Mitchell, Joni - Chinese Cafe / Unchained Melody Lyrics






Caught in the middle
Carol we're middle class
We're middle aged
We were wild in the old days
Birth of rock 'n' roll days
Now your kids are coming up straight
And my child's a stranger
I bore her
But I could not raise her
Nothing lasts for long
Nothing lasts for long
Nothing lasts for long

Down at the Chinese Cafe
We'd be dreaming on our dimes
We'd be playing "Oh my love, my darling"
One more time

Uranium money
Is booming in the old home town now
It's putting up sleek concrete
Tearing the old landmarks down now
Paving over brave little parks
Ripping off Indian land again
How long how long
Short sighted business men
Ah nothing lasts for long
Nothing lasts for long
Nothing lasts for long

Down at the Chinese Cafe
We'd be dreaming on our dimes
We'd be playing "You give your love, so sweetly"
One more time

Christmas is sparkling
Out on Carol's lawn
This girl of my childhood games
With kids nearly grown and gone
Grown so fast
Like the turn of a page
We look like our mothers did now
When we were those kids' age
Nothing lasts for long
Nothing lasts for long
Nothing lasts for long
Down at the Chinese Cafe
We'd be dreaming on our dimes
We'd be playing
"Oh my love, my darling
I've hungered for your touch
A long lonely time
And time goes by so slowly
And time can do so much
Are you still mine?
I need your love
I need your love
God speed your love to me"
(Time goes - where does the time go
I wonder where the time goes)





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Mitchell, Joni Chinese Cafe / Unchained Melody Comments
  1. e.... ....

    Joni’s 80s stuff is so underrated.

  2. T.... N....

    Amaizing album and Joco bass line.

  3. s.... e....

    She sings of Christmas and of China here.
    Cant help of thinking of Laura Nyro's LP.... Christmas and The Beads of Sweat.
    IE: "Upstairs by a China Lamp".
    Its documented Joni always admired Laura. So the musical connection makes sense to me.
    Two of the most talented and iconic songstresses of my time.

  4. J.... H....

    I will never forget the guy who introduced me to Joni's music. I met him in some dance shack at the bar and went home with him that same night. He put on Joni's music and all we did was listen to her music. Nothing else. I never saw him again, but he gave me so much by doing this. I'm forever thankful.

  5. J.... S....

    Jaco's fretless added the perfect thing.

  6. p.... c....

    I will always love Joni Mitchell - going back to Blue- and today I find myself writing and listening to all her albums - I cannot get enough. And writing is so easy- remembering our youth. We did make a difference...yes we did. "Adventures of Maryvale Hippies" a sisterhood out next year. ;)

  7. m.... p....

    leah mother of myles and heidi i need your love god speed your love to me

  8. R.... J....

    There is no other musician like her and there are many that have their own special style and delivery in quality songwriting and singing. Taking the Righteous Brothers classic adding something to it and reinventing the entire song so that it sounds new and fresh even 36 years on is one of several reasons why Joni is in a class of her own. From 1982.

  9. P.... C....

    Love this song

  10. m.... p....

    it make s me cry big time - we re looking at a serious talent - the number of days that you can cry - i love her

  11. l.... ....

    Longtime Joni fan but this is the first time I've heard this song! Gorgeous! Thanks for posting.

  12. i.... ....

    I have yet to find a bunch of player cats willing to do this ... with me on bass.

    i.... ....

    Don’t give up... this song is sublime.

  13. S.... I....

    There’s skipping on 00:58.

  14. K.... D....

    We are all so lucky to share this world with Joni Mitchell and her amazing music.

  15. J.... R....

    Nothing lasts for long ... this song is fucking awesome...

  16. k.... ....

    "we look like our mothers did now when we were those kids age".....oh my, does that hit home. "Nothing lasts for long...."

  17. m.... p....

    she s a beauty - she loves the world

  18. Z.... 2....

    This song is how I explain Joni to my students. This and Both Sides Now, and Case of You. It takes a lot of courage to write this stuff. The arrangement is so original and deep. Each instrument is explored so fully, and the vocals are so clearly expressed.
    90% of the guys I submit this to, get it, in at least they recognise quality. ('m dealing with 16-18 year olds, bear in mind, so I have to work a bit, to convince them that Joni, James Taylor, and Karen Carpenter are the best things they should listen to.) I'm gradually getting there....

    Z.... 2....

    Thank you for your efforts. These songs need to live on!!!

  19. M.... M....

    Happy Birthday Joni......we LOVE you. 😌🙏😌

  20. D.... L....

    The orchestral Travelogue version of this (2002) is sublime.

  21. d.... b....

    "Nothing lasts for long.."

  22. t.... ....

    John, Paul, Joni,...…...

  23. J.... B....

    Nothing lasts for long...

  24. �.... ....

    first, have goose bumps

  25. J.... F....

    Joni's Soul Melodies last for Long

  26. M.... K....

    One of the best, Joni and this song.

  27. B.... M....

    I think this was written for the daughter she had as a teenager and had her adopted. I hear today that she has met her and they have a great relationship.

    B.... M....

    It was. :)

  28. t.... ....

