Joanne lyrics by Michael Nesmith, 14 meanings. Joanne explained, official 2024 song lyrics | LyricsMode.com
No new notifications
View all notifications
Hey, click the icon to check the status of your contributions.
User icon

Michael Nesmith – Joanne lyrics

Create lyrics explanation
Select some words and click "Explain" button. Then type your knowledge, add image or YouTube video till "Good-o-meter" shows "Cool" or "Awesome!". Publish your explanation with "Explain" button. Get karma points!
OK, got it!
Request & respond explanations
  • Don't understand the meaning of the song?
  • Highlight lyrics and request an explanation.
  • Click on highlighted lyrics to explain.
Michael Nesmith – Joanne lyrics
Her name was Joanne
And she lived near a meadow
By a pond
And she touched me for a moment
With a look that spoke to me
Of her sweet long
Then the woman that she was
Drove her on with desperation
And I saw, as she went
A most hopeless situation
For Joanne and the man
And the time that made them both run
She was only a girl
I know that well, but still I could not see
That the hold that she had
Was much stronger than the love
She felt for me
But staying with her
And my little bit of wisdom
Broke down her desires
Like a light through a prism
Into yellows and blues
And the tune that I could not have sung
Though the essence is gone
I have no tears to cry for her
And my only thoughts of her
Are kind
Her name was Joanne
And she lived near a meadow by a pond
And she touched me for a moment
With a look that spoke to me
Of her sweet long
Then the woman that she was
Drove her on with desperation
And I saw as she went
A most hopeless situation
For Joanne and the man
And the time that made them both run
For Joanne and the man
And the time that made them both run
Explain Request
×



Lyrics taken from /lyrics/m/michael_nesmith/joanne.html

  • Explanations
    new
  • Meanings
  • Email
  • Print
  • Correct
    Add song structure elements
    Click "Correct" to open the "Correction form". There you can add structure tags, correct typos or add missing words. Send your correction and get karma points! Result of your work will appear after moderating.
    OK, got it!
Songwriters: MICHAEL NESMITH
Joanne lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

