Paprika Plains

Album: Don Juan's Reckless Daughter (1977)
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  • It fell from midnight skies
    It drummed on the galvanized
    In the washroom, women tracked the rain
    Up to the make-up mirror

    Liquid soap and grass
    And Jungle Gardenia crash
    On Pine-Sol and beer
    It's stifling in here
    I've got to get some air
    I'm going outside to get some air

    Back in my hometown
    They would have cleared the floor
    Just to watch the rain come down
    They're such sky-oriented people
    Geared to changing weather
    I'm floating off in time
    I'm floating off
    I'm floating off in time

    When I was three feet tall
    And wide-eyed open to it all
    With their tasseled teams they came
    To McGee's General Store
    All in their beaded leathers
    I would tie on colored feathers
    And I'd beat the drum like war
    I would beat the drum like war
    I'd beat the drum
    I'd beat the drum like war

    But when the church got through
    They traded their beads for bottles
    Smashed on Railway Avenue
    And they cut off their braids
    And lost some link with nature
    I'm floating into dreams
    I'm floating off
    I'm floating into my dreams

    I dream paprika plains
    Vast and bleak and God forsaken
    Paprika plains
    And a turquoise river snaking

    The rain retreats
    Like troops to fall on other fields and streets
    Meanwhile, they're sweet talking and name calling
    And brawling on the fringes of the floor
    I spot you through the smoke
    With your eyes on fire
    From J&B and coke
    As I'm coming through the door
    I'm coming back
    I'm coming back for more
    The band plugs in again
    You see that mirrored ball begin to sputter lights
    And spin
    Dizzy on the dancers
    Geared to changing rhythms
    No matter what you do
    I'm floating back
    I'm floating back to you Writer/s: Joni Mitchell
    Publisher: Reservoir Media Management, Inc., Universal Music Publishing Group
    Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

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