Joni Mitchell: Carey, 1972.02.23

[@tedfoureagles2778]

I've been alive for 70 years and in love with Joni Mitchell for most of it. In the 1970s, in a dive bar in Tacoma, Washington, a mysteriously pretty woman was doing a very good job covering Joni's songs. I had, and have, no defenses against someone like that, and six months later, we married.

[@junglejolene]

....your life and your wife is a joni mitcell song, so cool

[@michelgauthier5377]

A poet, a song writer, a singer, instrumentalist, painter. A true artist.

[@stevestubberfield]

Always reminds me of 3 months my best friend/brother Gary and i spent living on the beach in Matala in the 70's........crazy ...magical times.......i love all of Joni's work....but this song is so very special to me....''seems so long ago''....life was so much simpler then..

[@TomCoolen-u2n]

Spent time on south coast of Crete in 70s , including Matala. Joni Mitchell drew me there

[@jasonkaufman593]

September, 1983 - freshman year at college. Never heard of Joni. Listen to Joni. Fall in love with Joni. Almost 40 years later, still in love.

[@praisegod3768]

Yes!! I think I heard it first in the 80s, too, in the college days, and fell in love with it :)!

[@markthompson4804]

I’m still in love with her too

[@Figurethat111]

Oh yes, in love still! Can’t help myself - just about everything about that woman; her voice, her artistry the imagery it congers.

[@jannaleesmithey3775]

I love the love this song generates. Joni was such a monarch of my life, born in 1951. These songs shaped my life, my soul, and I love these comments from men who loved her, as I did.

[@00billharris]

So you never grew up?

[@shemanic1]

I was born on 1st January 1951, in 1971 I was introduced to Joni Mitchell, her musical poems grabbed a place in my heart, the way the lyrics wove in and out of the guitar, piano or dulcimer, did something to this hippy youth. I have loads of her albums, but Blue remains, The One. Oh Bill, we may age but not grow up.

[@Furuom]

Born in 1953 she pulled me out of a deep depression, years later started. The clinic was a massage therapist, when deeper and deeper into her music. So amazing to hear the innocence in our voice and the story behind Carey. The love I have for her and I love I have my later to be wife was definitely a ménage à trois.

[@raymondkomorowski1832]

Joni reminds me of someone I once "knew". I told her, she was like a butterfly... beautiful when she was flying around, flirting from one flower to another, stopping to rest and feed her soul then off again, following the wind. So beautiful, but to try and reach out and grasp a butterfly, to try and hold it for too long, was to crush it. So, the best way to enjoy, and appreciate a butterfly was to watch it fly, hope it landed on you, or close, enjoy it while it lasted, and hold that feeling when it was gone! God bless you Joni!

[@goodun2974]

"She was a rare thing, as fine as a BeesWing/ so fine a breath of wind might blow her away/ she was a lost child, she was just running wild/ she said 'as long as there's no price on love I'll stay, and you wouldn't want me any other way'...." from BeesWing by Richard Thompson, himself a big fan of Joni (he and His Fairport Convention bandmates had access to Joni's early demos through producer Joe Boyd and they recorded several of them themselves). In his memoir of the same title, BeesWing, Thompson says the song was inspired partly by the hard-living folksinger Anne Briggs, and also by an itinerant laborer and farmworker who did some odd jobs for Fairport: as well as the general tenor of those times (late 60s to mid 70s) ---- but I suspect there's a bit of Joni in that song as well. BeesWing is both a great song and an excellent read as well.

[@bobobrien8968]

And she is still with us.

[@Ron71997]

I couldn't have said that any better... brought a image of Joni when she was young so beautiful and full of life and roamed the world looking for fun and adventure....

[@BobPort]

Such an excellent quality of audio for this recording. This track is a treasure.

[@schatziegibbons5734]

I've loved Joni Mitchell's music for 50 years and memorized every word of her albums. Recently, I've been listening to her live on KZbin and she sings each song differently every time. Each version is as least as beautiful as the one I can still hear in memory.

[@steviebenton7660]

I've love Joni's music for years, but the intro to this version of Carey showed me just how funny she is. What a gift!

