This is a song about a conversation Joni Mitchell had with a priest in an airport.
Back in the 70s there were countless articles that touted Ms Mitchell as one of the queens of the "confessional" (i.e., Song based on actual occurrences). People wasted decades trying to figure out the symbolism of "Little Green" as it was unknown for decades that Joni Mitchell had given birth at 19 and gave the child up for adoption). This, and the fact that the very first line says "the priest sat in the airport bar, he was wearing his father's tie"; serves as foundation on which the rest of the poem lays. His father's tie being a metaphor for the white collar.
This is a song about a conversation Joni Mitchell had with a priest in an airport.
Back in the 70s there were countless articles that touted Ms Mitchell as one of the queens of the "confessional" (i.e., Song based on actual occurrences). People wasted decades trying to figure out the symbolism of "Little Green" as it was unknown for decades that Joni Mitchell had given birth at 19 and gave the child up for adoption). This, and the fact that the very first line says "the priest sat in the airport bar, he was wearing his father's tie"; serves as foundation on which the rest of the poem lays. His father's tie being a metaphor for the white collar.