VERSE
Tax Free
Joni Mitchell
Front rooms
Back rooms
Slide into tables
Crowd into bathrooms
Joke around
Cheap talk
Deep talk
Talk, talk, talk around the clock
Crawl home
Lie down
Teeth chatter
Heart pounds
I don't feel so good
I don't feel so good
Push a button to escape
Preacher on the tube crying ";Lord!";
There's evil in this land
Evangelist:
";Rock and roll music!";
";Cast down these dope-fiends
And there noisy bands!";
";Damn their souls!";
Preacher preaching love like vengeance
Preaching love like hate
Calling for large donations
Promising estates
Rolling lawns and angel bands
Behind the pearly gates
You know, he will have his in this life
But yours will have to wait
He's immaculately tax free
";Mulitiple hundreds of thousands of ...";
Tax free
";Hundreds and millions of dollars";
Tax free
";A hundred billion dollars!
And who is paying the price?
Who, who
";Your children are";
Pissed off
Jacked up
Scream into the mike
Spit into the loving cup
Strut like a rooster
March like a man
God's hired hands and the devil bands
Packing the same grandstands
Different clothes
";Pot in their pockets!";
Different hair
";Sexually active";
Raise a screaming guitar or a bible in the air
Theatre of anguish
Theatre of glory
God's hired hands and the devil bands
Oh come let us adore---ME!
Lord, there's danger in this land
You get witch-hunts and wars
When church and state hold hands
Fuck it!
Tonight I'm going dancing
With the drag queens and the punks
Big beat deliver me
From this sanctimonious skunk
We're no flaming angels
And he's not heaven sent
How can he speak for the Prince of Peace
When he's hawk-right militant
And he's immaculately tax free
";Our nation has lost its guts!";
Save me
";Our nation has lost its strength";
Tax free
";Our nation has whimpered and cried";
Save me
";And petted the Castros";
Tax free
";The Khomeinis' and the Kaddafis'";
Save me
";For so long";
Tax free
";That we don't know how to act like a man";
Save me
";I think that we should turn the United States Marines
loose on that little island south of Florida and
stop that problem!";
";I am preachin' love, I am!";
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About this Song
Tax Free by Joni Mitchell is a critical examination of consumer culture and the commercialization of religion. The song delves into themes such as consumerism, the influence of televangelists, and societal hypocrisy. Mitchell portrays a world where religious figures exploit faith for financial gain, highlighting the moral and ethical contradictions between spiritual teachings and material greed. Particularly poignant moments in this song include lines that critique the lavish lifestyles of televangelists and the gullibility of their followers who contribute to their tax-free earnings. The song serves as a satirical commentary on the commodification of spirituality and the pervasive nature of consumerism in modern society.
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