Strange Pillows Of My Wanderlust

Joni Mitchell: Amelia...1983







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 through to you
then your life
becomes a travelogue
of picture postcard 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
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