River
Joni Mitchell-Blue Lyrics

It's coming on Christmas
The time for Christmas is approaching

They're cutting down trees
People are cutting down trees for decorations

They're putting up reindeer
People are setting up decorations in the form of reindeer

And singing songs of joy and peace
People are singing songs related to the festivities with happiness and peace in their heart

Oh, I wish I had a river
The sadness in the heart of the singer is evident as she yearns for a river to escape her troubles

I could skate away on
The use of skating away refers to fleeing her problems and finding solace in nature

But it don't snow here
The place doesn't have snow, making her situation worse as she can't escape even if she wanted to

It stays pretty green
The place remains green, which is a reminder that the environment she is in is not correlating with the current feelings in her heart

I'm going to make a lot of money
The singer is hoping to make a lot of money to improve her situation

Then I'm going to quit this crazy scene
Her ambition is to leave her current situation behind, which she refers to as a 'scene' that further highlights the troubles she is going through

I wish I had a river so long
The hope for a longer river refers to the endlessness that the singer desires in her escapism

I would teach my feet to fly
The comparison of flying to escaping from her problems is yet another reference to her desire to find relief

I made my baby cry
The mention of making her baby cry refers to the guilt she feels in the current situation

He tried hard to help me
Her baby tried hard to assist her in getting through the rough patch, but to no avail

You know, he put me at ease
Her baby also helped put her at ease and forget about her problems for a while

And he loved me so naughty
Her baby loved her even with her flaws, and this only adds to the guilt that she feels

Made me weak in the knees
Her baby had such an effect on her that she was left weak in the knees

I'm so hard to handle
She realizes the difficulty in dealing with herself and is aware that it's not easy for others either

I'm selfish and I'm sad
She confesses to being selfish and sad, which is making the situation even harder for those around her

Now I've gone and lost the best baby
She has lost the best thing that ever happened to her - referring to the loss of her relationship

That I ever had
The phrase 'ever had' indicates the finality in having lost the relationship and the realization that it might never come back

I wish I had a river
The phrase is recurring and highlights the singer's desire to escape her situation

I made my baby say goodbye
The regret in her voice when she says that she made her baby say goodbye is indicative of the guilt she feels for being the reason her relationship crumbled