Lyric discussion by Sickerth 

Cover art for Joyful Girl lyrics by Ani DiFranco

Maybe I've got this all wrong, but I think this is about being in some kind of relationship which is mostly based on sex. Throughout the song she tries to defend her behavour by saing "Well, I do for the joy it brings".. But then:

"i wonder if everything i do i do instead of something i want to do more the question fills my head"

  • This could maybe refer to her deepest feelings and wishes.. Maybe she really wants more than this, but doesn't feel worthy or ready etc. etc.

But I dunno.. This doesn't really match "and we owe each other the world. i do it because it's the least i can do. i do it because i learned it from you" .. So yea. Not sure about this one at all.