Hejira

Album: Hejira (1976)
Play Video
  • I'm traveling in some vehicle
    I'm sitting in some cafe
    A defector from the petty wars
    That shell shocked love away

    There's comfort in melancholy
    When there's no need to explain
    It's just as natural as the weather
    In this moody sky today

    In our possessive coupling
    So much could not be expressed
    So now I am returning to myself
    These things that you and I suppressed

    I see something of myself in everyone
    Just at this moment of the world
    As snow gathers like bolts of lace
    Waltzing on a ballroom girl

    You know it never has been easy
    Whether you do or you do not resign
    Whether you travel the breadth of extremities
    Or stick to some straighter line

    Now here's a man and a woman sitting on a rock
    They're either going to thaw out or freeze
    Listen, strains of Benny Goodman
    Coming through' the snow and the pinewood trees

    I'm porous with travel fever
    But you know I'm so glad to be on my own
    Still somehow the slightest touch of a stranger
    Can set up trembling in my bones

    I know, no one's going to show me everything
    We all come and go unknown
    Each so deep and superficial
    Between the forceps and the stone

    Well, I looked at the granite markers
    Those tributes to finality, to eternity
    And then I looked at myself here
    Chicken scratching for my immortality

    In the church, they light the candles
    And the wax rolls down like tears
    There is the hope and the hopelessness
    I've witnessed thirty years

    We're only particles of change I know, I know
    Orbiting around the sun
    But how can I have that point of view
    When I'm always bound and tied to someone

    White flags of winter chimneys
    Wave truce against the moon
    In the mirrors of a modern bank
    From the window of a hotel room

    I'm traveling in some vehicle
    I'm sitting in some cafe
    A defector from the petty wars
    Until love sucks me back that way Writer/s: Joni Mitchell
    Publisher: Reservoir Media Management, Inc.
    Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

70s Music Quiz 1

70s Music Quiz 1Music Quiz

The '70s gave us Muppets, disco and Van Halen, all which show up in this groovy quiz.

Al Jourgensen of Ministry

Al Jourgensen of MinistrySongwriter Interviews

In the name of song explanation, Al talks about scoring heroin for William Burroughs, and that's not even the most shocking story in this one.

The Punk Photography of Chris Stein

The Punk Photography of Chris SteinSong Writing

Chris Stein of Blondie shares photos and stories from his book about the New York City punk scene.

Mike Campbell

Mike CampbellSongwriter Interviews

Mike is lead guitarist with Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, and co-writer of classic songs like "Boys Of Summer," "Refugee" and "The Heart Of The Matter."

Songs in Famous Movie Scenes: '80s Edition

Songs in Famous Movie Scenes: '80s EditionMusic Quiz

You know the scenes - Tom Cruise in his own pants-off dance off, Molly Ringwald celebrating her birthday - but do you remember what song is playing?

Chris Squire of Yes

Chris Squire of YesSongwriter Interviews

One of the most dynamic bass player/songwriters of his time, Chris is the only member of Yes who has been with the band since they formed in 1968.