I'm sticking to my own interpretation: Joni wrote this to describe an
awakening she had in regard to control of her own career(s) in her various
art disciplines. She draws the analogy to Mary Magdalene to parallel her
having been "whored" by the record industry, then vilified: "All around the
market place, the buzzing of the flies, the buzzing and the stinging"
(witness HOSL, Mingus, et al.). Recently, disclosure about her and Larry
having suffered a miscarriage during the period this song was likely written
might help explain "Divinely barren and wickedly wise the killer nails are
ringing."
Joni was obviously writing from a very sensitive and fragile perspective,
sadly this is often her best vantage point. So far, I personally think that
"Exxon Blue" and "Radiation Rose" are simply colors, named like ones you
would find in a Crayola crayon box. They sound great together, too. They
might refer obscurely to "Roses Blue" from "Clouds" but I doubt it. If they
carry other associations that work for you, enjoy them. I think that her
writing is often both less complicated and less linear than we as pundits
might seek. Sometimes it just sounds and feels right and that's what makes
it poetry.
CC
"Oh, what do you know about living in Turbulent Indigo?" -- JM
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