{{Infobox song | name = Raised on Robbery | cover = Raised on Robbery cover.jpg | caption = German cover | alt = | type = single | artist = [[Joni Mitchell]] | album = [[Court and Spark]] | B-side = Court and Spark | released = December 1973 | recorded = 1973 | studio = [[A&M Studios|A&M]] (Hollywood, California) | genre = [[Soft rock]] | length = 2:20 | label = [[Asylum Records|Asylum]] | writer = [[Joni Mitchell]] | producer = Joni Mitchell | prev_title = Cold Blue Steel and Sweet Fire | prev_year = 1973 | next_title = [[Help Me (Joni Mitchell song)|Help Me]] | next_year = 1974 }} "'''Raised on Robbery'''" is a song written by [[Joni Mitchell]]. It was the lead single from her 1974 album ''[[Court and Spark]]''.
==Lyrics and music== The lyrics are about a prostitute who tries to pick up a man sitting alone in a hotel.<ref name=bb>{{cite news|title=Top Single Picks|newspaper=Billboard|accessdate=2020-07-24|date=December 1, 1973|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-Billboard/70s/1973/Billboard%201973-12-01.pdf|page=54}}</ref><ref name=allmusic>{{cite web|title=Raised on Robbery|author=Ruhlmann, William|accessdate=2020-07-24|publisher=Allmusic|url=https://www.allmusic.com/song/raised-on-robbery-mt0007722003}}</ref><ref name=lat>{{cite news|via=newspapers.com|accessdate=2020-07-24|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=February 3, 1974|author=Hilburn, Robert|page=50|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/56005955/the-los-angeles-times/|title=Insights from Inside Joni Mitchell}}</ref> The prostitute tells him about her life, until at the end of the song the man leaves.<ref name=allmusic/> ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' music critic [[Robert Hilburn]] explains that although the lyrics are provocative, they are "camouflaged enough" for [[AM radio]], for example by using a cooking [[metaphor]].<ref name=lat/>
"Raised on Robbery" has a [[Strophic form|strophic]] structure with a refrain at the end of each verse and a four-line introduction section to describe the setting and characters.<ref name=whitesell>{{cite book|title=The Music of Joni Mitchell|author=Whitesell, Lloyd|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2008|isbn=9780199719099|pages=45, 61, 151}}</ref> The music is more commercial than much of the music Mitchell performed before releasing this song, and [[Allmusic]] critic William Ruhlmann describes it as "an outright rock tune," although retaining the [[acoustic guitar]] work that Mitchell was known for.<ref name=bb/><ref name=allmusic/> [[Robbie Robertson]] of [[the Band]] plays [[electric guitar]] on the song to enhance the rock music feel.<ref name=allmusic/> ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' described the guitar playing as "funky" and said that the guitars and [[horn (instrument)|horn]]s keep the music flowing.<ref name=bb/> According to music professor Lloyd Whitesell, Mitchell "employs vocal histrionics to portray" the prostitute and conveys her brash personalities through "a bright, forceful vocal tone and suggestive, flamboyant slides."<ref name=whitesell/>
==Reception== Music critic [[Sean Nelson]] regarded "Raised on Robbery" as a tribute to such 1950s rock and roll songs as "[[Shake Rattle and Roll]]" and performers such as [[Chuck Berry]] but did not think it was very convincing, saying that it sounded "stodgy and wrinkled."<ref name=nelson>{{cite book|title=Court and Spark|pages=87–88|year=2006|publisher=Bloomsbury|isbn=9781441129666|author=Nelson, Sean}}</ref> On the other hand, Ruhlmann regarded the song as a perfectly realized "short story in song" with "funny and saucy" lyrics.<ref name=allmusic/> Fellow Allmusic critic Jason Ankeny stated that "Raised on Robbery" " offers an acutely funny look at the predatory environment of the singles bar scene."<ref>{{cite web|title=Court and Spark|author=Ankeny, Jason|accessdate=2020-07-24|publisher=Allmusic|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/court-and-spark-mw0000194904}}</ref> Hilburn called it the "liveliest track" on ''Court and Spark,'' calling it a "surprising, but welcome exercise in humor."<ref name=lat/> ''Tallahassee Democrat'' critic Bud Newman claimed that it was the only song on ''Court and Spark'' that "comes right out and grabs you, holding you captive to the lyric and the musical package."<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=Tallahassee Democrat|author=Newman, Bud|accessdate=2020-07-24|via=newspapers.com|title=Joni's 'Court and Spark' Falls Flat|date=February 3, 1974|page=12E|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/56015715/tallahassee-democrat/}}</ref> ''[[Cash Box]]'' said that "a rocking, rolling hard driving effort by Joni is a rarity...but this one was well worth waiting for."<ref name=cb>{{cite news|title=CashBox Record Reviews|date=December 8, 1973|page=18|accessdate=2021-12-11|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Cash-Box/70s/1973/Cash-Box-1973-12-08.pdf|newspaper=Cash Box}}</ref> ''[[Record World]]'' said that "Joni goes for a boogie-woogie beat, tight '30s harmonies and great instrumental backup on her spectacular new single entry."<ref name=rw>{{cite magazine|magazine=Record World|date=December 8, 1973|accessdate=2023-03-20|title=Hits of the Week|page=1|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Record-World/70s/73/RW-1973-12-08.pdf}}</ref>