[@barbararenton8009]

I always felt it'd be a blast to be able to hang out with her. Such a multi-talented artist.

[@debbieschmidling8158]

❤

[@debbieschmidling8158]

Joni truly us funny and has a great sense of humor as you will see in many of her interviews here on KZbin! I’ve gone way back in her early work and listened to a lot of her interviews this past summer, and she truly is very humorous! I’ve loved her work since the mid-60s. I was about nine years old when Both Sides Now was played on the radio, and I’ve loved her work ever since! ❤️

[@steviebenton7660]

@@debbieschmidling8158 What a gift, to grow older with Joni!

[@davidkoerner1565]

An amazing talent. Thanks for many many great songs!

[@wayneseely4245]

You cant compare anything to Joni , one of a kind ❤️😊✌️❤️

[@Sloan341]

Absolutely outstanding! Such a beautiful soul. Have listened to her for many years. I’m 62 now.

[@gibbopg]

This song always lifts my spirits.

[@geofkane2365]

What a song and the images it leaves!

[@namcat53]

I have loved Joni since the beginning. She played this on my birthday when I was in college.

[@shelleygreer6982]

Discovered Joni & myself my freshman year of college at MSU …(1968) Joni still provides the sound track of my life🥰👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

[@danjacobs1713]

The origins of Carey ... sublime .

[@海道狂也]

彼女は天才だよ！驚くべき才能。同時代に生まれた感謝と共に、天に召されるまで彼女の唄を聴き続けます。 ただ、ただ喜びと感謝です。

[@keithedmundson6532]

(^_^)💕💕 € €

[@richg0404]

What a fantastic story and a fantastic version of the song.

[@debbieschmidling8158]

❤

[@c.w.b.5409]

Love love love Joni

[@robertjoseph8008]

We danced to this in 1984 under a blanker of Greek stars in Paleohora, Crete. Memories....

[@goodun2974]

I was in Greece in late July and early August of 1984 ---- I vividly remember sitting in a courtyard cafe in the port city of Hania having locally made yogurt and honey for breakfast with Greek coffee, and later in the day drinking Ouzo and Raki with some Mezedes (snack plates of sardines, olives, cheese), while classic rock played through the PA (i remember early Rod Stewart and the Faces in particular). Met a British guy and his girlfriend who had a sailboat, and ended up sailing to the Cyclades group of islands and visiting 5 of them (Ios, Naxos, Paros, Sikinos and Foliandros). Amstel and Henninger beer cost about 75 cents back then!

[@luckystarship2275]

So funny. What a great live performance - a absolute treasure of a recording. Thank you for posting it.

[@debbieschmidling8158]

❤

[@bobobrien8968]

I loved the 60s. Or, looking back, I love them now. If I could have met the likes of Joni, What paradise hast throw bestowed upon me.

[@Bandaid17]

November 7th my birthday. Love you Joan!

[@Ron71997]

This song gives me an image of Joni when she was young and so beautiful and full of life and roamed the world looking for fun and adventure....

[@spiritofdan613]

A voice from heaven and poetry beyond.

[@mr.deedsgoestotown6155]

I love the way she introduces this. One of the great songs of that or any other time.

[@GB-ho2wk]

OH JONI, I bow to you. You are ONE of a KIND and the world is far richer having you among us. You, strum, you pick, you paint, you sing you create, you tell the story of all of our lives, and some of even KNOW IT ! God Bless You, Madame Angel.

[@davidb8777]

What an absolutely beautiful version of Carey! Loved this since I was a child in the 60's.

[@fionamaddock3984]

Thought she didn't release this song until Blue album in 1971? Just saying!

[@bobmoor8519]

@@fionamaddock3984 other Joni songs then? 1971 was close enough to the 60s that the whirlwind was just disipating. In the late 70s early 80s I was still into 60s when I was in high school. I was 6 when this came out & much of the music was still recent.

[@theresaluchsinger4488]

Lovely song Joni, thank-you! you have been my guitar and singing icon......again thanks so much for sharing your talent with this world....and me!

[@alanFconrad]

she's so amazing.....love her

[@d181939]

i was at this show - Jackson Browne was the warm up act. It was going to be a live album as she announced but for some reason it was never released. Sigh. O got to meet her briedly after the show as she was heading to her limousine and I was waiting outside for my ride. I was so in love with her back then. I am not sure Ispoke for a couple of days.

[@eleanoralbano8739]

I think I was too. Did they stop the show for a bit while they took out a lady have a bad trip on a gurney in the orchestra? And then it went on?

[@d181939]

@@eleanoralbano8739 I have no recollection of anything like this. My guess is you are referring to a different show but perhaps my memory is incorrect. Sorry I could not clarify for you.

[@ugojoke6747]

I have loved this song and the album since the seventies but had not made the connection with Matala in Southern Crete. I was in Matala last year and people told me about the cliff caves where hippies lived decades ago but only just realised it is where the events in the song took place. I am going back October 2019 will pay a lot more attention this time! ..Rick

[@alexandrasmithies4556]

I don't think Joni would like Matala today - a very very tourist town trading on its old reputation. where a lot of ageing Germans with stringy grey pony tails try in vain to kid themselves that the place is still a groovy hippy hangout...

[@murraywestenskow2896]

Rick - Read up on the caves surrounding the beach. They were man-made (carved) into the sand stone as far back as 14,000 years ago, and the Roman's also did extensive carving 2,000 years ago. 1970 - doesn't seem so far away now. I'm going there myself someday in a Leopard 48 and will anchor in the cove.

[@cockeyedoptimista]

alexandra smithies Nothing wrong with aging Germans.

[@TheIndyspace]

@@cockeyedoptimista , every sauer kraut mellows and improves with proper aging. 😜

[@cockeyedoptimista]

The Indy Space Lol.

[@leahlrketruelsen8835]

My muse! My every day, all year round, any time favourite musician poet artist! In Joy!

[@alanstoker4870]

I love everything about those songs and so do my grandchildren.

[@Excertitus]

.. beautiful melancholy memories .. the caves.. where the wind from africa blows.. ❤️

[@jimrebr]

Joni is still the Queen of music, in my humble opinion. I 1st heard her as a a young young teenager, fell immediately in love with her and her music. Will always love her. I wonder if The Delphini, means Mermaid Cafe? I read an enlightening interview with Cary Raditch, recently & he said he was the chef at the Mermaid Cafe on Metala, can’t remember how that is spelled.

[@daisyq3418]

Very cool. I always wondered who the real Carey is/was.

[@paulamiles9559]

I am so happy to hear Joni's wonderful story. I always wanted to know about Carey.❤

[@debbieschmidling8158]

❤

[@dougwenzel561]

I was a young man in Jonis heyday in the early 70s.I had all her records , truly a genius 1 of a kind.I had a huge crush on her.I wanted to marry her ; I still do.I don't even mind if I have to share her with her husband.I could talk to her about music and songwriting ! Lovely wise woman !

[@Mr05Chuck]

Doug Wenzel me too.

[@paulmartin3725]

Marry her? Be veeeery careful, my friend, look at the loooong list of guys who weren't up to her level. Who ever could be?! Me, I prefer to worship from afar, as they say... I'm a happy atheist, but if I've ever come close to having a "goddess" it's Ms J. Anderson.

[@mgreen9316]

Nothing can transport me to the summer of 1971 like this song

[@munsterfloyd]

I've been to Matala quite a few times. It's well worth a visit. All the hippies have left a long time ago. The Mermaid Café is no more but Matala is still charming. Go over the hill to the east and you will find Red Beach.

[@alexanderstill4967]

There is a Mermaid Cafe in Matala, but not the same one Joni sings about, which is long gone. But Matala is still my favourite place in Crete, in fact in the whole of Greece. The music in the evenings is still great, lots of good live bands in the cafes, and during the day there's always Red Beach!

[@masakopopick9602]

My friend, Stelios Xagorrarakkis was the owner of the Mermaid Cafe where Joni frequented. He is also one of the founders of Mother’s market in Orange County, CA. He got invited to see Joni (so did Carey) at concert and at her Christmas party recently. Great story!

[@sammtagg1]

Wonderful

[@rgregoryj]

this is uplifting!

