Lyrics to
Lesson In Survival

This version of Lesson In Survival was released by Joni Mitchell in 1972.

Our About Joni Mitchell page at Decade Lyrics includes the lyrics for Lesson In Survival from 1972 as well as all of the other lyrics from Joni Mitchell that we have in our lyrics database.

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Lesson in Survival
Spinning out on turns
That gets you tough
Guru books-the Bible
Only a reminder
That you’re just not good enough
You need to believe in something
Once I could in our love
Black road
Double yellow line
Friends and kin
Campers in the kitchen
That’s fine sometimes
But I know my needs
My sweet tumbleweed
I need more quiet times
By a river flowing
You and me
Deep kisses
And the sun going down

Maybe it’s paranoia
Maybe it’s sensitivity
Your friends protect you
Scrutinize me
I get so damn timid
Not at all the spirit
That’s inside of me
Oh baby I can’t seem to make it
With you socially
There’s this reef around me
I’m looking way out at the ocean
Love to see that green water in motion
I’m going to get a boat
And we can row it
If you ever get the notion
To be needed by me
Fresh salmon frying
And the tide rolling in

I went to see a friend tonight
‘Was very late when I walked in
My talking as it rambled
Revealed suspicious reasoning
The visit seemed to darken him
I came in as bright
As a neon light
And I burned out
Right there before him
I told him these things
I’m telling you now
Watched them buckle up
In his brow
When you dig down deep
You lose good sleep
And it makes you
Heavy company
I will always love you
Hands alike
Magnet and iron
The souls

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Joni Mitchell has released many songs over the years besides Lesson In Survival. Joni Mitchell released songs from 1968 to 2007 spanning across albums like Song To A Seagull, Clouds, Ladies Of The Canyon, Blue, For The Roses, Court And Spark, The Hissing Of Summer Lawns, Hejira, Don Juan's Reckless Daughter, Mingus, Wild Things Run Fast, Dog Eat Dog, Chalk Mark In A Rainstorm, Night Ride Home, Turbulent Indigo, Taming The Tiger, Both Sides Now, and Shine. Decade Lyrics has over lyrics & songs by Joni Mitchell.

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About Lyrics and Lesson In Survival by Joni Mitchell

The lyrics for Lesson In Survival are defined as the words making up the song released by Joni Mitchell in 1972. It also includes the verses and words used by the background chorus in the song. Like many hit songs, the lyrics to Lesson In Survival have different meanings to different people. While it is clear in some of the lyrics what the artist is trying to really say, only Joni Mitchell and those working with them know all of the meanings behind all of the lyrics to their songs.

Some folks are interested in word and phrase etymology. It is easy to understand the lyrics to Lesson In Survival by Joni Mitchell if you think through it. The word "lyric" itself derives from the Latin word lyricus, with the actual English word lyrics applied to the definition "words set to music" listed in Stainer and Barrett's 1876 Dictionary of Musical Terms. Continuing the chain, the Latin word lyricus derives from the Greek word λυρικός or lyrikós. This somewhat means "poetry accompanied by the lyre" or "words set to music." You can easily see that by looking at the background of the word lyric, that the "lyrics to Lesson In Survival" means the words set to the music of Lesson In Survival, or poetry accompanied by the lyre played by Joni Mitchell. The singular form "lyric" is still used to mean the complete words to a song. However, the singular form lyric is also commonly used to refer to a specific line (or phrase) within a song's lyrics. Hence, by this analysis of word structure, you could say that the lyric to Lesson In Survival and the lyrics to Lesson In Survival are both one and the same thing. None of this talk about the word Lyrics is really relevant to fans of Joni Mitchell who came here looking just for the lyrics to Lesson In Survival, but we feel it is still fun to learn what's behind commonly used words and lyrics in songs.

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