The title is said to be a reference to both the song “Hey Joe” and the artist Joni Mitchell.
This song also alludes to the works of William Gibson’s Neuromancer with the line “In this broken town, can you still jack in/And know what to do?” These feature similarly on Ranaldo’s two other songs on th...
[Chorus]
Hey Joni, put it all behind you
Hey Joni, now I've put it all behind me too
These times can't add up, your life's such a mess
Forget the past and just say yes
[Verse 1]
Tell me Joni, am I the one
To see you through?
In this broken town, can you still jack in
And know what to do?
I remember our youth, our high ideals
I remember you were so uptight
That time in the trees, we broke that vice
We took some steps and now we can't think twice
[Verse 2]
Tell me Joni, am I right by you?
Tell me how you're gonna lose this hard luck
Hey Joni, when will all these dreams come true?
You'd better find a way to climb down off that truck
[Verse 3]
Shots ring out from the center of an empty field
Joni's in the tall grass
She's a beautiful mental jukebox, a sailboat explosion
A snap of electric whip crack
She's not thinking about the future, she's not spinning her wheels
She doesn't think at all about the past
She's thinking long and hard about that wild sound
And wondering, will it last?
[Guitar Solo]
Kick it
[Bridge]
Hey Joni, put it all behind you
There's something turning, it's turning right to you
My head burns, but I know you speak the truth, hey!
[Chorus]
Hey Joni, put it all behind you
Hey Joni, now I've put it all behind me too
Forget the future, these times are such a mess
Tune out the past and just say yes
[Outro]
It's 1963
It's 1964
It's 1957
It's 1962
Put it all behind you
Now it's all behind you
Hey Joni was written by Lee Ranaldo & Thurston Moore & Kim Gordon & Steve Shelley.
Hey Joni was produced by Sonic Youth & Nick Sansano.
Sonic Youth released Hey Joni on Tue Oct 18 1988.
Thurston uses GABDEG, and Lee uses EBEEAB.