Joni Mitchell - Song For Sharon (Live London 1983)

written & produced by Joni Mitchell | from the album Hejira (1976) | live from Wembley Arena, London (1983) | additional a/v post-production by sonicboy19 |
I went to Staten Island, Sharon
To buy myself a mandolin
And I saw the long white dress of love
On a storefront mannequin
Big boat chuggin' back with a belly full of cars
All for something lacy
Some girl's going to see that dress
And crave that day like crazy
Little Indian kids on a bridge up in Canada
They can balance and they can climb
Like their fathers before them
They'll walk the girders of the Manhattan skyline
Shine your light on me Miss Liberty
Because as soon as this ferry boat docks
I'm headed to the church
To play Bingo
Fleece me with the gamblers' flocks
I can keep my cool at poker
But I'm a fool when love's at stake
Because I can't conceal emotion
What I'm feeling's always written on my face
There's a gypsy down on Bleecker Street
I went in to see her as a kind of joke
And she lit a candle for my love luck
And eighteen bucks went up in smoke
Sharon I left my man
At a North Dakota junction
And I came out to the "Big Apple" here
To face the dream's malfunction
Love's a repetitious danger
You'd think I'd be accustomed to
Well I do accept the changes
At least better than I used to do
A woman I knew just drowned herself
The well was deep and muddy
She was just shaking off futility
Or punishing somebody
My friends were calling up all day yesterday
All emotions and abstractions
It seems we all live so close to that line
and so far from satisfaction
Dora says "Have children"
Mama and Betsy say "Find yourself a charity
Help the needy and the crippled or put some time into Ecology"
Well there's a wide wide world of noble causes
And lovely landscapes to discover
But all I really want right now
Is find another lover
When we were kids in Maidstone, Sharon
I went to every wedding in that little town
To see the tears and the kisses
And the pretty lady in the white lace wedding gown
And walking home on the railroad tracks
Or swinging on the playground swing
Love stimulated my illusions
More than anything
And when I went skating after Golden Reggie
You know it was white lace I was chasing
Chasing dreams
Mama's nylons underneath my cowgirl jeans
He showed me first you get the kisses
And then you get the tears
But the ceremony of the bells and lace
Still veils this reckless fool here
Now there are twenty-nine skaters on Wollman Rink
Circling in singles and in pairs
In this vigorous anonymity
A blank face at the window stares and
stares and stares and stares and stares
And the power of reason
And the flowers of deep feeling
Seem to serve me
Only to deceive me
Sharon you've got a husband
And a family and a farm
I've got the apple of temptation
And a diamond snake around my arm
But you still have your music
And I've still got my eyes on the land and the sky
You sing for your friends and your family
I'll walk green pastures by and by
© 1976 Crazy Crow Music

[@calvalita]

I'm a black vocalist who's listened to Joni since the 80s. For the Roses was one of my first vinyls. Everything I listen to BANQUET I shed tears. That has been my favorite album. She IS sultry and funky elegant in an eclectic way. Beautiful, lilting vocals. An American gem, modest, low-key. She's a valued icon. A genuine soul. GOD bless Ms. Joni... ( and her troubadours( band )

[@Gagalover1569]

She’s North American yes but Canadian. Very proud of her we are! I don’t know Sharon but I know her son-in-law.

[@foreignparticle1320]

This song is epic. Joni leaves her contemporaries for dead, and her lyric writing is unmatched by anyone since.

[@bristleconepinus2378]

I love how the intro is kind of aimless and then it snaps into the melody, cosmic tunings, pure Joni.

[@suzangittens2046]

@@bristleconepinus2378

[@markkrall]

I couldn't have stated it better!

[@youkyouk7471]

She deserves The Nobel Prize of Literature.

[@stevemartin4249]

YES! She is head and shoulders above Mr. Zimmerman.

[@terriaprevost]

Absolutely she does. Let's start a petition. She DESERVES the Nobel Prize in Literature.@@stevemartin4249

[@molefunkn6205]

I've said this for so many years!

