submissions
| Joni Mitchell – Michael From Mountains Lyrics
| 10 years ago
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Michael clearly is a free spirit, but I also think that he is being construed as a child – in a positive sense. Rather than blaming him for being immature (sort of like "A Strange Boy" from Hejira), she thinks highly of his carefree outlook. This is all reinforced by the sweets, Michael playing in the rain, and the yellow slickers splashing home to supper. |
submissions
| Joni Mitchell – I Had A King Lyrics
| 10 years ago
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"The king's on the road
And the queen's in the grove till the end of the year"
Here's another line that just grabs me. The word 'grove' brings up a peaceful and restorative image. So she's recovering from the broken relationship in her grove, but come the "end of the year" she'll be back at it, despite her frustrations. |
submissions
| Joni Mitchell – Refuge Of The Roads Lyrics
| 10 years ago
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"Hejira" isn't just a road trip. It refers to the prophet Muhammad's flight from suffering in Mecca to refuge in Medina. I think there's a reason Joni used "Hejira" instead of "road trip". Throughout the entire album, there are references to traveling and running away, yes. But she's running from something in specific: love! She's running from her suffering and finding refuge in the roads, just as Muhammad ran from Mecca to Medina. |
submissions
| Joni Mitchell – Blue Motel Room Lyrics
| 10 years ago
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Wow. So unlike the other songs on the album, music-wise that is. And I love how she compared their relationship to the cold war. |
submissions
| Joni Mitchell – Shadows And Light Lyrics
| 10 years ago
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This is Joni's commentary on the duality of "wrong and right" that characterizes humankind. Man is capable of cruelty and murder (as illustrated by Cain), but also of good and delight. However, the lyrics aren't that simple. Despite humans being "born again", the laws (both divine and human) go "ever-broken". Joni is also saying how finite human judgment is – our "prescribed standards" make it so. In the end, "wrong and right" is determined and governed by individuals making judgment calls.
I'm reminded of The Count of Monte Cristo. |
submissions
| Joni Mitchell – Cold Blue Steel And Sweet Fire Lyrics
| 10 years ago
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Heh, I just heard the live version from the Miles of Aisles album, and at the end you can hear someone from the audience yell out, "Joni you have more class than Mick Jagger, Richard Nixon, and Gomer Pyle combined!" |
submissions
| Iain Matthews – Never Ending Lyrics
| 10 years ago
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Matthews seems to be addressing some girl who neglected him. Perhaps she is a love interest who found her own fame and fortune, and subsequently felt that she didn't need him anymore. She was "making quite a sound" and "having quite a ball". Now that last stanza is hard to analyze. Maybe he means "an individual person" when he says "soul"? Beats me.
Very enigmatic song indeed. I love the piano - it perfectly complements the mystifying atmosphere. |
submissions
| Neil Young – Motion Pictures Lyrics
| 10 years ago
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The meaning here is somewhat similar to the title track of the album. In that song, Young remarks that even though he lives a life of fame and success, "those seagulls are still out of reach" - he still hasn't found satisfaction. And in "Motion Pictures", he says that he'd rather "start all over again" than exist as a movie star leading a illustrious but meaningless life.
And yes, "headlines" is much more suitable than "headlights", considering that the subject matter: movies, celebrities, and fame. |
submissions
| Neil Young – On the Beach Lyrics
| 10 years ago
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Though this song seems to be primarily about the downsides of fame, I extracted another idea from the line that goes,"I need a crowd of people/But I can't face them day to day". Sure, Young was probably referring to his audience and the strain of having to entertain them at what must have seemed like a constant pace in his mind. However, I thought that the "crowd of people" refers to a group of friends.
I once quoted the line to some friends in an attempt to explain why I often like to isolate myself. It's not that I don't like them – I love my friends – but I often need to be away from them to bask in the silence and warmth of self-reflection. |
submissions
| Joni Mitchell – California Lyrics
| 10 years ago
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Has anyone ever noticed how the final piano chord from the song 'Blue' hangs over at the beginning of this song? The placement of 'California' right after that song really highlights the distinct beauty of each one. |
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