In regards to the meaning of this song:
Before a live performance on the EP Five Stories Falling, Geoff states “It’s about the last time I went to visit my grandmother in Columbus, and I saw that she was dying and it was the last time I was going to see her. It is about realizing how young you are, but how quickly you can go.”
That’s the thing about Geoff and his sublime poetry, you think it’s about one thing, but really it’s about something entirely different. But the lyrics are still universal and omnipresent, ubiquitous, even. So relatable. That’s one thing I love about this band. I also love their live performances, raw energy and Geoff’s beautiful, imperfectly perfect vocals. His voice soothes my aching soul.
Hot winds and hunger cries, Ethiopia
Flies in your babies' eyes, Ethiopia
Walking sticks on burning plains
Betrayed by politics
Abandoned by the rains
On and on, the human need
On and on, the human greed profanes
Ethiopia, Ethiopia, Ethiopia
Your top soil flies away, Ethiopia
We pump ours full of poison spray, Ethiopia
Between the brown skies and sprinkling lawns
I hear the whine of chain saws
Hacking rain forests down
Oh, on and on, insanities
On and on, short sighted greed abounds
Ethiopia, Ethiopia, Ethiopia
Little garden planet, oasis in space
Some hearts hurt, they can hardly stand it
Famine phantoms at the garden gates
Ethiopia, Ethiopia, Ethiopia
Every Sunday on TV, Ethiopia
You suffer with such dignity, Ethiopia
A TV star with a PR smile
Calls your baby "it" while strolling
Through your tragic trials
Oh, on and on, stupidity
On and on, the basic needs are defiled
Good air, good water, good earth
Ethiopia, Ethiopia, Ethiopia
Little garden planet, oasis in space
Some hearts hurt, they can hardly stand the waste
Ethiopia, Ethiopia, Ethiopia
Ethiopia, Ethiopia, Ethiopia
Flies in your babies' eyes, Ethiopia
Walking sticks on burning plains
Betrayed by politics
Abandoned by the rains
On and on, the human need
On and on, the human greed profanes
Ethiopia, Ethiopia, Ethiopia
Your top soil flies away, Ethiopia
We pump ours full of poison spray, Ethiopia
Between the brown skies and sprinkling lawns
I hear the whine of chain saws
Hacking rain forests down
Oh, on and on, insanities
On and on, short sighted greed abounds
Ethiopia, Ethiopia, Ethiopia
Little garden planet, oasis in space
Some hearts hurt, they can hardly stand it
Famine phantoms at the garden gates
Ethiopia, Ethiopia, Ethiopia
Every Sunday on TV, Ethiopia
You suffer with such dignity, Ethiopia
A TV star with a PR smile
Calls your baby "it" while strolling
Through your tragic trials
Oh, on and on, stupidity
On and on, the basic needs are defiled
Good air, good water, good earth
Ethiopia, Ethiopia, Ethiopia
Little garden planet, oasis in space
Some hearts hurt, they can hardly stand the waste
Ethiopia, Ethiopia, Ethiopia
Ethiopia, Ethiopia, Ethiopia
Lyrics submitted by threearmedman
Ethiopia Lyrics as written by Joni Mitchell
Lyrics © Reservoir Media Management, Inc.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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What it means to me...I'll wait until I feel more lucid to answer that, and I have some discretion issues as well. I'll just say I can relate to people "strolling through my tragic trials" and exploitation.
Here are her comments from jonimitchell.com...
"This was my reaction to all those "We Can Save You" songs which raised so much money for corrupt Ethiopian leadership. I was begged to take this off the record. A friend of mine said, "I hate it. All those parallel 2nds, they're wrong!" Even Wayne Shorter said, "What are these chords? They're not piano chords, they're not guitar chords. What are they?" I said, "Well look, these women are bone thin, their babies are dying in their arms. They're walking along with nothing but the rags on their backs. They're coming to a crossroads; one road leads to slavery; the other leads to death by the side of the trail...It's not like they have any good place to go. You think they're gonna be walking along to an Everly Brothers triad?"