Song Lyrics

The Arrangement

by Joni Mitchell

You could have been more
Than a name on the door *
On the thirty-third floor in the air
More than a credit card
Swimming pool in the backyard

While you still have the time
You could get away and find
A better life you know the grind is so ungrateful
Racing cars whiskey bars
No one cares who you really are
You're the keeper of the cards
Yes I know it gets hard
Keeping the wheels turning
And the wife she keeps the keys
She is so pleased to be
A part of the arrangement

You could have been more
Than a name on the door
On the thirty-third floor in the air
More than a consumer
Lying in some room trying to die
More than a credit card
Swimming pool in the backyard
You could have been more than a name on the door
You could have been more than a name on the door
You could have been more
You could have been more
You could have been more

Footnotes

[The following was submitted by Richard Flynn]
Elia Kazan adapted his autobiographical novel The Arrangement, the number one bestseller of 1967, for the screen. The Arrangement (1969) has a score by noted musician David Amram. In a 1977 interview Amram reveals that Joni was hired to collaborate with him on a song for the movie, but eventually Kazan decided against using her lyrics. The later song, written entirely by Joni, is obviously inspired by the plot of Kazan's melodrama. The song takes the point of view of "the other woman," played by Faye Dunaway in the film. This famous bit of dialogue is certainly relevant:

Gwen: OK, yes, I know, I'm nothing, I never was, but you! You could have been...
Eddie Anderson: What? What?!
Gwen: ...What you could have been. ...What happened to you, Eddie? Must kill you to think what you might have been.