Joni Mitchell's 'Sex Kills'

I pulled up behind a Cadillac;
We were waiting for the light;
And I took a look at his license plate-
It said, just ice.
Is justice just ice?
Governed by greed and lust?
Just the strong doing what they can
And the weak suffering what they must?
And the gas leaks
And the oil spills
And sex sells everything
And sex kills . . .
Sex kills . . .

Doctors pills give you brand new ills
And the bills bury you like an avalanche
And lawyers havent been this popular
Since Robespierre slaughtered half of France!
And Indian chiefs with their old beliefs know
The balance is undone-crazy ions-
You can feel it out in traffic;
Everyone hates everyone!
And the gas leaks
And the oil spills
And sex sells everything
And sex kills . . .
Sex kills . . .

All these jackoffs at the office
The rapist in the pool
Oh and the tragedies in the nurseries-
Little kids packin guns to school
The ulcerated ozone
These tumors of the skin-
This hostile sun beating down on
This massive mess were in!
And the gas leaks
And the oil spills
And sex sells everything
And sex kills . . .
Sex kills . . .
Sex kills ...
Sex kills . . .
Sex kills . . .

* * * * *

I often retreat into music in trying times, and God knows that these times qualify as trying.

I've been playing a lot of musicians who have strong political and anti-war bents, including Bruce Cockburn, Joan Baez and Gil Scott-Heron because their words and music have much more meaning than even when they were first written and performed. A great example is Joni Mitchell's "Sex Kills" from her generally overlooked 1994 album, "Turbulent Indigo."

I'll be posting the lyrics to more great political and anti-war songs from time to time.

(Painting by Herb Leonard. More info here.)