Joni Mitchell

[fox69]

"Circle Game"

"Circle Game"



Yesterday a child came out to wonder
Caught a dragonfly inside a jar
Fearful when the sky was full of thunder
And tearful at the falling of a star

And the seasons they go round and round
And the painted ponies go up and down
We're captive on the carousel of time
We can't return we can only look
Behind from where we came
And go round and round and round
In the circle game

Then the child moved ten times round the seasons
Skated over ten clear frozen streams
Words like when you're older must appease him
And promises of someday make his dreams

And the seasons they go round and round
And the painted ponies go up and down
We're captive on the carousel of time
We can't return we can only look
Behind from where we came
And go round and round and round
In the circle game

Sixteen springs and sixteen summers gone now
Cartwheels turn to car wheels thru the town
And they tell him take your time it won't be long now
Till you drag your feet to slow the circles down

And the seasons they go round and round
And the painted ponies go up and down
We're captive on the carousel of time
We can't return we can only look
Behind from where we came
And go round and round and round
In the circle game

So the years spin by and now the boy is twenty
Though his dreams have lost some grandeur coming true
There'll be new dreams maybe better dreams and plenty
Before the last revolving year is through

And the seasons they go round and round
And the painted ponies go up and down
We're captive on the carousel of time
We can't return we can only look
Behind from where we came
And go round and round and round
In the circle game
And go round and round and round
In the circle game

 

[fox69]

"Coin In The Pocket"

"Coin In The Pocket"


[Charles:]
I never hit too, too hard, uh, y'know.
All my life, uh y'know, just everything I touched, turned to gold.
I'm not, I'm not rich but, y'know, I've always had a few, some dollars in my pockets

 

[fox69]

"Cold Blue Steel And Sweet Fire"

"Cold Blue Steel And Sweet Fire"



Cold Blue Steel out of money
One eye for the beat police
Sweet Fire calling
"You can't deny me
Now you know what you need"
Underneath the jungle gym
Hollow-grey-fire-escape-thief
Looking for Sweet Fire
Shadow of Lady Release

"Come with me
I know the way" she says
"It's down, down, down the dark ladder
Do you want to contact somebody first?
Leave someone a letter?
You can come now
Or you can come later"

A wristwatch, a ring, a downstairs screamer
Edgy - black cracks of the sky
"Pin-cushion-prick-
Fix this poor bad dreamer!"
"Money" cold shadows reply
Pawnshops crisscrossed and padlocked
Corridors spit on prayers and pleas
Sparks fly up from Sweet Fire
Black soot of Lady Release

"Come with me
I know the way" she says
"It's down, down, down the dark ladder
Do you want to contact somebody first?
Does it really matter
You can come now
Or you can come later?"

Red water in the bathroom sink
Fever and the scum brown bowl
Blue Steel still begging
But it's indistinct
Someone's HI-Fi drumming Jelly Roll
Concrete concentration camp
Bashing in veins for peace
Cold Blue Steel and Sweet Fire
Fall into Lady Release

"Come with me
I know the way" she says
"It's down, down, down the dark ladder
Do you want to contact somebody first?
I mean what does it really matter?
You're going to come now
Or you're going to come later"

 

[fox69]

"Come In From The Cold"

"Come In From The Cold"



Back in 1957
We had to dance a foot apart
And they hawk-eyed us from the sidelines
Holding their rulers without a heart
And so with just a touch of our fingers
I could make our circuitry explode
All we ever wanted
Was just to come in from the cold

Come in
Come in from the cold
(we were so young)
Oh come in
Come in from the cold

We really thought we had a purpose
We were so anxious to achieve
We had hope
The world held promise
For a slave to liberty
Freely I slaved away for something better
And I was bought and sold
And all I ever wanted
Was just to come in from the cold

Come in
Come in from the cold
(we were so sure)
Oh come in
Come in from the cold

I feel your leg under the table
Leaning into mine
I feel renewed
I feel disabled
By these bonfires in my spine
I don't know who the arsonist was
Which incendiary soul
But all I ever wanted
Was just to come in from the cold

Come in
Come in from the cold
(you were so warm)
Oh come in
Come in from the cold

I am not some stone commission
Like a statue in a park
I am flesh and blood and vision
I am howling in the dark
Long blue shadows of the jackals
Are falling on a pay phone by the road
Oh, all they ever wanted
Was just to come in from the cold

