Mitchell began singing in small nightclubs in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, and throughout western Canada, before moving on to the nightclubs of Toronto, Ontario. She moved to the United States and began touring in 1965. Some of her original songs ("Urge for Going", "Chelsea Morning", "Both Sides, Now", "The Circle Game") were recorded by other folk singers, allowing her to sign with Reprise Records and record her debut album, Song to a Seagull, in 1968. Settling in Southern California, Mitchell helped define an era and a generation with popular songs like "Big Yellow Taxi" and "Woodstock". Her 1971 album Blue is often cited as one of the best albums of all time; it was rated the 30th best album ever made in Rolling Stone's 2003 list of the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time", rising to number 3 in the 2020 edition. In 2000, The New York Times chose Blue as one of the 25 albums that represented "turning points and pinnacles in 20th-century popular music". NPR ranked Blue number 1 on a 2017 list of Greatest Albums Made by Women.
Mitchell switched labels and began exploring more jazz-influenced melodic ideas, by way of lush pop textures, on 1974's Court and Spark, which featured the radio hits "Help Me" and "Free Man in Paris" and became her best-selling album. Mitchell's vocal range began to shift from mezzo-soprano to more of a wide-ranging contralto around 1975. Her distinctive piano and open-tuned guitar compositions also grew more harmonically and rhythmically complex as she melded jazz with rock and roll, R&B, classical music and non-Western beats. In the late 1970s, she began working with noted jazz musicians including Jaco Pastorius, Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, and Pat Metheny as well as Charles Mingus, who asked her to collaborate on his final recordings. She later turned to pop and electronic music and engaged in political protest. She was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 44th Annual Grammy Awards in 2002 and became a Kennedy Center Honoree in 2021.
Mitchell produced or co-produced most of her albums. A critic of the music industry, she quit touring and released her 17th and last album of original songs in 2007. Mitchell has designed most of her own album covers, describing herself as a "painter derailed by circumstance".
Tax Free
Joni Mitchell Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Back rooms
Slide into tables
Crowd into bathrooms
Joke around
Cheap talk
Deep talk
Talk, talk, talk around the clock
Lie down
Teeth chatter
Heart pounds
I don't feel so good
I don't feel so good
Push a button to escape
Preacher on the tube crying, "Lord"
There's evil in this land
"Rock and roll music"
"Cast down these dope fiends
And their noisy bands"
"Damn their souls"
Preacher preaching love like vengeance
Preaching love like hate
Calling for large donations
Promising estates
Rolling lawns and angel bands
Behind the pearly gates
You know, he will have his in this life
But yours will have to wait
He's immaculately tax free
"Multiple hundreds of thousands of"
Tax free
"Hundreds and millions of dollars"
Tax free
"A hundred billion dollars
And who is paying the price?"
Who, who?
"Your children are"
Pissed off
Jacked up
Scream into the mike
Spit into the loving cup
Strut like a rooster
March like a man
God's hired hands and the devil bands
Packing the same grandstands
Different clothes, "pot in their pockets"
Different hair, "sexually active"
Raise a screaming guitar or a bible in the air
Theater of anguish
Theater of glory
God's hired hands and the devil bands
Oh come let us adore me
Lord, there's danger in this land
You get witch hunts and wars
When church and state hold hands
Fuck it
Tonight, I'm going dancing
With the drag queens and the punks
Big beat deliver me
From this sanctimonious skunk
We're no flaming angels
And he's not heaven sent
How can he speak for the Prince of Peace
When he's hawk-right militant
He's immaculately tax free
"Our nation has lost its guts"
Save me
"Our nation has lost its strength"
Tax free
"Our nation has whimpered and cried"
Save me
"And petted the Castros"
Tax free
"The Khomeinis' and the Kaddafis'"
Save me
"For so long"
Tax free
"That we don't know how to act like a man"
Save me
"I think we should turn the United States Marines
Loose on that little island south of Florida and
Stop that problem"
"I am preachin' love, I am"
The lyrics of Joni Mitchell's song "Tax Free" are a critique of the hypocrisy of religion, politics, and society in general. The song opens with a depiction of the party scene, where people indulge in small talk, cheap talk, and deep talk while finding solace in drugs and alcohol. The preacher on the TV screen, crying "Lord," condemns the rock and roll music and the dope fiends associated with it. He preaches love but asks for large donations and promises estates in return, suggesting that religion is being used as a tool to make money. The preacher is immaculately tax-free, and this raises the question of who is paying the price. The answer is apparent, for it is the children of the same people who donate to the church.
