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.
He was sitting in the lounge of the Empire Hotel
He was drinking for diversion
He was thinking for himself
A little money riding on the Maple Leafs
Along comes a lady in lacy sleeves
She says let me sit down
You know, drinkin' alone's a shame (It's a shame it's a crying shame)
Look at those jokers
Glued to that damn hockey game
Hey honey-you've got lots of cash
Bring us round a bottle
And we'll have some laughs
Gin's what I'm drinking
I was raised on robbery
I'm a pretty good cook
Sitting on my groceries
Come up to my kitchen
I'll show you my best recipe
I try and I try but I can't save a cent
I'm up after midnight, cooking
Trying to make my rent
I'm rough but I'm pleasin'
I was raised on robbery
We had a little money once
They were pushing through a four lane highway
Government gave us three thousand dollars
You should have seen it fly away
First he bought a '57 Biscayne
He put it in the ditch
He drunk up all the rest
That son of a bitch
His blood's bad whiskey
I was raised on robbery
You know you ain't bad looking
I like the way you hold your drinks
Come home with me, honey
I ain't asking for no full length mink
Hey, where you going
Don't go yet
Your glass ain't empty and we just met
You're mean when your loaded
I was raised on robbery
He was drinking for diversion
He was thinking for himself
A little money riding on the Maple Leafs
Along comes a lady in lacy sleeves
She says let me sit down
You know, drinkin' alone's a shame (It's a shame it's a crying shame)
Look at those jokers
Glued to that damn hockey game
Hey honey-you've got lots of cash
Bring us round a bottle
And we'll have some laughs
Gin's what I'm drinking
I was raised on robbery
I'm a pretty good cook
Sitting on my groceries
Come up to my kitchen
I'll show you my best recipe
I try and I try but I can't save a cent
I'm up after midnight, cooking
Trying to make my rent
I'm rough but I'm pleasin'
I was raised on robbery
We had a little money once
They were pushing through a four lane highway
Government gave us three thousand dollars
You should have seen it fly away
First he bought a '57 Biscayne
He put it in the ditch
He drunk up all the rest
That son of a bitch
His blood's bad whiskey
I was raised on robbery
You know you ain't bad looking
I like the way you hold your drinks
Come home with me, honey
I ain't asking for no full length mink
Hey, where you going
Don't go yet
Your glass ain't empty and we just met
You're mean when your loaded
I was raised on robbery
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This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
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This is definitely my favourite song by Joni Mitchell. I just have one question. Is the woman in the song a prostitue? I am inclined to believe so.
@Broken_Arrow Yes I believe she is.
"i'm sitting on my groceries" = she's a prostitute :)
It seems to me that she had a troubled childhood with an alcoholic father. Now that she's grown up, she has a daddy complex and hovers around the bars looking to pick up guys drinking alone. She probably does this professionally. Only problem being that she's very pushy, which is why the guy walks away from her in the end. He's just trying to drink and maybe get laid, and here she comes talking about what a crappy cook she is and that she wants to take him home with her about 2 minutes after they met. Dude don't need syphilis. As for the robbery thing, maybe she's planning on robbing him after they're done in the sack.
Wow, you seem pretty angry at a fictional character. Did a woman leave you or something? This tune is a jam, more proof that Joni Mitchell is a musician's musician.
"I'm a pretty good cook, I'm sitting on my groceries."
"Come up to my kitchen and I'll show you my best recipe" "I'm up after midnight cooking, trying to make my rent" All of these things indicate that she's a prostitute. I think she had been married until her husband crashed their car and drank the rest of their money they got from the government putting through a highway where their house was. She was pretty pushy and also insulted him right from the start "look at all those jokers glued to that damn hockey game" which he was watching when she walked up. I think he just wanted to be alone with his hockey game and in the end gets tired of her and walks off.
Sounds like it I mean if she was raised on robbery than that's most likely implying that she is a prostitute.
Just bought "Court and Spark" today! First time i listened to it, this song really stuck! It's upbeat, catchy and the lyrics are really cheeky. I'd say the woman is a prostitute, who got money when they government bought her house, to build a highway over it, her then boyfriend wasted all the money and left, so she turned to prostitution, sounds sad really but the sond is delivered in a really funny way! GO JONI!
Clearly she is a prostitute. Anyone have any ideas about the line "raised on robbery"? Is it meant to imply she feels she is getting something (cash) for nothing (prostitution) or stealing something from others (or herself)? [Like trading your body is no big deal.] Or is it more blatant in that she steals from johns?
I'm sure there are several interpretations of this specifically. Just curious if anyone has any...
Clearly she is a prostitute. Anyone have any ideas about the line "raised on robbery"? Is it meant to imply she feels she is getting something (cash) for nothing (prostitution) or stealing something from others (or herself)? [Like trading your body is no big deal.] Or is it more blatant in that she steals from johns?
I'm sure there are several interpretations of this specifically. Just curious if anyone has any...
Clearly she is a prostitute. Anyone have any ideas about the line "raised on robbery"? Is it meant to imply she feels she is getting something (cash) for nothing (prostitution) or stealing something from others (or herself)? [Like trading your body is no big deal.] Or is it more blatant in that she steals from johns?
I'm sure there are several interpretations of this specifically. Just curious if anyone has any...
Everyone always assumes that the woman in the song is a prostitute. But I just think she's lonely and not very bright. Would a hotel hooker really be so clueless as to try to seduce a gambler invested in the Maple Leafs by insulting the "jokers" who are watching the game?