Come in
Come in from the cold
(I was so low)
Oh come in
Come in from the cold

Is this just vulgar electricity
Is this the edifying fire
(it was so pure)
Does your smile's covert complicity
Debase as it admires
(just a flu with a temperature)
Are you just checking out your mojo
Or am I just fighting off growing old
(just a high fever)
All I ever wanted
Was just to come in from the cold

Come in
Come in from the cold
(it was so pure)
Oh come in
Come in from the cold

I know we never will be perfect
Never entirely clear
(when the moon shines)
We get hurt and we just panic
And we strike out
Out of fear
(you were only being kind)
I fear the sentence of this solitude
200 years on hold
(for my loving crime)
Oh and all we ever wanted
Was just to come in from the cold

Come in
Come in from the cold
(when the moon shines)
Oh come in
Come in from the cold

When I thought life had some meaning
Then I thought I had some choice
(I was running blind)
And I made some value judgments
In a self-important voice
(I was outa line)
But then absurdity came over me
And I longed to lose control
(into no mind)
Oh all I ever wanted
Was just to come in from the cold

Come in
Come in from the cold
(you were so kind)
Please come in
(so kind)
Come in from the cold
Come in come in
Come in from the cold

 

[fox69]

"Comes Love"

"Comes Love"



Comes a rain storm
Put your rubbers on your feet
Comes a snow storm
You can get a little heat
Comes love
Nothing can be done

Comes a fire
Firemen come and rescue me
Blow a tire
You can patch the inner tube
Comes love
Nothing can be done

Don't try hidin'
'Cause it isn't any use
You'll just start slidin'
When your heart turns on the juice

Comes a heat wave
You can hurry to the store
Come a summons
Hide yourself behind a door
Comes love
Nothing can be done

Comes a headache
You can lose it in a day
Comes a toothache
See your dentist right away
Comes love
Nothing can be done

Comes the measles
You can quarrantine the room
Comes a mousie
You can chase it with a broom
Comes love
Nothing can be done

That's all brother
If you've ever been in love
That's all brother
And you know just what I'm speakin' of

Comes a nightmare
You can always stay awake
Comes depression
You could get another break
Comes love
Nothing can be done
Nothing can be done

 

[fox69]

"Conversation"

"Conversation"



He comes for conversation
I comfort him sometimes
Comfort and consultation
He knows that's what he'll find
I bring him apples and cheeses
He brings me songs to play
He sees me when he pleases
I see him in cafes
And I only say, hello
And turn away before his lady knows
How much I want to see him
She removes him, like a ring
To wash her hands
She only brings him out to show her friends
I want to free him

Secrets and sharing soda
That's how our time began
Love is a story told to a friend
It's second hand
But I'll listen to his questions
I'll give my answers when they're found
He says she keeps him guessing
I know she keeps him down
She speaks in sorry sentences
Miraculous repentances
I don't believe her
Tomorrow he will come to me
And he'll speak his sorrow's endlessly and he'll ask me why
Why can't I leave her?

He comes for conversation
I comfort him sometimes
Comfort and consultation
He knows thats what he'll find
He knows that's what......he'll find

 

[fox69]

"Cool Water"

"Cool Water"



All day I face the barren waste
Without a taste of water
Cool water
Old Dan and I
Our throats slate dry
Our spirits cry out for water
Cool clear water
Keep on movin' Dan
Some devils had a plan
Buried poison in the sand
Don't drink it man
It's in the water
Cool clear water
In my mind I see
A big green tree
And a river flowin' free
Waitin' up ahead
For you and me
Cool clear water

The nights are cool and I'm a fool
Each star is a pool of water
Cool water
But come the dawn
We carry on
We won't last long without water
Cool clear water
Keep on movin' Dan
We're still in no-man's land
Dry bones and sand
People never planned here for water
Cool clear water
In my mind I see
A big green tree
And a river flowin' free
Waiting up ahead for you and me
Cool clear water

The shadows sway
They seem to say
Tonight we pray for water
Cool water
And way up there
If you care
Please show us where
There's good water
Cool clear water

 

[fox69]

"Court And Spark"

"Court And Spark"



Love came to my door with a sleeping roll
And a madman's soul
He thought for sure I'd seen him
Dancing up a river in the dark
Looking for a woman to court and spark

He was playing on the sidewalk for passing change
When something strange happened
Glory train passed through him
So he buried the coins he made in People's Park
And went looking for a woman to court and spark

