Music Video

Credits

PERFORMING ARTISTS
Joni Mitchell
Joni Mitchell
Vocals
Max Bennett
Max Bennett
Bass Guitar
John Guerin
John Guerin
Drums
COMPOSITION & LYRICS
Joni Mitchell
Joni Mitchell
Songwriter
PRODUCTION & ENGINEERING
Joni Mitchell
Joni Mitchell
Producer
Steve Katz
Steve Katz
Recording Engineer
Henry Lewy
Henry Lewy
Mixing Engineer
Bernie Grundman
Bernie Grundman
Mastering Engineer

Lyrics

[Verse 1]
I went to Staten Island, Sharon
To buy myself a mandolin
And I saw the long white dress of love
On a storefront mannequin
[Verse 2]
Big boat chugging back with a belly full of cars
All for something lacy
Some girl's gonna see that dress
And crave that dress like crazy
[Verse 3]
Little Indian kids on a bridge up in Canada
They can balance and they can climb
Like their fathers before them
They'll walk the girders of the Manhattan skyline
[Verse 4]
Shine your light on me, Miss Liberty
Because as soon as this ferry boat docks
I'm headed to the church to play bingo
Fleece me with the gambler's flocks
[Verse 5]
I can keep my cool at poker
But I'm a fool when love's at stake
Because I can't conceal emotion
What I'm feeling's always written on my face
[Verse 6]
There's a gypsy down on Bleecker Street
I went to see her as a kind of joke
And she lit a candle for my love luck
And eighteen bucks went up in smoke
[Verse 7]
Sharon, I left my man at a North Dakota junction
And I came out to the Big Apple here
To face the dream's malfunction
[Verse 8]
Love's a repetitious danger
You'd think I'd be accustomed to
Well, I do accept the changes
At least better than I used to do
[Verse 9]
A women I knew just drowned herself
The well was deep and muddy
She was just shaking off futility
Or punishing somebody
[Verse 10]
My friends were calling up all day yesterday
All emotions and abstractions
It seems we all live so close to that line
And so far from satisfaction
[Verse 11]
Dora says, "Have children"
Mama and Betsy say, "Find yourself a charity"
Help the needy and the crippled
Or put some time into ecology
[Verse 12]
Well, there's a wide, wide world of noble causes
And lovely landscapes to discover
But all I really wanna do right now is
Find another lover
[Verse 13]
When we were kids in Maidstone, Sharon
I went to every wedding in that little town
To see the tears and the kisses
And the pretty lady in the white lace wedding gown
[Verse 14]
And walkin' home on the railroad tracks
Or swinging on the playground swing
Love stimulated my illusions
More than anything
[Verse 15]
And when I went skating after Golden Reggie
You know it was white lace I was chasing
Chasing dreams
Mama's nylons underneath my cowgirl jeans
[Verse 16]
He showed me first you get the kisses
And then you get the tears
But the ceremony of the bells and lace
Still veils this reckless fool here
[Verse 17]
Now there are twenty-nine skaters on Wolmann Rink
Circling in singles and in pairs
In this vigorous anonymity
A blank face at the window
Stares, and stares, and stares, and stares
[Verse 18]
And the power of reason
And the flowers of deep feelings
Seem to serve me
Only to deceive me
[Verse 19]
Sharon, you've got a husband
And a family, and a farm
I've got the apple of temptation
And a diamond snake around my arm
[Verse 20]
But you still have your music
And I've still got my eyes on the land and the sky
You sing for your friends and your family
I'll walk green pastures by and by
Written by: Joni Mitchell
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