[@stevebrennan1309]

Good God , Joni,....you are SO beautiful. You have been with me all my adult life....thank you.

[@jojo-hs9te]

Wow, 50 years ago yesterday 💜

[@seancahalane1839]

Magnificent 🌷

[@ttiger9780]

What a lovely lady. Love her.

[@dennistarpein9599]

Love this song by Joni

[@dennistarpein9599]

Love this song had a mad crush on her when I was a kid

[@Tin_Man1]

You are kidding. Now we have Lady Gaga or Adele. Joni, pure magic.

[@sheilacrabtree5993]

I saw her at Duke's Cameron indoor in the 70s. Her story telling really draws you in. She makes you feel like a friend. The songs were awesome. Great memories! Still my go to music. Miles of isles.

[@debbieschmidling8158]

❤

[@debbieschmidling8158]

❤

[@candacewilliams9073]

I have never heard this arrangement before. I like it.

[@debbieschmidling8158]

❤

[@kenbray5682]

Love your line ! You're a mean ole daddy but your out of sight, can still remember that saying Out Of Sight, Joni you Groovey girl I still love you and thanks for all the great memories...

[@lawrencerasmus]

I would sit in the dark, drink beer and listen to every word she would sing. I think most men would say to hear her is to love her

[@dropwizerorders501]

So true, I've been in love with her since I first her Chelsea Morning

[@evascharfe1892]

In high school I became a Joni Mitchell fan and most of my friends knew it but did not have any interest in listening to her. However, there were two guys that used to ask to borrow my Joni Mitchell albums, kind of secretly. One was the star of the football team (got a football scholarship) and the most popular guy in his class and everyone would chant his name when he entered the auditorium. The other was also a popular guy who was extremely independent and kind of a loner (other than with girlfriends) and loved to drive fast . They were not the kind of guys that you would expect to be her fans. (not musicians)

[@tonyschram1260]

Heard the studio version but live is so much better, it never gets old 😁✌️

[@lukeknowles5700]

The bass in the studio version is so nice. Almost any version of Carey she's done has been super.

[@tamacotamaco]

Wild things run fast 🎼🏵 #jonimitchell 4 ever ✌️☮️

[@namcat53]

She has her own kind of "swing" and it's beautiful.

[@lukeknowles5700]

Carey is such a fun song, just about enjoying life. No politics, no BS, just living life.

[@idid138]

2:10 just realized red headed Carey, the cook is also "the bright red devil, who keeps me in this tourist town"

[@cockeyedoptimista]

Yah, me too. But maybe not. - NPR has an interview with Cary! He says they were in the restaurant. Who knows; good storytelling!

[@WilliaminOz]

Thanks I was wondering what/who that was. I thought maybe some sort of drug.

[@JKJonesMusic1]

This version shows how much engineering and production can change a song -- except that it can't improve Joni's voice -- which is already perfect.

[@kenbray5682]

JK Jones She truly is perfect ! No auto tune here lol, love her little story about Greece, I've been so many different places around the world being a marine for sixteen years, seeing all the different cultures ! Some places were fun and others not so much, see I did four tours in the Middle East and I wish I could forget those memories but they're burned into my mind ! War is hell so I've been there and back now I just wait for the sweet release of death and hopefully this time I can go to heaven lol, I wonder do us soldiers get to go to heaven ? I really hope so .... God Bless GySgt Bray USMC

[@hansbass5028]

Her voice was 1 of a kind,so special,so soulful and demonstrative.Need I say it was gorgeous and it struck me to my bones.She thrilled me and touched my soul.I loved her by proxy.

[@lnl3237]

@@kenbray5682 Appreciated your comment. I think all those that experience the darker side of humanity more than most get an extra helping of God's love and mercy when his time comes. Listening to this gives us a glimpse of how we might spend eternity. All the best to you, Ken. Hope you saw a lot of light in your travels, too.

[@kenbray5682]

Lorraine Thank you! 😜 Semper Fi.......

[@debbieschmidling8158]

❤

[@marmap100]

She is beyond exceptional.

[@careykoenig5285]

Can"t believe I just found this song today

[@edwardwright278]

Amazing lady!

