I Had a King - 1968 The song they say inspired the lyrics in Going to California by Led Zepplin: "Find a queen without a king. They say she plays guitar and cries and sings, la-la-la." I had a king in a tenement castle Lately he's taken to painting the pastel walls brown He's taken the curtains down He's swept with the broom of contempt And the rooms have an empty ring He's cleaned with the tears Of an actor who fears for the laughter's sting I can't go back there anymore You know my keys won't fit the door You know my thoughts don't fit the man They never can, they never can CONTINUED
River It's coming on Christmas They're cutting down trees They're putting up reindeer And singing songs of joy and peace Oh I wish I had a river I could skate away on But it don't snow here It stays pretty green I'm going to make a lot of money Then I'm going to quit this crazy scene Oh I wish I had a river I could skate away on I wish I had a river so long I would teach my feet to fly I wish I had a river I could skate away on I made my baby cry (Continued) . .
Joni Mitchell The Circle Game....Song meaning below "In this poetic song, Joni Mitchell tells the story of a child's journey to adulthood. She uses a carousel as a metaphor for the years that go by, pointing out how we can look back, but we can't return to our past." "The song opens with the young boy enjoying the wonder of youth, but looking forward to getting older. In the second verse, he is 16 and driving. The final verse finds him at 20, with his dreams tempered a bit, but still with high hopes for his future."