Amelia
Mitchell Joni Lyrics

I was driving across the burning desert
Joni is describing her physical journey across a hot desert

When I spotted six jet planes
Joni sees six planes flying in the sky

Leaving six white vapor trails across the bleak terrain
The planes left white clouds behind in the empty, lifeless desert

It was the hexagram of the heavens
The shape made by the jet trails reminded Joni of a six-pointed star

it was the strings of my guitar
Joni sees a connection between the jet trails and the strings on her guitar

Amelia, it was just a false alarm
Joni is talking to her friend Amelia, saying that the sighting of the planes was nothing important

The drone of flying engines
Joni hears the sound of the planes' engines

Is a song so wild and blue
The noise sounds like a wild, blue song

It scrambles time and seasons if it gets through to you
The sound of the planes can make time and seasons seem confusing or distorted

Then your life becomes a travelogue
When you travel on planes, your life becomes like a storybook

Of picture-post-card-charms
Your experiences will be like picturesque postcards

Amelia, it was just a false alarm
Joni repeats that the planes were not significant

People will tell you where they've gone
People will share their experiences of where they've been

They'll tell you where to go
They may give you advice on where to go, but you won't truly know until you experience it yourself

But till you get there yourself you never really know
You can only truly know a place once you've experienced it yourself

Where some have found their paradise
Some people have found their perfect place

Others just come to harm
Others may have negative experiences in different places

Oh Amelia, it was just a false alarm
Joni reiterates that her sighting of the six planes was nothing important

I wish that he was here tonight
Joni is talking about someone she misses

It's so hard to obey
Joni is struggling with following this person's request

His sad request of me to kindly stay away
This person has asked Joni to stay away, and she is sad about it

So this is how I hide the hurt
Joni is trying to conceal her sadness

As the road leads cursed and charmed
Joni is continuing her journey, both cursed and lucky

I tell Amelia, it was just a false alarm
Joni is reassuring her friend again that the sighting of planes was not important

A ghost of aviation
Joni is talking about the famous pilot Amelia Earhart, who disappeared while flying

She was swallowed by the sky
Amelia Earhart disappeared into the sky

Or by the sea, like me she had a dream to fly
Amelia Earhart shared Joni's dream to fly, but she may have died trying

Like Icarus ascending
Joni is referencing the Greek myth of Icarus, who flew too close to the sun and died

On beautiful foolish arms
Icarus had beautiful wings, but he was foolish to try and fly so high

Amelia, it was just a false alarm
Joni repeats that the six planes she saw were not important

Maybe I've never really loved
Joni is questioning if she has ever truly loved someone

I guess that is the truth
She comes to the conclusion that she hasn't fully loved before

I've spent my whole life in clouds at icy altitude
Joni has spent her life in the clouds, both physically and metaphorically

And looking down on everything
Joni has a unique perspective on the world from above

I crashed into his arms
Joni has fallen in love with someone

Amelia, it was just a false alarm
Joni repeats that her sighting of the planes was not important

I pulled into the Cactus Tree Motel
Joni arrives at a desert motel

To shower off the dust
Joni takes a shower to clean herself off from the dusty desert

And I slept on the strange pillows of my wanderlust
Joni falls asleep with pillows that don't belong to her, representing her wandering spirit

I dreamed of 747's
Joni dreams about a specific type of plane

Over geometric farms
Joni's dreams involve flying over orderly-looking farmland

Dreams, Amelia, dreams and false alarms
Joni is talking to her friend again, and signals the end of the song