    99% of the people, have taste.

  29. C.... M....

    Joni could of wrote this song for me and many of us in this generation...I had a Carol in my  life only she gave up her baby and we spent count less dimes on the jute box in our Chinese café......god speed to my Carol

    C.... M....

    Christine Munn love to you

  30. F.... V....

    Me too, Ben. My guiding light since 1968.

  31. s.... ....

    Whoever put this mix together for me knew what he or she was doing! "Chinese Cafe/Unchained Melody" is a typically wonderful Joni song, herein following the Carole King classic, "Will You Love Me Tomorrow?", to which Joni refers and pays tribute. My hat's off to the compiler of this mix. Thanks loads.

  32. K.... V....

    This one definetly gets me a little teary eyed..

  33. e.... c....

    A goddess among us. I can't think of another artist whose work has had affected so many so deeply.
    Here is a visualization of CHINESE CAFE. You may recognize  some of her themes:                                        https://vimeo.com/224482789

  34. T.... P....

    The two thumbs downers must be deaf.

  35. A.... ....

    I love this album.

  36. s.... ....

    She writes more raw than anyone I can think of and she leaves prickles in your skin

    s.... ....

    spudcustardx1 so true

  37. C.... E....

    I have survived severe depressions listening to Joni as she assured me that nothing lasts for long and tat all things must pass. I also took refuge in the poetry of Omar Khayyam, Edna st Vincent Millay, Emily Dickens and Anne Sexton...If you know how to immerse yourself in such beauty you will survive your depression. I

    C.... E....

    Right on Cynthia. I hope you remain happy. Depression is disabling when it is bad. Joni’s music has helped many others as well.

    C.... E....

    Thank you

    C.... E....

    Thank you. Care from a stranger.

    C.... E....

    Stay strong...Thank u

    C.... E....

    "If you know how to immerse yourself in such beauty you will survive your depression."


    Maybe I don't want to survive my depression. Maybe I want it kill me. After all, I'll only wake up somewhere else. Everything is a Chinese Cafe

  38. S.... A....

    The followup to "Little Green".

  39. J.... 0....

    Beyond words

  40. I.... B....

    Will never forget the shear elation I felt when Annie Nightingale played this for me on her Sunday night request show , 31 years ago !

    Love this song; love Joni Mitchell

  41. P.... ....

    As much as I love her early stuff, I just can't get over how rich and sexy she sounds when she sings in a lower range.

    P.... ....

    Same here. I fell in love with her voice from the mid to late 70s era when it started to get deeper and huskier.

    P.... ....

    same here , her later sound ....just wow !

  42. J.... W....

    Larry said in an Uncut interview, that this song made him cry...

  43. w.... k....

    Totally exceptional...!!!! Amazing.!!! Been a fan for years..!!

  44. R.... H....

    Sublime. Poignant. A fan for over 40 years. Classic. Quality. Unsurpassed. Haunting. Joni is timeless....Thanks for so many years of musical excellence and pleasure.

    R.... H....

    +Ronald Huffmyer Me too ! and his excellent bassist Larry Klein is well in the style of Jaco Pastorius ! Joni Mitchell always knew choose excellent musicians ...

    R.... H....

    Perfectly said

    R.... H....

    well put!!!

    R.... H....

    since 1976 : allways a tremendous Happyness !
    Thank You, Joni Mitchell

    R.... H....

    Well said!

  45. A.... G....

    She was so superior to almost every other artist

    A.... G....

    I agree. Kate Bush was second. But nobody surpassed Joni Mitchell.

  46. J.... B....

    Damn, girl... You blow my mind every time!

  47. B.... S....

    I don't think I ever disliked any Joni Mitchell song..she is just amazing and I thank her everyday....I used to lie in bed as a teen listening to her music and he I am 40 years later still listening to her wonderful music current and past..Chinese Cafe/Unchained Melody is perfect for our ages.....forever Joni..."Nothing Lasts for Long" Thank you for the interview with me at XM radio.....

    B.... S....

    My life...

    B.... S....

    no doubt !

  48. S.... B....

    I just love this song. What a wonderfully odd tune. It sort of reminds me of Steely Dan's song Aja. I especially love Larry Klein's fretless bass line - those harmonics dressed up with chorus and tremelo really work. 

    S.... B....

    +Steve Bowman
    One of her best songs. Oddly haunting. Lots of melancholy here.The great bass line really grounds the song's mood.
    Definitely get the Aja vibe here.

    S.... B....

    This song is sublime. She listened to her intuition and made music her way. I 💜 Joni.

    S.... B....

    The arrangement is quite superb! 👍

  49. j.... ....

    Look at what Jaco started after he made his appearanes on 4 of Joni's albums. a handful of the bassists after his reign were so melodic on Joni's records. this track is awesome! shout out to who ever played bass on this track!

    j.... ....

    The bassist is Larry Klein. They were married too.

    j.... ....

    @jryuwah I was just about to mention Jaco before I saw your comment...

    j.... ....

    This is one of my favourite albums. I even had it on cassette back in the day.

    j.... ....

    Eli E I also had it on cassette and would listen to it every day