It’s no secret that singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell seriously has a way with words. Here are four classic songs of hers that make even having a broken heart feel romantic in some way.
“Little Green”
“Little Green” explores a different kind of heartbreak. Before she married her first husband, Chuck Mitchell, Joni had already gotten pregnant with a child of her own. She has described her marriage to Chuck as a “marriage of convenience.” She was a single mother at the time and needed stability. “Little Green” explores the sorrow of having to let go of her daughter when she later gave her up for adoption.
Videos by American Songwriter
“See You Sometime”
In “See You Sometime”, Mitchell sings about an ex-lover, which many believe to be James Taylor, whom she dated in the early 70s. The lyrics of this song express a longing to see someone again, with no motive other than to be near them.
Pack your suspenders
I’ll come meet your plane
No need to surrender
I just want to see you again.
“I Had A King”
This song is about Chuck Mitchell, whom Mitchell married when she was quite young. Early on, her relationship with Chuck was good, but later on, she found herself escaping to coffee shops to write so that she could get away from him. This song poetically describes a relationship the songwriter felt she no longer fit into.
I can’t go back there anymore
You know my keys won’t fit the door
You know my thoughts don’t fit the man
They never can, they never can.
“That Song About The Midway”
Joni Mitchell dated David Crosby in 1967, who apparently cheated on her, according to this gut-wrenching song of hers. While they were both at a party, Mitchell played this song for a room full of people, which happened to include Crosby.
“I remember we were at Pete Tork’s house and the whole gang was there, maybe 20 people,” Crosby told Uncut magazine, per Songfacts. “Joni comes storming in, plonks herself down and says, ‘I’ve got a new song to sing to you.’ We’re all like, ‘A new Joni song! Yippee!’ She sang ‘That Song About The Midway,’ which was her goodbye song to me.”
Photo by: Sherry Rayn Barnett/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
More The List
-
Jimmy Buffett at the Auditorium Theater In Chicago, Ilinois, July 22, 1977 (Photo by Paul Natkin/Getty Images) -
(MANDATORY CREDIT Koh Hasebe/Shinko Music/Getty Images) Elton John performs on stage at Shibuya-Kokaido, Tokyo, Japan, 10th May 1971. (Photo by Koh Hasebe/Shinko Music/Getty Images) -
(L-R) English musicians Rick Allen, Phil Collen, Rick Savage, Steve Clark (1960 – 1991) and Joe Elliott, of the English rock band Def Leppard, pose for a group portrait during the 1987 Hysteria Tour at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan, November 2, 1987. (Photo by Jeff Hochberg/Getty Images) -
Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images -
Singer-songwriter John Prine performs at Symphony Hall on April 26, 1974 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Tom Hill/Getty Images) -
Toto, f.l.t.r: Mike Porcaro. Steve Lukather, David Paich, Jeff Porcaro & Steve Porcaro, Amsterdam, 27-9-1982, Foto Rob Verhorst -
1981: Welsh singer Bonnie Tyler. (Photo by BSR Agency/Gentle Look via Getty Images) -
Southside Johnny Lyon of Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes at Comiskey Park In Chicago, Ilinois, August 19, 1979. (Photo by Paul Natkin/Getty Images)