That Song About The Midway

Album: Clouds (1969)
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  • I met you on a midway at a fair last year
    And you stood out like a ruby in a black man's ear
    You were playing on the horses
    You were playing on the guitar strings
    You were playing like a devil wearing wings, wearing wings
    You looked so grand wearing wings
    Do you tape them to your shoulders just to sing?
    Can you fly?
    I heard you can, can you fly?
    Like an eagle doin' your hunting from the sky

    I followed with the sideshows to another town
    And I found you in a trailer on the camping grounds
    You were betting on some lover
    You were shaking up the dice
    And I thought I saw you cheating once or twice, once or twice

    I heard your bid once or twice
    Were you wondering was the gamble worth the price?
    Pack it in
    I heard you did pack it in
    Was it hard to fold a hand you knew could win?

    So lately you've been hiding, it was somewhere in the news
    And I'm still at these races with my ticket stubs and my blues
    And a voice calls out the numbers, and it sometimes mentions mine
    And I feel like I've been working overtime

    Over time I've lost my fire, over time
    Always playin' one more hand for one more dime
    Slowin' down, I'm gettin' tired
    Slowin' down
    And I envy you the valley that you've found
    'Cause I'm midway down the midway
    Slowin' down, down, down, down Writer/s: Joni Mitchell
    Publisher: Reservoir Media Management, Inc.
    Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Comments: 1

  • Vic Walton from Santa BarbaraHer line "You stood out like a ruby / in a Black man's ear" is taken from Shakespeare, when Romeo first describes Juliet in Act 1 Scene 5: "It seems she hangs upon the cheek of night / Like a rich jewel in an Ethiop’s ear"
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