The last few verses are an outcry against the hypocrisy and false moral values of the religious and political leaders of the time. Mitchell talks about the danger of the church and the state holding hands and the witch hunts and wars they cause. She's going dancing with drag queens and punks to big beats' deliverance to escape this sanctimonious skunk. She ridicules the preacher's hawk-like militancy and his claim to speak for the Prince of Peace and suggests that the US should turn Marines loose in Cuba to resolve the island's problem. The song ends with a repetition of the line "I am preaching love, I am" in a sarcastic tone.
Line by Line Meaning
Front rooms
Casual conversation in public spaces
Back rooms
Secretive conversations in private spaces
Slide into tables
Joining a group for a conversation
Crowd into bathrooms
Looking for privacy for personal conversation
Joke around
Being lighthearted and playful during conversation
Cheap talk
Superficial conversation without any real substance
Deep talk
Meaningful conversation that delves into important topics
Talk, talk, talk around the clock
Constant conversation that never stops
Crawl home
Being exhausted after socializing
Lie down
Resting after a long day of socializing
Teeth chatter
Feeling anxious and scared
Heart pounds
Feeling overwhelmed and emotional
I don't feel so good
Experiencing physical discomfort after socializing
Push a button to escape
Trying to find a way out of an uncomfortable situation
Preacher on the tube crying, "Lord"
Televangelists using religion to manipulate people
There's evil in this land
Religious people using fear to control others
"Rock and roll music"
Criticism of modern music
"Cast down these dope fiends
And their noisy bands"
Attacking drug users and musicians
"Damn their souls"
Wishing harm on people who enjoy music and drugs
Preacher preaching love like vengeance
Hateful religious preaching disguised as love
Preaching love like hate
Pretending to be loving while spreading hate
Calling for large donations
Asking for money in exchange for salvation
Promising estates
Rolling lawns and angel bands
Behind the pearly gates
Promising a luxurious afterlife to those who donate
You know, he will have his in this life
But yours will have to wait
He's immaculately tax free
Religious leaders making money tax-free while their followers suffer
"Multiple hundreds of thousands of"
Tax free
The amount of money religious leaders make while avoiding taxes
"Hundreds and millions of dollars"
Tax free
The vast sums of money being made by religious leaders without paying taxes
"A hundred billion dollars
And who is paying the price?"
Who, who?
The public paying for the tax benefits given to religious organizations
"Your children are"
The future generation suffering from the tax-free status of religious groups
Pissed off
Feeling angry
Jacked up
Feeling excited and ready to go
Scream into the mike
Being loud and aggressive on stage
Spit into the loving cup
Desecrating religious symbols
Strut like a rooster
Feeling confident and in control
March like a man
Being confident and self-assured
God's hired hands and the devil bands
Religious and secular music being equally popular
Packing the same grandstands
Both types of music having the same level of popularity and appeal
Different clothes, "pot in their pockets"
Different hair, "sexually active"
Attacking the appearance and behavior of musicians
Raise a screaming guitar or a bible in the air
The two types of music being equally powerful and influential
Theater of anguish
Theater of glory
Music bringing both pain and pleasure to listeners
Oh come let us adore me
Musician becoming self-absorbed and narcissistic
Lord, there's danger in this land
Warning against the harmful influence of music
You get witch hunts and wars
When church and state hold hands
Religion and government working together to oppress people
Fuck it
Tonight, I'm going dancing
With the drag queens and the punks
Rejecting mainstream society and enjoying oneself with non-conformists
Big beat deliver me
From this sanctimonious skunk
Music providing refuge from religious hypocrisy
We're no flaming angels
And he's not heaven sent
Rejecting the notion of moral purity and divine authority
How can he speak for the Prince of Peace
When he's hawk-right militant
Criticism of religious leaders who preach peace but support war
"Our nation has lost its guts"
Save me
A plea for strength and courage in society
"Our nation has lost its strength"
Tax free
The government failing to tax powerful institutions
"Our nation has whimpered and cried"
Save me
A call for resilience and toughness
"And petted the Castros"
Tax free
The government failing to stand up to oppressive regimes while allowing tax evasion
"The Khomeinis' and the Kaddafis'"
Save me
"For so long"
Tax free
The government allowing dictators to terrorize their people while failing to tax religious institutions
"That we don't know how to act like a man"
Save me
Society losing its sense of responsibility and maturity
"I think we should turn the United States Marines
Loose on that little island south of Florida and
Stop that problem"
"I am preachin' love, I am"
Calling for violent action under the guise of religious love
Lyrics © RESERVOIR MEDIA MANAGEMENT INC
Written by: Joni Mitchell, Larry Klein
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind