Cool subject. I just loved this song from the moment I heard it. Brilliant Guitar work. Great use of an open tuning. By this point in her career, Joni says she writes the music then looks for themes and words that fit the melody line. Here, the melody and imagery of the guitar play are so spot on the concept of the song, it's hard to believe the concept did not come first. Wolves or no.
Anyways, I too believe that Lindsay is a person (or composite of persons) addicted to cocaine, but worse, given to spells of moral lapses. As to the lyric line: "The stab." refers to injecting drugs. "and glare", that lost glazed look of someone strung out . (I know a kid hopelessly strung out on drugs. -He had this crazed look in his eyes when he was too far gone. Very scary sight.) "and buckshot" refering to the kick of the drug. "The blizzards come and go." to me, refer to a user that goes in and out of bouts of addiction. They manage a few weeks clean, then lose the battle again. "He get away with murder." I don't think she means literally, but figuratively. Addicted people can rationalize almost any kind of behavior. -Much of it easily forgotten. A great imagery song. I wonder what the melody was like when she first composed it. As I recall, back then, she mentions that during the period of making Mingus, she would work from a standard melody that nobody knows. Then, as she would write (find words) to fit the melody, she would go up or down a note to give the word a natural inflection. I picture her putting the guitar in this new tuning and with great passion discovering the chords and imagery. It's a very stark sound and she plays it to the hilt. It's almost as amazing as Yvette in English. God, what a beautiful string of chords. How does she do it?????
