3 Songs Joni Mitchell Didn’t Write but Definitely Could Have

Joni Mitchell might have made a name for herself by being different from other songwriters before her, but she also inspired new generations of folk songwriters. I know I’m certainly not the first to fall in love with her introspective lyricism and unique voice. Here are songs that sound like they could be written by Mitchell but weren’t.

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“My Man On Love” by Judi Sill

Released in 1971, “My Man On Love” sounds like it could easily be a Joni Mitchell song. Not only does Sill’s voice have a very Joni-like quality to it, but the lyrics resemble a similar kind of cleverness to those of the great songwriter.

‘Cause one star remains in the false darkness
Have you met my man on love?
One truth survives death’s silent starkness
Have you met my man on love?

“I’d Like To Walk Around In Your Mind” by Vashti Bunyan

Similar to Sill, Bunyan has a voice that is unique in a lot of the same ways Mitchell’s is. The melodies in this song, in particular, really showcase that.

At first, this little tune sounds like a sweet song, but as Bunyan revealed to Songfacts, the inspiration for the song came from frustration.

“It was frustration with somebody who just wasn’t going to take any risks,” she explained. “‘You see the end before the beginning has ever begun.’ This is about a real person who would not take any risks with commitment – I suppose in today’s language, it would be that he was a commitment-phobe.”

“Who Knows Where The Time Goes?” by Fairport Convention

As many songwriters do, Mitchell has often used nature-based examples to get across certain points in her songs. Just take “Both Sides, Now”. Mitchell spends half the song singing about clouds, when really the song isn’t about clouds at all. Similarly, Fairport Convention reflects on the passage of time in this tune, using birds, the shore, and winter storms.

Across the evening sky
All the birds are leaving
But how can they know
It’s time for them to go?
Before the winter fire
I will still be dreaming
I have no thought of time.

Photo by: Jack Robinson/Getty Images