Song Stuck In My Head This Week - 08th August '09 - Joni Mitchell - Both Sides Now

Back in the UK and 'reality' and back to blogging at, roughly, my usual time of day.

This week's song is a song that was in my head from early in the week after it popped up on my mp3 player while walking around in New York, and which stayed there after I purchased a book covering the life of it's singer, Joni Mitchell (as well as Carole King & Carly Simon...it's a fascinating book called 'Girls Like Us' by Sheila Weller and is well worth a read imo) to use as means of killing time at the airport. I didn't buy it just because I had her in my mind, but simply cos it was the biggest book I could find that looked interesting to me!

Joni was born in Canada in 1943 (not the American I'd assumed her to be as a child) and released her first album in 1968. It's only in recent years that I have started to appreciate her work. Growing up, my parents often had her music on and because they liked it, it made it hard for me too do the same - the struggle to be 'different' from them and have my own identity being at the root of that - but now I really like a lot of what she did.

This song was on her second album 'Clouds' - released in 1969 - is all about the rise and fall of a great love affair and possibly based on her own relationship with first husband Chuck Mitchell which had ended a few years earlier (Joni had a habit of 'holding on to' songs for several years at times).

It is just a beautiful song and her work is well worth checking out.

Enjoy!

Joni Mitchell - Both Sides Now

Rows and floes of angel hair
And ice cream castles in the air
And feather canyons evrywhere
Ive looked at clouds that way

But now they only block the sun
They rain and snow on evryone
So many things I would have done
But clouds got in my way
Ive looked at clouds from both sides now
From up and down, and still somehow
Its cloud illusions I recall
I really dont know clouds at all

Moons and junes and ferris wheels
The dizzy dancing way you feel
As evry fairy tale comes real
Ive looked at love that way

But now its just another show
You leave em laughing when you go
And if you care, dont let them know
Dont give yourself away

Ive looked at love from both sides now
From give and take, and still somehow
Its loves illusions I recall
I really dont know love at all

Tears and fears and feeling proud
To say I love you right out loud
Dreams and schemes and circus crowds
Ive looked at life that way

But now old friends are acting strange
They shake their heads, they say Ive changed
Well somethings lost, but somethings gained
In living evry day

Ive looked at life from both sides now
From win and lose and still somehow
Its lifes illusions I recall
I really dont know life at all
Ive looked at life from both sides now
From up and down, and still somehow
Its lifes illusions I recall
I really dont know life at all