I was driving across the burning desert
When I spotted six jet planes
Leaving six white vapor trails across the bleak terrain
It was the hexagram of the heavens
It was the strings of my guitar
Amelia, it was just a false alarm

The drone of flying engines
Is a song so wild and blue
It scrambles time and seasons
If it gets through to you
Then your life becomes a travelogue
Of picture postcard charms
Oh, Amelia, it was just a false alarm

People will tell you where they've gone
They'll tell you where to go
But 'til you get there yourself
You never really know
Where some have found their paradise
Others just come to harm
Oh, Amelia, it was just a false alarm

I wish that he was here tonight
It's so hard to obey
His sad request of me to kindly stay away
So this is how I hide the hurt
As the road leads cursed and charmed
I tell Amelia, it was just a false alarm

A ghost of aviation
She was swallowed by the sky
Or by the sea, like me, she had a dream to fly
Like Icarus ascending
On beautiful foolish arms
Amelia, it was just a false alarm

Maybe I've never really loved
I guess that is the truth
I've spent my whole life in clouds at icy altitude
And looking down on everything
I crashed into his arms
Amelia, it was just a false alarm

I pulled into the Cactus Tree Motel
To shower off the dust
And I slept on the strange pillows of my wanderlust
I dreamed of 747s
Over geometric farms
Dreams, Amelia, dreams and false alarms


Lyrics submitted by ruben

Amelia Lyrics as written by Joni Mitchell

Lyrics © Aporia Records Inc., Reservoir Media Management, Inc., Warner Chappell Music, Inc.

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Amelia song meanings
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  • +1
    General Comment

    While in some ways yes, this IS an ode to Amelia Earhart... It is more of a comparison between Joni and Amelia.

    "Like me, she had a dream to fly."

    I think what Joni is trying to portray in this song is the common sense of needing to escape... To remove yourself from your own existense in order to find yourself.

    Amelia never returned from this journey. And Joni, apparently did. "It was just a false alarm."

    threearmedmanon December 13, 2006   Link

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