Techno Ted may be a person who caused Chris incredible emotional pain & trepidation as well as moments of peace & happiness but now is removed and awaiting his fate. Darling may be a different person who is also free of him and can live her life free of Ted's tyranny. "In between all the laughing, and daydreams ... lies: a desert of truth" Lies are like a desert or the omission of Truth: Where there were Lies then Truth was absent. The song, "Techno Ted", may be a cathartic celebration of the downfall of this person.
My analyst told me
That I was right out of my head
The way he described it
He said I'd be better dead than live
I didn't listen to his jive
I knew all along
That he was all wrong
And I knew that he thought
I was crazy but I'm not
Oh no
My analyst told me
That I was right out of my head
He said I'd need treatment
But I'm not that easily led
He said I was the type
That was most inclined
When out of his sight
To be out of my mind
And he thought I was nuts
No more ifs or ands or buts
They say as a child
I appeared a little bit wild
With all my crazy ideas
But I knew what was happening
I knew I was a genius...
What's so strange when you know
That you're a wizard at three
I knew that this was meant to be
Now I heard little children
Were supposed to sleep tight
That's why I got into the vodka one night
My parents got frantic
Didn't know what to do
But I saw some crazy scenes
Before I came to
Now do you think I was crazy
I may have been only three
But I was swinging
They all laughed at A. Graham Bell
They all laughed at Edison
And also at Einstein
So why should I feel sorry
If they just couldn't understand
The idiomatic logic
That went on in my head
I had a brain
It was insane
Oh they used to laugh at me
When I refused to ride
On all those double decker buses
All because there was no driver on the top
My analyst told me
That I was right out of my head
But I said dear doctor
I think that it's you instead
Because I have got a thing
That's unique and new
To prove it I'll have
The last laugh on you
'Cause instead of one head
I got two
And you know two heads are better than one.
That I was right out of my head
The way he described it
He said I'd be better dead than live
I didn't listen to his jive
I knew all along
That he was all wrong
And I knew that he thought
I was crazy but I'm not
Oh no
My analyst told me
That I was right out of my head
He said I'd need treatment
But I'm not that easily led
He said I was the type
That was most inclined
When out of his sight
To be out of my mind
And he thought I was nuts
No more ifs or ands or buts
They say as a child
I appeared a little bit wild
With all my crazy ideas
But I knew what was happening
I knew I was a genius...
What's so strange when you know
That you're a wizard at three
I knew that this was meant to be
Now I heard little children
Were supposed to sleep tight
That's why I got into the vodka one night
My parents got frantic
Didn't know what to do
But I saw some crazy scenes
Before I came to
Now do you think I was crazy
I may have been only three
But I was swinging
They all laughed at A. Graham Bell
They all laughed at Edison
And also at Einstein
So why should I feel sorry
If they just couldn't understand
The idiomatic logic
That went on in my head
I had a brain
It was insane
Oh they used to laugh at me
When I refused to ride
On all those double decker buses
All because there was no driver on the top
My analyst told me
That I was right out of my head
But I said dear doctor
I think that it's you instead
Because I have got a thing
That's unique and new
To prove it I'll have
The last laugh on you
'Cause instead of one head
I got two
And you know two heads are better than one.
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Techno Ted
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this was the first joni song i ever heard. my mother found her old records and told me i had to hear this one, she said it reminded her of me...(what a mom, eh?)
Depending on the source some list it as a Joni original, and others credit Lambert, Hendricks and Ross. Wikipedia says she covered it, and the original was done around 1960. I'm guessing the label probably miscredited the song on the album. Kind of comforting to know it's a cover though... when I first heard the song it gave me an entirely different picture of who Joni was. :P
This song is about the insecurity of a child being interpreted as the insanity of a fool.
I disagree. I think the song is just the narrator telling the world that she may seem like she's "twisted".. but she really isn't.. It's just that she's "got a thing that's unique and new".. She's different and unique.. Not crazy.
i agree with anna. and it's a good song regardless of the meaning.
insanity is fun!
not when you're put away in a straitjacket and you have to get a limbotomy (I don't know how to spell that so I'm going with "limbotomy")
whoops! It's "lobotomy". Boy, do I feel dumb...
Just a lot oa psychological fun. I should point out that Joni didn't write this. Lyrics are by the vocalese master Jon Hendricks. You really owe it to yourself to find the original recording by Lambert, Hendricks and Ross (Jon Hendricks also wrote 'Centerpiece' from Hissing of Summr Lawns).
I love this song! It makes me laugh! :)
The first Joni Mitchell CD i ever bought was Hits, which was rather unfortunate bevause i then decided to collect all her albums..lol. So apart from the tracks that are on that album I was kinda dissapointed by Court and Spark..until i heard this song! I love it, its brilliant!!! One thing tho Zubby if this song was written by Jon Hendricks why does it does it say on the back of the Cd case that all the songs were written by Joni... :S just s lil confuzzled
My copy of the CD credits the song to 'Ross and Grey'.