Shadows And Light

I was driving across the burning desert
When i spotted six jet planes
Leaving six white vapor trails across the bleak terrain
It was the hexagram of the heavens
It was the strings of my guitar
Amelia, it was just a false alarm

The drone of flying engines
Is a song so wild and blue
It scrambles time and seasons if it gets thru to you
Then your life becomes a travelogue
Of picture-post-card-charms
Amelia, it was just a false alarm

People will tell you where they've gone
They'll tell you where to go
But till you get there yourself you never really know
Where some have found their paradise
Other's just come to harm
Oh amelia, it was just a false alarm

I wish that he was here tonight
It's so hard to obey
His sad request of me to kindly stay away
So this is how i hide the hurt
As the road leads cursed and charmed
I tell amelia, it was just a false alarm

A ghost of aviation
She was swallowed by the sky
Or by the sea, like me she had a dream to fly
Like icarus ascending
On beautiful foolish arms
Amelia, it was just a false alarm

Maybe i've never really loved
I guess that is the truth
I've spent my whole life in clouds at icy altitude
And looking down on everything
I crashed into his arms
Amelia, it was just a false alarm

I pulled into the cactus tree motel
To shower off the dust
And i slept on the strange pillows of my wanderlust
I dreamed of 747s
Over geometric farms
Dreams, amelia, dreams and false alarms

It's a long, long way from canada
A long way from snow chains
Donkey vendors slicing coconut
No parkas to their name
Black babies covered in baking flour
The cook's got a carnival song
We're going to lay down someplace shady
With dreamland coming on
Dreamland, dreamland
Dreamland, dreamland

Walter raleigh and chris columbus
Come marching out of the waves
And claim the beach and all concessions
In the name of the suntan slave
I wrapped that flag around me
Like a dorothy lamour sarong
And i lay down thinking national
With dreamland coming on
Dreamland, dreamland
Dreamland, dreamland

Goodtime mary and a fortune hunter
All dressed up to follow the drums
Mary in a feather hula-hoop
Miss fortune with a rose on her big game gun
All saints, all sinners shining
Heed those trumpets all night long
Propped up on a samba beat
With dreamland coming on
Dreamland, dreamland
Dreamland, dreamland

Tar baby and the great white wonder
Talking over a glass of rum
Burning on the inside
With the knowledge of things to come
There's gambling out on the terrace
And midnight ramblin' on the lawn
As they lead toward temptation
With dreamland coming on
Dreamland, dreamland
Dreamland, dreamland

In a plane flying back to winter
In shoes full of tropic sand
A lady in a foreign flag
On the arm of her marlboro man
The hawk howls in new york city
Six foot drifts on myrtle's lawn
As they push the recline buttons down
With dreamland coming on
Dreamland, dreamland
Dreamland, dreamland

La, la ...
African sand on the trade winds
And the sun on the amazon
As they push the reline buttons down
With dreamland coming on
Dreamland, dreamland
Dreamland, dreamland

I came upon a child of god
He was walking along the road
And i asked him, where are you going
And this he told me
I'm going on down to yasgur's farm
I'm going to join in a rock 'n' roll band
I'm going to camp out on the land
I'm going to try an' get my soul free
We are stardust
We are golden
And we've got to get ourselves
Back to the garden

Then can i walk beside you
I have come here to lose the smog
And i feel to be a cog in something turning
Well maybe it is just the time of year
Or maybe it's the time of man
I don't know who l am
But you know life is for learning
We are stardust
We are golden
And we've got to get ourselves
Back to the garden

By the time we got to woodstock
We were half a million strong
And everywhere there was song and celebration
And i dreamed i saw the bombers
Riding shotgun in the sky
And they were turning into butterflies
Above our nation
We are stardust
Billion year old carbon
We are golden
Caught in the devil's bargain
And we've got to get ourselves
Back to the garden

Old beale street is coming down
Sweeties' snack bar, boarded up now
And egles the tailor and the shine boy's gone
Faded out with ragtime blues
Handy's cast in bronze
And he's standing in a little park
With a trumpet in his hand
Like he's listening back to the good old bands
And the click of high heeled shoes
Old furry sings the blues
Propped up in his bed
With his dentures and his leg removed
And ginny's there
For her kindness and furry's beer
She's the old man's angel overseer

