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Not to Blame Lyrics
The story hit the news
From coast to coast.
They said you beat the girl
You loved the most.
Your charitable acts
Seemed out of place,
With the beauty
With your fist marks on her face.
Your buddies all stood by;
They bet their fortunes
And their fame
That she was out of line
And you were not to blame.
Six hundred thousand doctors
Are putting on rubber gloves
And they’re poking
At the miseries made of love.
They say they’re learning
How to spot
The battered wives,
Among all the women
They see bleeding through their lives.
I bleed—
For your perversity—
These red words
That make a stain
On your white-washed claim that
She was out of line
And you were not to blame.
I heard your baby say
When he was only three,
“Daddy, let’s get some girls
One for you and one for me.”
His mother had the frailty
You despise,
And the looks
You love to drive to suicide.
Not one wet eye around
Her lonely little grave
Said, “He was out of line, girl,
You were not to blame.”
From coast to coast.
They said you beat the girl
You loved the most.
Your charitable acts
Seemed out of place,
With the beauty
With your fist marks on her face.
Your buddies all stood by;
They bet their fortunes
And their fame
That she was out of line
And you were not to blame.
Are putting on rubber gloves
And they’re poking
At the miseries made of love.
They say they’re learning
How to spot
The battered wives,
Among all the women
They see bleeding through their lives.
I bleed—
For your perversity—
These red words
That make a stain
On your white-washed claim that
She was out of line
And you were not to blame.
When he was only three,
“Daddy, let’s get some girls
One for you and one for me.”
His mother had the frailty
You despise,
And the looks
You love to drive to suicide.
Her lonely little grave
Said, “He was out of line, girl,
You were not to blame.”
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This song was obviously directly addressed at Jackson Browne since it refers to two incidents that involved him. But it appears from what I can tell that Joni has an incorrect take on the primary incident mentioned in the song; the assertion that Jackson B beat his former girlfriend, actress Daryl Hannah, on the occasion of their breakup in the early '90s. With a little internet research it's pretty apparent that that's not really what happened. As to the other matter, the death of Jackson's wife (Phyllis) by suicide (in the mid '70s), the circumstances involved there have never been made public as far as I know (it might not be fully understood by anyone), and Joni's depiction may or may not be valid. Obviously it was a sad event in any case. When the song was released Jackson was questioned about it and said Joni should focus on her art and that maybe she still had some residual feelings to resolve from their (brief, I think) liaison many years earlier. I know nothing about that but in the mid 70s I went to a Jackson Browne concert at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles and after it started a small group of people arrived and took seats about 10 rows from the front. When intermission came and the house lights went up a buzz started in the crowd and grew as more and more people gathered around the people who had arrived late. Eventually word worked its way back to where I was sitting that Joni was among those people -- the crowd had gathered around her. So she had gone out into public to see Jackson perform. A couple of songs before the concert ended, she and her entourage left. Take that for whatever it's worth; it's not necessarily relevant to this song, just thought I'd note that it happened. Good concert, by the way -- it was in the period when JB was introducing his listening public to the music of Warren Zevon, before he produced Zevon's first album.
It's funny because I figure Mitchell was just reiterating what the (often ridiculous) entertainment media said at the time, which she may have been prone to believing for whatever reason.
It's funny because I figure Mitchell was just reiterating what the (often ridiculous) entertainment media said at the time, which she may have been prone to believing for whatever reason.
@greendreamer Well said, I have great admiration for, and also stand by Jackson Browne in both events. Joni M has a biased stance due to her being stood up by JB as referenced in her song Car On A Hill from that era. I’m sure JB has broken many hearts along the way but I seriously doubt he ever physically abused anyone of them. Plus his beautiful song For A Dancer as well as the album The Pretender are full of loving tributes to his deceased wife Phyllis
@greendreamer Well said, I have great admiration for, and also stand by Jackson Browne in both events. Joni M has a biased stance due to her being stood up by JB as referenced in her song Car On A Hill from that era. I’m sure JB has broken many hearts along the way but I seriously doubt he ever physically abused anyone of them. Plus his beautiful song For A Dancer as well as the album The Pretender are full of loving tributes to his deceased wife Phyllis
Not to Blame' is widely believed to be Joni Mitchell's condemnation of Browne as a wife-beater who drove his first wife to suicide and a coward who always says he's not to blame.
Mitchell released this attack on Browne not long after rumours circulated suggesting that Browne had beaten Daryl Hannah. Browne denied the rumour. He's said he tried to talk to Mitchell about her song, but wasn't able to.
Hannah sustained injuries during the incident, but she's never directly accused Browne. Her press release on the day of the incident said, 'She received serious injuries incurred during a domestic dispute with Browne for which she sought medical treatment'.
Hannah's uncle attended the clinic and publicly confirmed the injuries. Browne has always denied assaulting Hannah but has never explained how she got those injuries. No charges were made against Browne, and there was no proper police investigation.
Having carried out my own investigation, my opinion - for what it's worth - is that Browne almost certainly didn't assault Hannah. I think that Hannah might have had an autistic rage episode* during which either she inflicted the injuries on herself, or she attacked Browne and was injured when he defended himself.
David Yaffe's 2017 biography of Mitchell, 'Reckless Daughter', based on extensive recorded conversations with her, shows that, 45 years after her brief relationship with Browne, she carries an intense and bitter hatred for him. Yaffe described 'Not to Blame' as 'a violent and personal attack'.
See also my comment (if it's still there) under Hejira's 'Song For Susan'. That song includes a coded implication that Browne caused the suicide of his first wife, Phyllis Major.
Major suffered extreme postnatal depression. She took an overdose of barbiturate sleeping pills. There's no corroboration whatsoever for Mitchell's suggestion in both 'Not to Blame' and 'Song For Sharon' that Browne drove her to it.
See, if you will, my blogpost about the rumour that Jackson Browne assaulted Daryl Hannah. It includes a detailed account of Mitchell's brief relationship with Browne, and its bitter aftermath.
My detailed analysisof 'Not to Blame': https://soothfairy.com/2015/03/29/jackson-browne-and-daryl-hannah/#not