"Smokey Joe" as written by and Tori Ellen Amos....
Pip I
Smokey Joe you're calling at the station,
"Love, it's one of life's complications"
I did not ask for this
"Oh but love yes you did"
Maybe it terrifies me
This quiet siege
Maybe it terrifies me
Pip II
It's too easy
It's too easy
To wish you harm
It's too easy
You through black ice
At the bottom of the river
Pip I
Smokey Joe hey what's a revelation
"That one's past is not a destination
It is a road for fools
Who need empty approvals"
Pip II
My dark twin
The annihilating Feminine
Does not need
Civilizing
Pip I
Maybe it terrifies me
This quiet siege
Maybe it terrifies me
Pip II
It's too easy
It's too easy
To wish you harm
It's too easy
You through black ice
At the bottom of the river
Pip I
Smokey Joe can you pass the pipe
You have been blessed now go be wise.
"It is a coward who will say he's not afraid
Of dying when clearly he is potently alive"
Pip II
A songless robin
She became
He stole my sister Clitorides.
These silken rubber gloves
Choking his vitriolic tongue
Pip I
Maybe it terrifies me
This quiet siege
Maybe it terrifies me
This quiet siege
Pip II
It's too easy
It's too easy
To wish you harm
It's too easy
You through black ice
At the bottom of the river
Pip I and Pip II
Smokey Joe is calling at the station
Calling at the station
Smokey Joe you're calling at the station,
"Love, it's one of life's complications"
I did not ask for this
"Oh but love yes you did"
Maybe it terrifies me
This quiet siege
Maybe it terrifies me
Pip II
It's too easy
It's too easy
To wish you harm
It's too easy
You through black ice
At the bottom of the river
Pip I
Smokey Joe hey what's a revelation
"That one's past is not a destination
It is a road for fools
Who need empty approvals"
Pip II
My dark twin
The annihilating Feminine
Does not need
Civilizing
Pip I
Maybe it terrifies me
This quiet siege
Maybe it terrifies me
Pip II
It's too easy
It's too easy
To wish you harm
It's too easy
You through black ice
At the bottom of the river
Pip I
Smokey Joe can you pass the pipe
You have been blessed now go be wise.
"It is a coward who will say he's not afraid
Of dying when clearly he is potently alive"
Pip II
A songless robin
She became
He stole my sister Clitorides.
These silken rubber gloves
Choking his vitriolic tongue
Pip I
Maybe it terrifies me
This quiet siege
Maybe it terrifies me
This quiet siege
Pip II
It's too easy
It's too easy
To wish you harm
It's too easy
You through black ice
At the bottom of the river
Pip I and Pip II
Smokey Joe is calling at the station
Calling at the station
Lyrics submitted by stentorian
"Smokey Joe" as written by Tori Ellen Amos
Lyrics © Downtown Music Publishing, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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I think it's about the darker side of the Feminine, which Pip obviously represents. My guess is that this Smokey Joe is an ex-lover of Clyde's ("He stole my sister Clitorides") who hurt her in some way...maybe emotionally, maybe physically.
Pip took it upon herself to seek revenge against this Smokey Joe. She wanted to hurt him, but I don't think she did. The power of hate within her terrified her, but she did not really act upon that power. The bit about the pipe and him being wise and leaving probably refers to Pip talking to him and telling her never to do what he did again...she probably threatended him. Maybe she did hurt him? But she obviously didn't kill him.
I could be way off, but that's how I interpret this song.
and what about the line 'Smokey Joe is calling at the station'... that sounds like important part of the context since it's repeated... any ideas...?
'Smokey Joe you're calling at the station,
If I kill him there are complications'
I agree with you starpatroller - and I think that's exactly what the lyrics are about - and I think that the "Smokey Joe is calling at the station" is representative of him dobbing himself in to the police - he's going to the police station. Clyde's rage overtakes her and she speaks her truth, however, she says "It's too easy to wish you harm" she knows there is no justice in hurting him herself - so she threatens him and forces him to turn himself in for his atrocities.
However, the story of Demeter doesn't really play a part in the song as Pip (personification of Athena) has taken her place. As she is the Goddess of War and of Reason, her siege of rage terrifies her because she must somehow reconcile her rational thought (killing him [the Lord of the Underworld] would cause complications) and her warrior persona. As in many of Tori's songs, the narrator must reconcile identities as every woman must do.
As sort of off topic, I love that she uses the sobriquet "Smokey Joe" to refer to Hades. It reminds me of the Disney film "Hercules" when I was younger and Hades had a smokey kind of head.
She thinks about firing the gun, the way it'll smoke, the way it would end them, but she can't decide what to do it.
She starts fantasizing how she'd do it, how she'd get away, how her life would be better. Finally, at the end, he walks in and she holds up the gun on him. Is she going to shoot him or just leave?
I think it's about a deep anger towards someone (possibly the rapist) and the anger is causing her to have thoughts about hurting him, getting revenge ("it's too easy, it's too easy to wish you harm").
She thinks that killing him would make her feel better, but she also knows that she shouldn't ("if I kill him there are complications") so instead she thinks about all the ways she would hurt him.
Because American Doll Posse is all about the different parts of Tori's personality, it's like one part of herself (Pip) is singing about the other parts - she talks about her 'twin'. When she says "he stole my sister clitorides" I think this is a reference to rape. (clitorides = Clyde). Maybe Tori was imagining a group of women coming together, talking about how much they were hurt by the rapist, and plotting their revenge on him.
"I did not ask for this, 'oh but yes you did'" suggests she is battling with shame and guilt associated with the rape - she knows it is not her fault, but there is still part of her pinning the blame on herself.
"Maybe it terrifies me, this quiet siege" - the anger and destructive thoughts are so strong, and they scare her. The anger (quiet siege) has been building up over time, and suddenly she is overwhelmbed by these thoughts.