howdy, y’all! i’m back with a new installment of my album series, and this one focuses on joni mitchell’s breathtaking record, blue.
#1 all i want
at its core, this song is a gorgeous anthem for the lonely and the longing. it’s a quiet, honest plea for something greater, something beyond the mundane. joni sings of wanting to feel alive and make others feel alive too, and there are few things more relatable than that. the song also has a gorgeous sense of warmth and protectiveness that envelops you as you listen, and i’d highly recommend this one for a muggy december day.
my favorite line: i wanna knit you a sweater, i wanna write you a love letter, i wanna make you feel better
#2 my old man
my old man, for me, is a song about a woman’s dedication to her partner in life as well as in love. it describes the man in a gentle, loving way that acknowledges the woman’s adoration for him. another detail of the song is that the people in it have a relationship so strong that marriage isn’t even needed to bind it, which i think is an interesting, necessary facet of their dynamic.
my favorite line: he’s a singer in the park, he’s a walker in the rain, he’s a dancer in the dark
#3 little green
little green is one of the best storytelling songs i’ve ever heard. joni tells the true story of giving up her daughter for adoption with tenderheartedness, charm, and whimsy. this song has inspired much of my own work and means a great deal to me.
my favorite line: call her green and the winters cannot fade her, call her green for the children who’ve made her
#4 carey
i think that my favorite thing about this song is that, in all honesty, i have no clue what it’s about. it speaks of travel and sets up scenes so vivid that each gentle chord brings forth the smell of the salty summer air. i actually have never looked up the origins and meaning of this song (a rare occurrence for me) because i like the ambiguity of simply feeling the song rather than knowing it.
my favorite line: my fingernails are filthy, i’ve got beach tar on my feet, and i miss my clean white linen and my fancy french cologne
#5 blue
perhaps the most fitting and beautiful title track ever, blue is a cry for help and a battle chant all at once. it’s absolutely one of my favorite songs of all time, and i cannot say enough about how much it means to me and how brilliant it truly is. joni’s vocal performance is flawless and pairs so beautifully with her lyricism here.
my favorite line: ink on a pen, underneath the skin, an empty space to fill in
#6 california
this song is essentially a simple and adoring love letter to the state of california. it details why the writer considers the state to be home and what makes it such a unique, beloved place. it’s a travel song that talks about visiting many places and seeing many things, but it always returns to it’s beacon- california.
my favorite lyrics: and i might have stayed on with him there, but my heart cried out for you, california
#7 this flight tonight
this song is like a parting gift to someone you don’t know anymore. it gives beautiful memories of a love lost and reconciles with a new beginning as the narrator takes flight. memories present themselves in a gloomy, nostalgic fashion as stars, both familiar and new.
my favorite line: it wasn’t the one that you gave to me that night down south between the trailers, not the early one that you can wish upon, not the northern one that guides the sailors
#8 river
another personal favorite of mine, river is a haunting ballad that feels both specific to its narrator and easily relatable to its listener. for me, the song captures depression, specifically seasonal depression, in an incredibly accurate way; but that doesn’t make the song itself depressing. i believe that this is a song filled with hope and honesty- both of which i often need.
my favorite line: i’m so hard to handle, i’m selfish and i’m sad
#9 a case of you
another unconventional love song, a case of you reminds me of trying to walk around in someone else’s mind and stumbling. it’s sort of like two people who can’t seem to get enough of each other, despite being opposites in nearly every way. one of the reasons i love this song so much is that it makes me think of one of my favorite tv couples- but that’s a story for another blog.
my favorite line: i am a lonely painter, i live in a box of paints, i’m frightened by the devil, and i’m drawn to those ones that ain’t afraid
#10 the last time i saw richard
i relate to this song on so many levels, and i’m not sure if that should make me sad, concerned, or both- but i won’t worry about that right this minute. it’s about wanting love so much that you shut down the very idea of having it for fear of it being unreachable. i honestly don’t know how to coherently express the mastery of joni’s lyricism here (and always), so this is the part where i give y’all perhaps the best advice you will get this week- listen to this album. please. you won’t regret it; and if you do, as joni would say, “i wish i had a river i could skate away on” because that’s pretty embarrassing for me. anyway, ’til next time 🙂
