Lyrics to
The Last Time I Saw Richard

This version of The Last Time I Saw Richard was released by Joni Mitchell in 1971.

Our Joni Mitchell Songs profile has The Last Time I Saw Richard lyrics from 1971 and most if not all of the lyrics by Joni Mitchell that we have here at Decade Lyrics.

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The last time I saw Richard was Detroit in ’68
And he told me all romantics meet the same fate someday
Cynical and drunk and boring someone in some dark cafe
“You laugh,” he said, “You think you’re immune,
Go look at your eyes, they’re full of moon
You like roses and kisses and pretty men to tell you
All those pretty lies, pretty lies
When you gonna realize they’re only pretty lies
Only pretty lies, just pretty lies”

He put a quarter in the Wurlitzer
And he pushed three buttons and the thing began to whirr
And a bar maid came by in fishnet stockings and a bow tie
And she said, “Drink up now it’s gettin’ on time to close”
“Richard you haven’t really changed,” I said,
“It’s just that now you’re romanticizing some pain that’s in your head
You got tombs in your eyes, but the songs you punched are dreaming
Listen, they sing of love so sweet, love so sweet
When you gonna go get yourself back on your feet?
Oh love can be so sweet, love so sweet.”

Richard got married to a figure skater
And he bought her a dishwasher and a coffee percolator
And he drinks at home now most nights with the TV on
And all the house lights left up bright
I’m gonna blow this damn candle out
I don’t want nobody comin’ over to my table
I got nothing to talk to anybody about
All good dreamers pass this way some day
Hidin’ behind bottles in dark cafes, dark cafes
Only a dark cocoon before I get my gorgeous wings and fly away
Only a phase, these dark cafe days.

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Joni Mitchell has released many songs over the years besides The Last Time I Saw Richard. 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 The Last Time I Saw Richard by Joni Mitchell

The lyrics to The Last Time I Saw Richard are the words, verses and chorus for the song released by Joni Mitchell in 1971. Elements of the lyrics to The Last Time I Saw Richard are both direct in meaning and also metaphorical with the real meanings of the song only known by Joni Mitchell and any collaborating writers working on the lyrics for The Last Time I Saw Richard back when it was created.

Some people have an interest in the etymology behind words and phrases. You can take apart the lyrics to The Last Time I Saw Richard by Joni Mitchell in a number of ways. 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 The Last Time I Saw Richard" means the words set to the music of The Last Time I Saw Richard, 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 The Last Time I Saw Richard and the lyrics to The Last Time I Saw Richard 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 The Last Time I Saw Richard, but we feel it is still fun to learn what's behind commonly used words and lyrics in songs.

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