OK, so this thread has maybe died out, but I wanted to chime in as well. I greatly enjoyed everything that everyone had to say. This is certainly not the easiest Joni song to talk about...
I have to preface by saying that I came to the whole Mingus record much later. I was one who jumped ship with Mingus...but not for long as S&L brought me right back! :~) So I've only had the record for 10 years or so. And sometimes, that's not enough time to absorb all that Joni can lay out there. Anyway, on to Lindsey. I think that one of the themes in the song (if not THE theme) is the privilege of the wealthy. Before we are even formally introduced to Lindsey by name, we are told that "His grandpa loved an empire" which indicates to me that he was an entrpreneur of kinds, like William Randolph Hearst or something, with a publishing "empire". So now we come to third generation, who has always had great access to wealth. A spoiled rich kid, if you will. There could even be ties to organized crime, as it mentions that 'his sister loved a thief'. It could be a crime family she's writing about...certainly an empire, and 'loved' like family. We hear then what is the key verse of the song next, where Joni writes of the cops yanking up the hookers and small-time punks & drunks. Lindsey, meanwhile, 'gets away with murder'...Joni then goes on to say: "If you're smart or rich or lucky, Maybe you'll beat the laws of man But the inner laws of spirit And the outer laws of nature No man can" So Lindsey is most likely a cocaine dealer, and he has the resources available to escape being caught. But he won't forever, he'll be betrayed and suffer eventually. The darkness is his mind & heart will consume him over time. Certainly not her most uplifting piece! ;~) Bob NP: Linda Perhacs, "Delicious"