"Raised on Robbery" reached No. 50 on the ''[[Cashbox (magazine)|Cashbox]]'' singles chart, No. 65 on the [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]], and No. 40 on the ''Billboard'' [[Adult Contemporary (chart)|Adult Contemporary]] chart.<ref>{{cite web|title=Raised on Robbery|url=https://www.ultimate70s.com/song?id=21555|publisher=Ultimate 70s|accessdate=2020-07-24}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Joni Mitchell Hot 100|url=https://www.billboard.com/music/joni-mitchell/chart-history|accessdate=2020-07-24|publisher=Billboard}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Joni Mitchell Adult Contemporary|publisher=Billboard|url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/joni-mitchell/chart-history/asi/|accessdate=2020-07-24}}</ref>
"Raised on Robbery" was later included on the video version of Mitchell's 1980 live album ''[[Shadows and Light (Joni Mitchell album)|Shadows and Light]]'', along with her compilation albums ''[[Hits (Joni Mitchell album)|Hits]]'' (1996) and ''[[Songs of a Prairie Girl]]'' (2005), the latter album being dedicated to Saskatchewan's centenary celebrations.<ref name=allmusic/><ref>{{cite web|title=Hits|accessdate=2020-07-24|publisher=Allmusic|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/hits-mw0000076126|author=Parisien, Roch}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Shadows and Light [Video/DVD]|accessdate=2020-07-25|publisher=Allmusic|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/shadows-and-light-video-dvd-mw0000870432|author=Eder, Bruce}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Songs of a Prairie Girl|accessdate=2020-07-25|publisher=Allmusic|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/songs-of-a-prairie-girl-mw0000205427|author=Deming, Mark}}</ref>
==Covers== *The song was covered by the Trans-Canada Highwaymen for their 2023 album, ''Explosive Hits Vol. 1''. *The song was covered by [[This Is the Kit|Kate Stables]], [[Jesca Hoop]] and Lail Arad for their 2025 album, '' [https://katestableslailaradjescahoop.bandcamp.com/album/the-songs-of-joni-mitchell-vol-1 The Songs of Joni Mitchell Vol.1] ''.
==Charts== {| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center" |+ Chart performance for "Raised on Robbery" ! scope="col"| Chart (1973–1974) ! scope="col"| Peak<br />position |- {{single chart|Canadatopsingles|51|chartid=4977b|rowheader=true|access-date=November 8, 2024}} |- {{single chart|Canadaadultcontemporary|27|chartid=5007|rowheader=true|access-date=November 8, 2024}} |- !scope="row"|New Zealand ([[New Zealand Listener|Listener]]) <ref>https://www.flavourofnz.co.nz/index.php?qpageID=search%20listener&qartistid=1452#n_view_location search Listener</ref> |14 |- {{single chart|Billboardhot100|65|artist=Joni Mitchell|rowheader=true|access-date=February 27, 2022}} |- {{single chart|Billboardadultcontemporary|40|artist=Joni Mitchell|rowheader=true|access-date=February 27, 2022}} |- ! scope="row"| US ''[[Cash Box (magazine)|Cash Box]]'' Top 100<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Cash-Box/70s/1974/CB-1974-02-09.pdf|title=Cash Box Top 100 |work=[[Cashbox (magazine)|Cash Box]]|date=February 9, 1974|page=4|access-date=16 July 2024}}</ref> | style="text-align:center;"|50 |- !scope="row"|Quebec ([[ADISQ]])<ref>{{cite web|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151129063315/http://bibnum2.banq.qc.ca/bna/palmares/2010-Anglo-Allophone/Anglo-Compilation_succes_ordre_alpha_interpretes.pdf|url=http://bibnum2.banq.qc.ca/bna/palmares/2010-Anglo-Allophone/Anglo-Compilation_succes_ordre_alpha_interpretes.pdf|title=Palmarès de la chanson anglophone et allophone au Québec|publisher=[[Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec|BAnQ]]|date=1974-03-02 |access-date=September 8, 2025|archive-date=November 29, 2015|language=fr|url-status=dead}}</ref> | align="center" | 26 |}
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{Joni Mitchell}} {{Authority control}}
[[Category:Joni Mitchell songs]] [[Category:Songs written by Joni Mitchell]] [[Category:1973 songs]] [[Category:1973 singles]] [[Category:Song recordings produced by Joni Mitchell]] [[Category:Asylum Records singles]]