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".
The Windfall
Joni Mitchell Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Why?
Because Elvis did?
Oh, come on
Because Elvis gave 'em cars
You think I'm cheap
And you're hard done by
Rent free suite
Big blue pool that you sun by
Trips to tropic shores
Clothes from fancy stores
You want too much
You want too badly
You want everything for nothing
Going to the church
You chant
For my downfall
Chanting for my house
My friends
You want it all
The pillows on my bed
The visions in my head
You want too much
You want too badly
You want everything for nothing
In the land of litigation
The courts are like game shows
Take what's behind the curtain
The jury cries
I'm not gonna be the jackpot
At the end of your perjured rainbow
Not if local justice has even one good eye
Oh, it's not like I was blind (you want)
I saw (everything)
But I took no action (you want, you want, you want)
As you began to climb (you want)
Green clawed (everything)
Dissatisfaction (you want, you want, you want)
It wasn't hard to guess (you want, you want)
That the end would be a mess (you want, you want)
You want too much
You want too badly
You want everything for nothing
In the land of mass frustration
The judges are sleeping
Counting woolly little lawyers
And grinding their teeth
Outside my sleepless window
The Hollywood sirens are shrieking
While down some search-lit alley runs
Some lost belief
Oh, I'm tangled in your lies (you want)
Your scam (everything)
Your spider web (you want, you want, you want)
Spit, spun between the trees (you want)
Doors slam (everything)
You want my head (you want, you want, you want)
You'd eat your young alive (you want, you want)
For a jaguar in the drive (you want, you want)
You lie too much
You lie too badly
You want everything for nothing
You want it all
Everything for nothing
For nothing
You want everything
(You want, you want, you want)
For nothing
You want everything
(You want, you want, you want)
For nothing
You want everything
(You want, you want, you want)
For nothing
You want everything
(You want, you want, you want)
In Joni Mitchell's song "The Windfall," Joni confronts a lover who constantly demands more and more from her. The opening verse mentions Elvis giving cars to people, but her lover asks why she won't do the same. Joni retorts that her lover already lives like a star with rent-free living and trips to exotic shores. She accuses him of wanting everything for nothing and wanting too much. In the second verse, Joni talks about how her lover is chanting for her downfall and coveting everything she owns, even the pillows on her bed and the visions in her head. She comments on the greed of the legal system, saying that courts are like game shows, and juries shouldn't be the jackpot at the end of the perjured rainbow. In the last verse, Joni muses about her feelings of being trapped in her lover's lies and spiderweb, as he constantly wants her head and everything she has. She calls him out for wanting everything for nothing and lying too much.
Line by Line Meaning
You think I should buy you a car?
Do you really believe that I should purchase an automobile for you?
Why?
What is your justification for thinking that?
Because Elvis did?
Is that your reasoning, because you believe that Elvis gave cars to people, so you expect me to do the same?
Oh, come on
That's absurd, you need a better reason than that.
Because Elvis gave 'em cars
You think that because Elvis gave cars to people, I should do the same.
You think I'm cheap
You have the perception that I am stingy.
And you're hard done by
You believe that you are being treated unfairly.
Look you live here like a star
You reside in a luxurious home, living a comfortable life.
Rent free suite
You do not pay any rent for your living space.
Big blue pool that you sun by
You enjoy a large swimming pool by which you soak up the sun.
Trips to tropic shores
You are able to travel to tropical beaches for vacations.
Clothes from fancy stores
You obtain attire from expensive shops.
You want too much
You have an excessive and unreasonable desire.
You want too badly
You possess an intense and desperate craving.
You want everything for nothing
You desire all possessions without contributing any effort or payment.
Going to the church
It seems that you attend church.
You chant
You perform repetitive singing or speaking in a rhythmic manner.
For my downfall
You wish for my failure or demise.
Chanting for my house
You perform this act aimed toward owning my residence.
My friends
You also desire to own or control my acquaintances.
The pillows on my bed
Additionally, you covet the cushions on my resting space.
The visions in my head
Finally, you crave the ideas and fantasies in my mind.
In the land of litigation
In a place where legal disputes are settled.
The courts are like game shows
The adjudicating system appears like a television program in which money or prizes can be won.
Take what's behind the curtain
The participants of the game show, or the parties involved in a legal proceeding, have to choose from a range of possibilities.
The jury cries
The jury members express their laments.
I'm not gonna be the jackpot
I am not going to be a grand prize or reward for someone.
At the end of your perjured rainbow
I will not be found after your dishonest pursuit of something unattainable.
Not if local justice has even one good eye
This will not be the case if fair legal authorities remain present in society.
Oh, it's not like I was blind (you want)
I was not ignorant toward your desires.
I saw (everything)
I was aware of everything you were trying to do.
But I took no action (you want, you want, you want)
I did not attempt to stop you from pursuing these attempts to obtain my property.
As you began to climb (you want)
As you constricted your hold on what you wanted.
Green clawed (everything)
You used aggressive and ruthless methods to get what you wanted.
Dissatisfaction (you want, you want, you want)
This desire and pursuit led you to be dissatisfied with what you had.
It wasn't hard to guess (you want, you want)
It was not challenging to predict your behaviors and desires.
That the end would be a mess (you want, you want)
It was evident that the outcome would be disastrous.
In the land of mass frustration
In a place where people become extremely dissatisfied and unhappy.
The judges are sleeping
The legal authorities appear to be not doing their job properly.
Counting woolly little lawyers
They seem to have too much of a lenient attitude towards the legal representatives.
And grinding their teeth
They express annoyance or frustration with their situation.
Outside my sleepless window
Frustration can be heard or seen outside my window, keeping me awake.
The Hollywood sirens are shrieking
The noise of police cars or ambulances sound similar to wailing screams.
While down some search-lit alley runs
Somewhere nearby a beam of light can be seen, and a person is running in that direction.
Some lost belief
This runaway figure seems to have lost faith or hope in something.
Oh, I'm tangled in your lies (you want)
I have become ensnared in the web of your deceitful words and intentions.
Your scam (everything)
Your deceptive plan, which aimed to scam me out of my possessions.
Your spider web (you want, you want, you want)
Your intricately designed trap preys on my vulnerabilities and trust.
Spit, spun between the trees (you want)
This web represents the poisonous rhetoric that you have produced and slung at me between words of doubt and manipulation.
Doors slam (everything)
Your means of obtaining possessions is forceful and ruthless.
You want my head (you want, you want, you want)
You also desire to take control of my thoughts and actions.
You'd eat your young alive (you want, you want)
You possess a savage greed and desire that would even cause you to harm your own offspring.
For a jaguar in the drive (you want, you want)
You are willing to go to extreme and violent lengths to possess a material object.
You lie too much
You express too many dishonest statements.
You lie too badly
Your lies are easily noticeable and poorly-constructed.
You want everything for nothing
You aspire to own everything without putting in the necessary work or compensation.
You want it all
You desire to own everything.
Everything for nothing
You desire to obtain everything without contributing the deserved effort or compensation.
For nothing
Without offering or giving anything back in return.
You want everything
You possess an insatiable desire to possess everything.
(You want, you want, you want)
This theme of excessive desire, greed, and want runs throughout the song.
Lyrics © Reservoir Media Management, Inc.
Written by: Joni Mitchell
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind