Joni Mitchell
Lyric guide

Cactus Tree

Read Cactus Tree lyrics by Joni Mitchell on LyroVerse, with linked artist context and related song paths.

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Page type: lyric reference Artist: Joni Mitchell Canonical path: /mitchell-joni/cactus-tree Related lyric paths: 6
Lyrics

Cactus Tree

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There's a man who's been out sailing

In a decade full of dreams

And he takes her to a schooner

And he treats her like a queen

Bearing beads from california

With their amber stones and green

He has called her from the harbor

He has kissed her with his freedom

He has heard her off to starboard

In the breaking and the breathing

Of the water weeds

While she was busy being free

There's a man who's climbed a mountain

And he's calling out her name

And he hopes her heart can hear three thousand miles

He calls again

He can think her there beside him

He can miss her just the same

He has missed her in the forest

While he showed her all the flowers

And the branches sang the chorus

As he climbed the scaley towers

Of a forest tree

While she was somewhere being free

There's a man who's sent a letter

And he's waiting for reply

He has asked her of her travels

Since the day they said goodbye

He writes wish you were beside me

We can make it if we try

He has seen her at the office

With her name on all his papers

Thru the sharing of the profits

He will find it hard to shake her

From his memory

And she's so busy being free

There's a lady in the city

And she thinks she loves them all

There's the one who's thinking of her

There's the one who sometimes calls

There's the one who writes her letters

With his facts and figures scrawl

She has brought them to her senses

They have laughed inside her laughter

Now she rallies her defenses

For she fears that one will ask her

For eternity

And she's so busy being free

There's a man who sends her medals

He is bleeding from the war

There's a jouster and a jester and a man who owns a store

There's a drummer and a dreamer

And you know there may be more

She will love them when she sees them

They will lose her if they follow

And she only means to please them

And her heart is full and hollow

Like a cactus tree

While she's so busy being free

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Who performs "Cactus Tree"?

Joni Mitchell performs "Cactus Tree", and this lyric page sits inside the Joni Mitchell catalog on LyroVerse.

Are there related songs to explore after "Cactus Tree"?

Yes. The related section below points to A Bird That Whistles and A Strange Boy with a short reason for opening each page next.

Where can I find more songs by Joni Mitchell?

Use the artist link near the top of the page or the related paths section below to keep moving through Joni Mitchell's lyric pages.

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