hot lyrics

Joanne meanings Post my meaning

  • b
    + 15
    broncovet 2022-03-14 12:09:23
    Joanne was much younger, and, altho they loved each other, both knew it was a "hopeless situation" because neither Joanne's family or Mike's family would accept the marriage, because Joanne was too young. And, Mike knew that Joanne loved "the man" (her father), and her father disapproved of him. Mike understood why, he probably has a daughter that HE loves, also. And, he also wants the best for her. Her father wanted Joanne to find a man more her age. It's a "Foster Harris 1 plus 1", where Joanne was forced to choose between 2 very good things: the love of her father, and the love for Michael. She chose her father, and Michael respected her for her choice, because "her father's hold on her was stronger than her love for him". Mike knew it was a hopeless situation, and, even tho they keep on loving each other, they both moved on, and forgave, so that love would bloom for others. Joanne's love for her father, above all else, made Michael love her even more. And, Mike's respect for Joanne even when she broke his heart, made Joanne love Michal more. Even tho this "love that can never be" wont be happening, its musical and spiritual beauty is here for the rest of us to behold.
    Add your reply
  • U
    + 14
    Unregistered 2019-03-10 16:22:14
    I thought maybe Joanne was his (Mike's) love affair - she was younger than him & still needed to find herself. They loved each other, but he knew she needed to experience her life on her own. He understood this so he let her go. He will never forget her & thinks of her with kindness & longing as he will always have that moment in time. Love the words to this song. Mike is a prolific song writer & singer.
    Add your reply
  • j
    + 12
    Joanne Doyle Kuzborski 2015-02-16 01:21:55
    Yes, there was a girl named Joanne and she was in a desperate situation and it is good that the person that she cared for and loved with all her heart and soul was able to forgive her, even though not understand the situation she fell into. Joanne made a mistake. The girl was able to overcome her hopeless situation and after years of not understanding why she had to run is now at peace and wishes to let the love of her life know that she survived this hopeless situation and went on to walk in a path of joy and love. Joanne will never forget the man she ran from and he will always hold a special place in her heart and soul. Joanne prays that the man she ran from was able to catch his share of joy and love in this world. Joanne made a mistake by running but she was so overcome by her own emotions that she had to run away and in doing so hold a pain that still is tender through the years. Joanne and the man she ran from will meet again in a heavenly place. God bless that man who cared and who filled her heart with a joy she never realized until she met him.
    Add your reply
  • U
    + 11
    Unregistered 2011-10-27 01:55:27
    I think its about a cow that has lived her life in a meadow by a pond, the catch of her eye so innocent and loving, at the end the man was chasing her onto a truck and taken away to be slaughtered, her essence is gone, but he still thinks kind of her, he understands what has happened, a little upset about the whole situation in someway the cow has affected him.
    1 reply
  • U
    + 4
    Unregistered 2012-01-05 02:16:08
    Adoption. The story of an unwed mother as sung by her son, who, although adopted, still has kind thoughts of the woman who bore him. Holding her son only briefly was easier than dealing with the emotional weight and strain as a single parent, and he was too little to help, or put another way, the tune he couldn't sing. Joanne and the man became parents at a time when neither could handle it. The child was better for it as a result, but the pain of regret still lingers on both mother and son. A painfully touching, yet bittersweet song so beautifully crafted and underrated.
    Add your reply
  • U
    + 2
    Unregistered 2022-07-20 23:18:17
    Some people say it was written about a cow and I’ve also read about a horse. This is my favorite opinion of the meaning. For it to be about a horse in a meadow by a pond, with a sweet gaze, only to be distracted by the stud she longed for in a nearby pasture, separated by a fence . Finally, they broke through & ran off together to mate
    Add your reply
  • U
    + 2
    Unregistered 2015-12-31 14:56:54
    The song is about Michael Nesmith growing up in a single parent family. He never really knew his Dad, "the man". His mother had Michael when she was 17 and his father was away in the service overseas. His parents divorced when he was 3, after his father returned from the war. The "essence" was the marriage and Michael loves his caring mother.
    Add your reply
  • U
    + 1
    Unregistered 2019-09-01 06:25:11
    She was only a girl but she touched the man with love. He said no. And the woman's desire too have him drove her on in a most desperate situation to have him. He could see that as she went "flirted" with him it was a hopeless situation for he could not resist her desire and advances. Joanne and the man and the time "law"of underage girls made them both run. She was only a girl but he was in love with her and she had a hold on him that was much stronger than her feelings of love towards him. But staying with her was showing his little bit of wisdom. "he should of know better" He knew it was wrong but he loved her. He slept with her and broke down her desire like a light through a prism of yellows and blues. Broke down her desire. Sexual desires was fulfilled and the tune that he could not of sung. " describe " was the music song that they made together that moment was mind blowing. And his thoughts of her are kind as he must remember that it was only a young girls desires nothing more to her. So no tears does he cry.
    Add your reply
  • j
    + 1
    JenEm 2015-03-26 00:43:10
    The era this song was written was one filled with change, hippies, drugs, free sh-t, breaking down the past. Radical thoughts. One thought I have is that this song is about drug use and drug addiction. The meadow by a pond being a hallucination, a beautiful feeling that the drug provides. The singer has tried it and loved it but his "little bit of wisdom" saved him "like a light through a prism" and he discovered he would not take the addiction road "a tune that I could not have sung". During the sojourn his mate becomes addicted "a most hopeless situation". The singer still remembers the feelings the drug provided "my only thoughts of her are kind" but will never walk the path again. I also like with the adoption story.
    Add your reply
  • U
    + 1
    Unregistered 2012-07-18 08:36:30
    A very confusing song, to say the least. Who "the man" is never explained at all. I remember this song from when it came out in the early 70s, and I remember liking it a lot. The odd thing is, I don't remember noticing the glaring ambiguity about the identity of "the man". I guess I just assumed he was the man that joanne chose to go with instead of the singer. That still seems the likeliest explanation. She was torn for a while between the two of them, because each gave her a part of what she needed, but only a part. That would be the meaning of "broke down her desires like a light through a prism".
    Add your reply
  • U
    0
    Unregistered 2022-10-02 00:05:39
    I think this is about a young woman who was in love with a man who had passed away. Michael had gotten enough of her attention to break down her desires but her love for the man made it impossible for Michael and her to have a solid long term relationship.
    Add your reply
  • j
    0
    Joanne Doyle Kuzborski 2015-02-16 01:32:29
    In desperation Joanne ran because she was scared of her emotions. Joanne's heart and soul became entwined with things beyond her imagination and she ran and ran and ran from what would have given Joanne the greatest joy but she just couldn't understand what was happening and made a major mistake by running. The love and joy Joanne ran from took years to understand and put her in a situation that only God could understand. Joanne prays that the person she ran from has peace, love and joy in his life. His love lives on with Joanne every day of her life. His memory will never abandon Joanne.
    Add your reply
  • U
    - 2
    Unregistered 2021-03-28 20:23:16
    Joanne was a super hot chick who was always getting guys to go to bed with her for money.... She would get laid by the pond and when she came, she would make a high pitched sound...just like in the song.... She was a hooker and a looker and a booker who didn't know her own strength
    Add your reply
  • U
    - 3
    Unregistered 2012-06-14 22:19:33
    This is a song from the 60s so it is obviously in reference to the drug use and environmental movement. The line at the end of the second verse should read "of her sweet lawn," to vaguely rhyme with "by a pond" at the end of the first verse. The singer is obviously an itinerant worker wandering through the neighborhood offering to mow peoples' yards, and he falls in love with joanne's, um, lush lawn while she's skinny-dipping in her backyard pool - the "pond. " the "yellows and blues" are references to the blue sky and sunshine filtering through the prism of the weed he's smokin' as he's "mowing joanne's lawn," if you catch my drift. "joanne and the man on the run" clarify that this is a threesome we're talking about, and her desperation is in reference to her worrying about what if her husband finds out about her two boyfriends?
    Add your reply
    View 9 more meanings

