I can't believe there aren't more comments on this song; This is my favourite Joni song, and really does describe Joni's internal conflict which fuelled so much of her early material. 'And she's so busy being free...' - Joni always felt she 'needed' to travel, and this compulsion made it hard for her to hold down relationships, as she was too 'busy being free'.
'And her heart is full and hollow, like a cactus tree' - this beautiful metaphor seems to describe the frustration she felt at herself for being so closed off to others (like a cactus, which is not a hollow plant).
The people she mentions in this song may well have been real people.
The alternative is that I am totally wrong, and this song is a purely allegorical take on the follies of youth and young love. This would be consistent with other songs from the 'Song to A Seagull' album, where her writing was more imaginative and allegorical (Nathan La Franeer, Marcie, Pirates of Penance). This was before her songwriting became more confessional in 'Ladies of the Canyon' and 'Blue'.
I can't believe there aren't more comments on this song; This is my favourite Joni song, and really does describe Joni's internal conflict which fuelled so much of her early material. 'And she's so busy being free...' - Joni always felt she 'needed' to travel, and this compulsion made it hard for her to hold down relationships, as she was too 'busy being free'.
'And her heart is full and hollow, like a cactus tree' - this beautiful metaphor seems to describe the frustration she felt at herself for being so closed off to others (like a cactus, which is not a hollow plant).
The people she mentions in this song may well have been real people.
The alternative is that I am totally wrong, and this song is a purely allegorical take on the follies of youth and young love. This would be consistent with other songs from the 'Song to A Seagull' album, where her writing was more imaginative and allegorical (Nathan La Franeer, Marcie, Pirates of Penance). This was before her songwriting became more confessional in 'Ladies of the Canyon' and 'Blue'.
So yeah...I'm confused.