edith and the kingpin
Singer:joni mitchell
plainclothes cops greet him
fresh lipstick glistening
from victims of typewriters
the band sounds like typewriters
the big man he's not listening
his left hand holds his right
what does that hand desire
that he grips it so tight
the passed-over girls are conferring
the man with the diamond ring is purring
all claws for now withdrawn
his renegade stories to her
his crimes and his glories to her
in challenge they look on
women he has taken grow old too soon
he tilts their tired faces
a plane in the rain is humming
the wires in the walls are humming
some song-some mysterious song
beating frantic and snowblind
she says-his crime belongs
you know they dare not look away