Joni Mitchell’s stunning and unique voice might be what attracts people to her music, but it’s her lyrical genius that gets listeners to stick around. Let’s take a look at just a few songs that prove how talented of a wordsmith Joni Mitchell is!
Videos by American Songwriter
1. “Rainy Night House”
“So you packed your tent and went / To live out in the Arizona sand / You are a refugee / From a wealthy family / You gave up all the golden factories / To see who in the world you might be.”
Part of what makes Joni Mitchell such an incredible songwriter is that, at her core, she is a storyteller. And as a storyteller, she knows how to observe from a distance, even if she is a core part of the story.
“Rainy Night House” was written as a sendoff of sorts to her love affair with Leonard Cohen, but she manages to focus mainly on her ex-lover over herself. She states things as they are, without vitriol, and with a poetic sensibility.
2. “Both Sides Now”
“I’ve looked at love from both sides now / From give and take and still somehow / It’s love’s illusions that I recall / I really don’t know love / Really don’t know love at all.”
Joni Mitchell is a lyrical genius for many reasons, one of which being her ability to write songs that other artists find a sense of home in.
“Both Sides Now” is a great example of that, considering it has been covered nearly 2,000 times through the years by other artists who hold the song in high esteem. We get it. “Both Sides Now” conjures stunning imagery and looks at love from multiple angles, rather than just one.
3. “Little Green”
“There’ll be crocuses to bring to school tomorrow / Just a little Green / Like the nights when the Northern lights perform / There’ll be icicles and birthday clothes / And sometimes there’ll be sorrow.”
One noteworthy element of Joni Mitchell and her lyrical genius lies in her vulnerability. Her male folk artist contemporaries were nervous about how out there she was getting, considering they would have to get as vulnerable in their music, too. “Little Green” is just one standout example of that vulnerability.
Blue is the album in which Mitchell let it all out. And rather than being exhausting, it was a refreshing and new thing to behold back in 1971.
Photo by Watal Asanuma/Shinko Music/Getty Images
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