oh I am not old
I'm told
But I am not young
Oh and nothing can be done
Don't start
My heart
Is a smoking gun
Oh and nothing can be done

Nothing can be done
Nothing can be done
Oh nothing can be done

 

[fox69]

"Number One"

"Number One"



Got to be a winner--trophy winner
Get to hold your head up high up!
Number one!

Got to be a winner--trophy winner
Get to hold your head up high up!
Number one!

Number one
Number one
Honey tell me--
When your working day is done--
Were you reaching for the high rung--
Reaching to be number one?

You get a car
You want a boat
You want an eenie-meenie-miney miney-moe
Oh there must be more to living
Than a mortgage and a lawn to mow

Sweaty work
And lucky breaks
And blood and tears is all it takes
To be a winner!
People cheer
And people gasp
People want your autograph
When you're a winner!

Run, run, run, run
Let's see you run
We'll be betting by the starting gun!
Shall we shower you with flowers
Or shall we shun ya
When your race is run?
Will we shower you with flowers
Or will we shun ya
When your race is run?
Will they shower you with flowers
Or will they shun ya
When your race is run?

Got to be a winner--trophy winner
Get to hold your head up high up!
Number one!

 

[fox69]

"Off Night Backstreet"

"Off Night Backstreet"



Maybe I'm just kidding myself when I say I love you
I don't know--
Loving without trusting
You get--frostbite and sunstroke
I wish I felt nothing!
You pimp--laughing and strutting her to my chartered seat
Your old off night back street

It's been stinger to stinger, darling
It's been heart to heart
You still keep me from finishing
Any new love I start
Now she's moved in with you
She's keeping your house neat
And your sheets sweet
And I'm your off night back street

I can feel your fingers
Feeling my face
There are some lines you put there
And some you erase
Maybe I'm just dramatizing
I don't care
It's home--it can be heaven
When we play fair
But these sentimental journeys
Late at night--
High in some back room you're calling me
To be your off night back street

You give me such pleasure
You bring me such pain
Who left her long black hair
In our bathtub drain?