Pawn shops glitter like gold tooth caps
In the grey decay
They chew the last few dollars off
Old beale street's carcass
Carrion and mercy
Blue and silver sparkling drums
Cheap guitars, eye shades and guns
Aimed at the hot blood of being no one
Down and out in memphis tennessee
Old furry sings the blues
You bring him smoke and drink and he'll play for you
Lt's mostly muttering now and sideshow spiel
But there was one song he played
I could really feel

There's a double bill murder at the new daisy
The old girl's silent across the street
She's silent - waiting for the wrecker's beat
Silent - staring ar her stolen name
Diamond boys and satin dolls
Bourbon laughter- ghosts - history falls
To parking lots and shopping malls
As they tear down old beale street
Old furry sings the blues
He points a bony finger at you and
"i don't like you"
Everybody laughs as if it's the old man's standard joke
But it's true
We're only welcome for our drink and smoke

W.c. handy i'm rich and i'm fay
And i'm not familiar with what you played
But i get such strong impressions of your hey day
Looking up and down old beale street
Ghosts of the darktown society
Come right out of the bricks at me
Like it's a saturday night
They're in their finery
Dancing it up and making deals
Furry sings the blues
Why should i expect that old guy to give it to me true
Fallen to hard luck
And time and other thieves
While our limo is shining on his shanty street
Old furry sings the blues

Downtown
My darling dimestore thief
In the war of independence
Rock 'n roll rang sweet as victory
Under neon signs
A girl was in bloom
And a woman was fading
In a suburban room
I said, "take me to the dance"
"do you want to dance?"
"i love to dance"
And i told him, "they don't take chances
They seem so removed from romance"
"they've been broken in churches and schools
And molded to middle class circumstance"
And we were rolling, rolling, rock n' rolling

Downtown
The dance halls and cafes
Feel so wild you could break somebody's heart
Just doing the latest dance craze
Gail and louise
In those push-up brassieres
Tight dresses and rhinestone rings
Drinking up the band's beers
Young love was kissing under bridges
Kissing in cars, kissing in cafes
And we were walking down main street
Kisses like bright flags hung on holidays
"in france they kiss on main street"
"amour, mama, not cheap display"
And we were rolling, rolling, rock n' rolling

Downtown
In the pinball arcade
With his head full of pool hall pitches
And songs from the hit parade
He'd be singing "bye, bye, love"
While he's racking up his free play
Let those rock 'n roll choir boys
Come and carry us away
Sometimes chickie had the car
Or ron had a car
Or lead foot melvin with his hot-wire head
We'd all go looking for a party
Looking to raise jesus up from the dead
And i'd be kissing in the back seat
Thrilling to the brando-like things that he said
And we'd be rolling, rolling, rock n' rolling

Words by joni mitchell
Music by charles mingus

I'm down to a roll of dimes
I'm stalking the slot that's hot
I keep hearing bells all around me
Jingling in the lucky jackpots
They keep you tantalized
They keep you reaching for your wallet
Here in fools' paradise!

I talked to a cat from des moines
He said he ran a cleaning plant
That cat was clanking with coin
Well, he must have had a genie in a lamp
'cause every time--i dropped a dime--i blew it
He kept ringing bells
Nothing to it!

He got three oranges
Three lemons
Three cherries
Three plums
I'm losing my taste for fruit
Watching the dry cleaner do it
Like midas in a polyester suit
It's all luck!
It's just luck!
You get a little lucky and you make a little money!

I followed him down the strip
He picked out a booth at circus circus
Where the cowgirls fill the room
With their big balloons
The cleaner was pitching with purpose!
He had dinos and pooh bears
And lions--pink and blue there
He couldn't lose there!

Des moines was stacking the chips
Raking off the tables
Ringing the bandit's bells
This is a story that's a drag to tell
(in some ways)
Since i lost every dime
I laid on the line
But the cleaner from des moines
Could put a coin
In the door of a john
And get twenty for one
It's just luck!