It seemed like he read my mind
He saw me mistrusting him and still acting kind
He saw how I worried sometimes
I worry sometimes

All the guilty people, he said, they've all seen the stain
On their daily bread
On their Christian names
I cleared myself, I sacrificed my blues
And you could complete me, I'd complete you

His eyes were the colour of the sand and the sea
And the more he talked to me, you know
The more he reached me
But I couldn't let go of L.A.
City of the fallen angels

 

[fox69]

"Coyote"

"Coyote"



No regrets Coyote
We just come from such different sets of circumstance
I'm up all night in the studios
And you're up early on your ranch
You'll be brushing out a brood mare's tail
While the sun is ascending
And I'll just be getting home with my reel to reel
There's no comprehending
Just how close to the bone & the skin & the eyes
And the lips you can get
And still feel so alone
And still feel related
Like stations in some relay
You're not a hit and run driver
No no
Racing away

You just picked up a hitcher
A prisoner of the white lines on the freeway

We saw a farmhouse burning down
In the middle of nowhere
In the middle of the night
And we rolled right past that tragedy
Till we turned into some road house lights
Where a local band was playing
Locals were up kicking and shaking on the floor
And the next thing I know
That coyote's at my door
He pins me in a corner and he won't take no
He drags me out on the dance floor
And we're dancing close and slow
Now he's got a woman at home
He's got another woman down the hall
He seems to want me anyway
Why'd you have to get so drunk
And lead me on that way

You just picked up a hitcher
A prisoner of the white lines on the freeway

I looked a coyote right in the face
On the road to Baljennie near my old home town
He went running through the whisker wheat
Chasing some prize down
And a hawk was playing with him
Coyote he's jumping straight up & making passes
He had those same eyes just like yours
Under your dark glasses
Privately probing the public rooms
And peeking through keyholes in numbered doors
Where the players lick their wounds
And take their temporary lovers
Their pills & powders to get them through this passion play
I'll have no regrets Coyote
I just get off up aways

You just picked up a hitcher
A prisoner of the white lines on the freeway

Coyote's in the coffee shop
He's staring a hole in his scrambled eggs
He picks up my scent on his fingers
While he's watching the waitresses' legs
He's too far from the Bay of Fundy
From appaloosas and eagles and tides
And the air conditioned cubicles
And the carbon ribbon rides
I'm spelling it out so clear
Either he's going to have to stand & fight
Or take off out of here
I tried to run away myself
To run away and wrestle with my ego
And with this flame
He put here in this Eskimo
In this hitcher
In this prisoner
Of the fine white lines
Of the white lines on the free free way

 

[fox69]

"Dancin' Clown"

"Dancin' Clown"



No, you couldn't call Jesse a babe in the woods
He's just weak in self-defense
'Cause he's so thin skinned
He can't take a joke at his expense
"You're a push button window," says Rowdy Yates
"I can run you up and down
Anytime I want
I can make you my dancin'--
My dancin' clown!"
You're my dancin' clown
Dancin' dancin'
My dancin' clown
Dancin'
You're my dancin' clown
Dancin' dancin' dancin'
My dancin' clown

Rowdy Yates is as bold as Jove--
He's all chide and snide and bluff--
Stuck in the romantic tradition
Of acting rough and tough
"You're always charging thru," says Jesse
Nervous, lookin' all around--
To see who's seein' him bein' a dancin'
A dancin' clown
He's a dancin' clown
Dancin' dancin'
A dancin' clown
Dancin'
He's a dancin' clown
Dancin' dancin' dancin'
A dancin' clown

Cherchez la femme
Whenever love comes around
Someone's a dancin' clown
Cherchez la femme
Whenever hearts start to pound
Someone's a dancin' clown

Down the street comes last-word Suzie--
She's high yellow--lookin' top nice
You hear the swoosh of jungle blades
And the crackle of northern ice
"Hot damn!" says Rowdy--lookin' up
"Yum!" says Jesse lookin' down
"How would you like to be her dancin'
Her dancin' clown?"
Be her dancin' clown
Dancin' dancin'
Her dancin' clown
Dancin'
Be her dancin' clown
Dancin' dancin' dancin'
Her dancin' clown

Cherchez la femme
Whenever love comes to town
Someone's a dancin' clown
Cherchez la femme
Wherever hearts start to pound
Someone's a dancin' clown