Joni Mitchell
Lyric guide

Chinese Café

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

Joni Mitchell visibility1 visits
person Curated by Ethan Walker LyroVerse team
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Page type: lyric reference Artist: Joni Mitchell Canonical path: /mitchell-joni/chinese-cafe Related lyric paths: 6
Lyrics

Chinese Café

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Caught in the middle

Carol we're middle class

We're middle aged

We were wild in the old days

Birth of rock 'n' roll days

Now your kids are coming up straight

And my child's a stranger

I bore her

But I could not raise her

Nothing lasts for long

Nothing lasts for long

Nothing lasts for long

Down at the Chinese Cafe

We'd be dreaming on our dimes

We'd be playing "Oh my love, my darling"

One more time

Uranium money

Is booming in the old home town now

It's putting up sleek concrete

Tearing the old landmarks down now

Paving over brave little parks

Ripping off Indian land again

How long how long

Short sighted business men

Ah nothing lasts for long

Nothing lasts for long

Nothing lasts for long

Down at the Chinese Cafe

We'd be dreaming on our dimes

We'd be playing "You give your love, so sweetly"

One more time

Christmas is sparkling

Out on Carol's lawn

This girl of my childhood games

With kids nearly grown and gone

Grown so fast

Like the turn of a page

We look like our mothers did now

When we were those kids' age

Nothing lasts for long

Nothing lasts for long

Nothing lasts for long

Down at the Chinese Cafe

We'd be dreaming on our dimes

We'd be playing

"Oh my love, my darling

I've hungered for your touch

A long lonely time

And time goes by so slowly

And time can do so much

Are you still mine?

I need your love

I need your love

God speed your love to me"

(Time goes - where does the time go

I wonder where the time goes)

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Who performs "Chinese Café"?

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

Are there related songs to explore after "Chinese Café"?

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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