I thought of Joni Mitchell the other day and her song "Both Sides Now" as I looked up and saw clouds skimming along a particularly pretty sky.
I thought of the wide-eyed, hopeful place where the song starts:
"Bows and flows of angel hair
And ice cream castles in the air
And feather canyons everywhere
I've looked at clouds that way"
And ice cream castles in the air
And feather canyons everywhere
I've looked at clouds that way"
And where it ends:
"I've looked at life from both sides now
From up and down and still somehowIt's life's illusions
I recall I really don't know life at all"
From up and down and still somehowIt's life's illusions
I recall I really don't know life at all"
Joni Mitchell turned 70 in November; could that really be possible?I I just read one of the first lengthy interviews she's given in years.
She was equal parts feisty and reflective; artist, observer. She made it clear she was no fan of interviews, nor did she like being called a "confessional singer." She asked, "What did I confess to...I'm sad? Oh Jesus, have you never been sad?"
She wrote what she saw and what she felt and the raw honesty of her songs broke new ground. They also helped shape the way I saw the world when I was 17 and 24. They still do.
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