[@chuckselvage3157]

Her wit is awesome

[@wzardglick]

I was just thinking about this song,,

[@robertgillespie7946]

Isn't it interesting that Joni mentions the crease in her jeans because here's some lyrics from Boho Dance "But even on the scuffle The cleaner's press was in my jeans And any eye for detail Caught a little lace along the seams…" I moved to Los Angels from Detroit in the 70's. I was shocked when my friend picked up her dry cleaning. There amidst clothing you'd expect to see coming from the cleaners were her and her boyfriend's jeans. They had a knife crease down the front. It was a status thing I suppose. Thank you for sharing this. I didn't know exactly who Carey was I'm happy to know.

[@robertgillespie7946]

I just connected the lyrics from the song " California " as well since she mentioned he cooks and is a red red rouge in Greece. Her tuning sounds very Greek too.

[@goodun2974]

In keeping with the Greek themes here, the KZbin auto-captioning translated creases as " Croesus". Even algorithms and artificial intelligences are stymied or even mystified by Joni!

[@debbieschmidling8158]

@@goodun2974 ❤

[@goodun2974]

@@debbieschmidling8158 , I am the grandson of Greek immigrants to the US on my father's side and French- Canadian immigrants on my mother's side. This can lead to some linguistic fun and pun-adjacent wordplay! I've also been a fan of Joni Mitchell for well over 40 years even though much of my listening is more oriented towards blues-based rock.

[@Mr05Chuck]

This was about the time I fell totally in love with this woman for the rest of my life.

[@paulmcconnell6156]

This song is the reason I went to matala. Over the years I spent 10yrs back packing in matala. Wonder full times.

[@k.mturgon9593]

Someday i want to go too, brou.I made my promess with God.

[@PeterRowcliffe-e8p]

Love that song

[@davidb8777]

Maybe I'll go to Amsterdam Or maybe I'll go to Rome And rent me a grand piano and put some flowers 'round my room But let's not talk about fare-thee-wells now The night is a starry dome. And they're playin' that scratchy rock and roll Beneath the Matalla Moon

[@chiefinspector7280]

Clear strong tonality.

[@ricksuarez5075]

Her music brings to mind the only true love I kno, lLinda.

[@reneandersen1612]

I was in Matala when Joni was there. Many a night in the catacombs drinking, smoking, laughing. It was a magical time.

[@marcelmarceau2526]

What a woman.

[@AlanHope2013]

She plays dulcimer on this song, not the guitar we see in the photo

[@johnparsons3454]

Childhood friend and I went on a Joni quest in 2019. Sechelt BC Canada. I sent an email to her public relations manager asking if we could buy her a beverage. We're huge fans. I expected nothing. The next day I got a fricking email from the guy. Holy crow this is going to happen! He advised that Joni still has a house outside of Sechelt but spends all of her time now in California. Hopes dashed but for just a fraction of a second we were going to buy Joni a beer.

[@MisterAppleEsq]

My mind automatically fills in the backing vocals to this, which I like.

[@izidorbimana5485]

Great story

[@timothyclark6079]

Love her. Where are the Joni Mitchell’s today?

[@kathleengaddis2634]

Timothy Clark kzbin.info/www/bejne/jH3KhoF9q513ebc

[@donna19968]

There will never be another Joni Mitchell Timothy........she is unique!

[@archibaldchimpin]

There ain’t any, they’re all gone

[@joniofark2042]

Wait 100 years

[@Mark.mp3]

Angel Olsen and Weyes Blood are some of my favorite songwriters today. They both seem inspired by Joni.

[@ronaldpetrin5823]

To all the mean old daddies out there hope you had a great day again again....

[@stevoschannel4127]

Ah to be a young person in the 60s of independent means just kicking around europe....

[@MikeSmith-uq6uw]

Mmmm,Some of us had to work.Yet I did hitch to Berlin, Hamburg,Copenhagen, and Stockholm..And back from Venice.Lovely times.

[@1959ticktock]

Don't think Joni was a young person of independent means, somehow. Do you know her bio? Joni made her own life.

