Mitchell, Joni - Number One Lyrics

Beyonce should cover this!

Loveeee this song in 2019 June.

October 2019 is here

This whole album freakin rules !!!!!

"Got to be a winner, trophy winner
Get to hold your head up high up!
Number one!
Got to be a winner, trophy winner
Get to hold your head up high up!
Number one!
Number one
Number one
Honey tell me,
When your working day is done,
Were you reaching for the high rung,
Reaching to be number one?
You get a car
You want a boat
You want an eenie-meenie-miney miney-moe
Oh there must be more to living
Than a mortgage and a lawn to mow
Sweaty work
And lucky breaks
And blood and tears is all it takes
To be a winner!
People cheer
And people gasp
People want your autograph
When you're a winner!
Run, run, run, run
Let's see you run
We'll be betting by the starting gun!
Shall we shower you with flowers
Or shall we shun ya
When your race is run?
Will we shower you with flowers
Or will we shun ya
When your race is run?
Will they shower you with flowers
Or will they shun ya
When your race is run?
Got to be a winner, trophy winner
Get to hold your head up high up!
Number one!"
Songwriters: Joni Mitchell
Number One lyrics © Crazy Crow Music / Siquomb Music Publishing

Ben Orr(The Cars) on backing vocals. Good song. Cheers!

Great song from Chalk Mark album. Thanks for posting!

I heard that the late Benjamin Orr, former co-frontman of The Cars ,sang on this :)

Correct Sonja.

Don't even think about being number one

Still so relevant. I love the sarcastic commentary. Will they shower you with flowers or will they shun ya, when your race is run?

When my workin day is done i put this song on🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶💗

Definately one her stronger songs in her 80s period. Would like to hear this song more stripped down acapello style without the heavy-handed production of this time.

She is number one :)

Big fan of Joni Mitchell, played it a lot during a vacation to Colorado. So playing it also brings back memory's which makes the record so much more awesome. They say she spent a lot of money on special musical guests for this record. Unfortunately just because a record is good doesn't mean it will be successful. Releasing a type of record when, lets say singer song writing  artists aren't popular. A record can have poor sales. Now a days they like rappers who have 4 women with babies or run over people twice until there dead. But I'm losing eye sight with my left eye, that's why I had to run them over. Then why do you have a driver license.

love this song

Oli Clayton thank you for bringing me back to this gem of a song.  I agree with my comment from 11 months ago and with Oli and with Joni's lyrics. Oh yeah. :-)   'A Happy Christmas to you!'  

Beautiful ~ I expect nothing less from Ms. Joni Queen of Folk, but oh so many other talents ~

great track from the queen of female musicians

I heard it but did not observed the lesson. Great song but small solace, back to the tread mill.

What  beautiful layering of harmony. Marvelous sounds. I love Joni's voice and the lyrics so true.  Oh the pains of being a winner...... how your friends treat you differently because of your success........  Jealously creeps in so many times when you win, win, win and your friends seem to always lose.  Do you still hold your head up high or fear to show your joy because of looking too proud therefore bringing pain to your friends? 

 This artist shows her true beauty in her voice which reflects her mind, body and soul are all connected on the same wave length of perfection. Her beauty radiates right into my heart.  :-) The magnificent harmony will keep this music thrilling and possibly helping to heal a hurting human race.  Oh Yeah.....

Thanks my Angel Warrior for sharing this fave' artist of yours that touched your heart at such a great challenge in your life.......: -) 

It's funny with this song. When I first listened to it I was 18. I thought it was about winning or losing. Having to be the best. I hear it now, 20 years later, and I hear a song that is cautioning us against playing the game. The rat race. I don't think it's about the pains of being a winner so much as it is a statement about being that kind of person and winning or losing (doesn't matter which) makes you a loser in some bigger way. To play the game is to lose something of ourselves. "Oh, there must be more to living than a mortgage and a lawn to mow". Damn straight.

@Jason Marcel "being the winner" made me think of the Hollywood scene  and where American Idol type shows exploit FAME....Joni knew by her lyrics what being in the lime light meant full of pain and suffering to have that attention...... and adoration.  Thanks for comment....'Right On'. :-) 

I likewise interpret this as a harsh criticism of the "game", in this case, the capitalist system and its effect on individual mentality. This is a scathing critique of the value system structured around the hollowness of the American Dream. Additionally, you can find album liner type notes regarding the inspiration for songs from this album as well as Night Ride Home I believe catalogued somewhere on jonimitchell.com. Regarding this, she states that the song was written in response to a film producer's request for an "American anthem", and when he heard this he apparently replied: "I wanted something inspiring, not the truth!" or something to that effect. I think you're right that the song captures mania around fame in Hollywood and what not, but there's also a much broader social commentary here as well.

@Oli Clayton Bédard
That's exactly it. It's a criticism of the whole idea of wanting to lay others to waste by the fact of your "winning". It's a criticism of competition in a world that needs more cooperation.

Is this a case study in the curse of beauty? Beauty of mind, soul, body and love of life in general. A curse of beauty to not be understood and be o.k. with that.

Indicative of WAY too many people I know, by and large very successful people. That never ending search for perfection, that drive that eludes perpetual slackers such as myself.

Don't worry, it's not so much a critique of "slackers" as it is a critique of consumerism. "Oh there must be more to living than a mortgage and a lawn to mow." "Will they shower you with flowers or will they shun you when the race is won?" is about the misplaced sense of importance in the way we value material wealth over good deeds. Better to be a slacker who is good for something on this planet than a bugger who only knows how to hoard wealth at the expense of crushing everyone else.

Does it get any better than this? Fuck no. A great album, it will live into eternity.