    Write about your feelings and thoughts about Joanne

    Know what this song is about? Does it mean anything special hidden between the lines to you? Share your meaning with community, make it interesting and valuable. Make sure you've read our simple tips

    Hey! It's useful.

    If this song really means something special to you, describe your feelings and thoughts. Don't hesitate to explain what songwriters and singer wanted to say. Also we collected some tips and tricks for you:

    • Don't write just "I love this song." Hidden between the lines, words and thoughts sometimes hold many different not yet explained meanings
    • Remember: your meaning might be valuable for someone
    • Don't post links to images and links to facts
    • Write correctly
    • Don't spam and write clearly off-topic meanings
    • Don't write abusive, vulgar, offensive, racist, threatening or harassing meanings
    • Do not post anything that you do not have the right to post
    • Please note: We moderate every meaning

    Follow these rules and your meaning will be published

    .
    Write song meaning
    Type your knowledge till "Good-o-meter" shows "Awesome!". Then send your meaning with "Post meaning" button. Get karma points!
    OK, got it!
    U
    Min 50 words
    Not bad
    Good
    Awesome!

    Top meanings Post my meaning

    • b
      + 15
      broncovet
      Joanne was much younger, and, altho they loved each other, both knew it was a "hopeless situation"... Read more →
    • U
      + 14
      Unregistered
      I thought maybe Joanne was his (Mike's) love affair - she was younger than him & still needed to... Read more →
    All Joanne meanings →

    official video

    More Michael Nesmith lyrics

    Full lyrics and meanings of Joanne performed by Michael Nesmith All Michael Nesmith Lyrics →

    Featured lyrics

    View 10 more explanations
    Add your explanation

    Write an explanation

    BoldItalicLinkAdd an image new!
    20 words
    Good
    Cool
    Awesome!

    Explanation guidelines:

    • Describe what artist is trying to say in a certain line, whether it's personal feelings, strong statement or something else.
    • Provide song facts, names, places and other worthy info that may give readers a perfect insight on the song's meaning.
    • Add links, pictures and videos to make your explanation more appealing. Provide quotes to support the facts you mention.
    Before you get started, be sure to check out these explanations created by our users: good, very good, great.

    Request explanation

    • Ask us or our community about the part of the song that interests you
    • We will try to respond as soon as possible
    ×
    Congratulations!
    Keep posting annotations and earn
    respect from LyricsMode community.
    Yep, I'm cool!
    0-9 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

    [Intro][Verse][Pre-Chorus][Chorus][Hook][Bridge][Outro]