[@goodun2974]

It kinda was what young people did back then. In Europe they call it a "gap year", before going on to college or university, or settling down to a steady job. We should encourage young Americans to do the same; too many people here are insular and insulated to the point of xenophobia.

[@larsnormann8992]

A

[@RobertJohnSimpson]

Travel after school was the best thing I ever did for myself

[@stevef9530]

Beautiful. There was a version of Barangrill, sound only too, with a deadpan preamble that had the audience in hysterics, about how she came to LA and was imagining that the waitresses were into some kind of esoteric secret knowledge, symbolized by the black diamond earrings they all seemed to be wearing. Extra funny I think because it’s not necessarily what people expect from her, based on the music. What a woman, every two or three years I fall in love with her all over again...

[@GB-ho2wk]

J.G. That's Joni Genius ! If you don't know, well then, you better AXE somebody !

[@JudgeJulieLit]

Joni in her intro, as a standup comic raconteureuse ... who knew?

[@robertdigian3938]

Joni , Carole , Carly, Linda....Maria... Donna Jean... Certainly a spoiled brat I was in the 70's ... they all drove me loco !!!!! Once upon a time, right ? ;- )

[@KevinSmith-fi1zy]

Melanie too.

[@ianman15]

Don’t forget Janis Ian!

[@Brotherleelove1]

Went to Greece in 1985 and ended up in Matala. Sitting outside at a beachfront restaurant I asked the waitress if she knew where the Mermaid Cafe was located and she said it was gone, but she pointed to a small shack nearby and told me that it was the cook shed for the Mermaid Cafe and that her father was the original owner. I felt a strong sense of connection.

[@kristinedee888]

Good Canadian 🇨🇦 music

[@Tin_Man1]

Ahh the Mermaid Cafe, maybe as significant as the Snowman Cafe in Kathmandu.

[@morriganwitch]

We used to listen to this and go to the Butterfly cafe and pretend it was the Mermaid Cafe xxx

[@bgebbq314]

Don't forget the lobby of the Commodore Hotel in Memphis!

[@kirkwatson1442]

Joni mitchell so funny

[@shawnmcalpine4977]

Kami Maltz & Josh Turner did a wonderful cover of this.

[@gavinwtroy]

Just listened to and watched Josh and Kami's cover. Beautiful rendition.

[@MrPendell]

Agreed- the Josh and Kami version is a beautiful blending of versions, and I like to think it’s pretty much what what Joni would have done if there had been 2 of her.

[@gerryleb8575]

Significantly better than the version on the album.

[@KevinSmith-fi1zy]

He also made good omelettes and stews, I believe.

[@garypeatling7927]

Always thought this was about drugs strange wonderful sound

[@johnmccann8319]

Funny story,I wish I was there!(with her)hahaha

[@danricheson1362]

I was in Athens in 72, mind blown...(USN)

[@alantracy6757]

Listening to Joni Warning - you will end up spending money on several guitars several capos several tuners loads of different string gauges and your head will explode …. And you’ll love it

[@teresatrigiani7838]

nice to get the backstory

[@claireheffernan4575]

She's playing a dulcimer (not a guitar).

[@ronaldpetrin5823]

Canada broke tne mold

[@goodun2974]

Not sure if it's from Africa, or the Middle East, but the prevailing wind in the eastern Mediterranean in August, called the Meltemi, really churns up the ocean, and it can get chilly at night. I know, because I slept on the beach in Lesbos several times when I was there because all the hostels and hotels were full up. The ferry boats from Athens to Lesbos went through some rough seas and passengers were vomiting. Those fleeing to Greece from Syria, or stuck in refugee camps, have my sympathy.

[@ukadventures5660]

3:20 start of the song

[@simeonbanner6204]

My dad told me on the hippe trail. -30 outside on a bus. Draft dodgers all kinds. Afghan tribal men, mullers, henna hair, guns "you give money". Everybody bummed out, agree. One Japanese "I not give". Bus begging him. He stands them down. Ha ha amazing true story.

[@rodcarter2713]

Why can’t you get the date format right? It’s 23/02/1972

[@Rainerwarzecha]

Funny story! But the foto according to the song looks not like Joni 🤣 it looks like Heather Nova whom I adore too!