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Ethiopia

Joni Mitchell

Hot winds and hunger cries--Ethiopia

Flies in your babies' eyes--Ethiopia

Walking sticks on burning plains

Betrayed by politics

Abandoned by the rains

On and on--the human need

On and on--the human greed profanes

Ethiopia--Ethiopia--Ethiopia

Your top soil flies away--Ethiopia

We pump ours full of poison spray--Ethiopia

Between the brown skies and sprinkling lawns

I hear the whine of chain saws

Hacking rain forests down

On and on--insanities

On and on--Short sighted greed abounds

Ethiopia--Ethiopia--Ethiopia

Little garden planet-oasis in space

Some hearts hurt--they can hardly stand it

Famine phantoms at the garden gates

Ethiopia--Ethiopia--Ethiopia

Every Sunday on T.V.--Ethiopia

You suffer with such dignity--Ethiopia

A T.V. star with a P.R. smile

Calls your baby ";it"; while strolling

Through your tragic trials

On and on--stupidity

On and on--the basic needs are defiled

Good air--good water--good earth

Ethiopia--Ethiopia--Ethiopia

Little garden planet--oasis in space

Some hearts hurt--they can hardly stand the waste

Ethiopia--Ethiopia--Ethiopia

LanguageEnglish
Translated byAllen Morningstar

About this Song

Joni Mitchell's song 'Ethiopia' poignantly addresses the famine crisis in Ethiopia during the 1980s, shedding light on the devastating humanitarian crisis that gripped the nation. The song's lyrics hold a mirror to global indifference and call for awareness and compassion towards the suffering. Key themes in the song include famine, suffering, global apathy, and the need for humanitarian aid. Mitchell's evocative imagery underscores the harsh realities faced by the victims of famine, making it a stirring call to action for listeners. Especially poignant moments in the song are the vivid descriptions of the desolate landscapes and the haunting portrayal of the starving people, which serve to humanize the distant crisis and evoke empathy.

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