[@nursebridgie]

YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

[@tomgardner8825]

a pulitzer for sure

[@garysimpson3830]

The greatest female singer of the 20th century. Brilliant.

[@johnnyvergona4521]

And the 21st. . . !

[@johnnyvergona4521]

❤

[@davidespinosa1910]

What man is better ?

[@milesmontemore5060]

Thanks. Moat people consider BLUE her greatest album, but HEJIRA is really her masterwork. I first heard " Song for Sharon " while driving, and had to pull over to the shoulder of the highway to breathe. Cheers.

[@garylysaght1579]

Totally agree. Wonderful layered memories throughout years since a gt lover played it to me the night we met. Magic!

[@davidmcconville1756]

Yes Hejira has aged very well. I play it frequently and still sounds amazingly present.

[@letitbe777]

Miles, the first time I heard this song was over 40 yrs ago and I had to do the same. Bought the album, the cassette for my car and cried almost every time I heard it. ...even to this very day.

[@emilyglick9162]

Agree!

[@cmbnz]

Hejira has always been my favourite Joni album. In fact, back in 1988 when I bought my first-ever CDs (four at about $30 each in NZ) it was one of them. “Amelia” is amazing too. I do kind of wish “Blue Motel Room” was left off, though - I’ve never warmed to it. The playing of everyone on the album is so tasteful and complementary - it really serves the songs so well.

[@michaelhayes2794]

Will there ever be a song writer and singer like Joni……….doubt it.👨🏻‍🦳

[@lancewillson34]

Majestic, Imperious, Exquisite. She is a goddess. Fabulous performance. Great band also.

[@johnlittle4833]

Sheer genius. It is wonderful we have live recordings like this to immortalise artistes like Joni Mitchell. What a fantastic woman. Incomparable lyrics, music, voice, and stage presence. New technology has many evils, but it also has many benefits and this is one of them.

[@danw5785]

I love how strong a performer she is in the company of such talented accompaniment. Her songwriting transcends their technique.

[@eamonncoady9823]

The Nobel prize for literature. Ireland has produced some of the greats in English and indeed Irish literature, but none of them would come within an asses roar of Joni Mitchell. Shes an eagle soaring high above the turkeys.

[@alwinvanderlinde5913]

I’ve listened to her music all my life and still have no words to express my admiration for this exceptional artist

[@uradragon]

Amen, Thank goodness for the introduction to her first album and all since.

[@Iridium43]

Me too. I don’t have words.

[@bristleconepinus2378]

@@Iridium43 a total enchantress

[@philipstallwood9813]

Michael Landau on lead is just unbelievable. He provides that hard edge that transforms the song. Super live performance.

[@dmljones2550]

Mike is an extremely talented, dynamic and diverse guitarist who obviously loves playing.

[@RBIKO5]

Her greatest song taken apart and put back together with no backing vocals, no rolling bridges, no Jaco Pastorius, but with a rocking vicious edge and an immense clarity - lyrically extraordinary, completely stunning

[@toygnisht]

henapen Huh.

[@mdurand75]

You are fully right and the bass lines on this track are simply "out of this world": awesome contribution indeed.

[@florriehathorn1890]

Maybe Larry klein - her ex - also quite a great player-arranger

[@a__-yg7vz]

bad deal overall

[@cimdyzapf3061]

There's no one else like Joni

[@stuweb5848]

Joni is like a novel, not a word wasted note a phrase misplaced

[@karenmadge5175]

Beautifully said..

[@leighharris2080]

My sister was named Sharon.Never heard this. Left the planet last year.Rest in peace

[@DollyzDaggerz]

What I find amusing regarding Joni is whatever I am listening to at that moment is always my favorite, lol. I think she is absolutely genius!

[@maxschulz1640]

yes she is.

[@bristleconepinus2378]

nobody like her.

[@bernlin2000]

She's always authentic to the moment, one of the many reasons I love her art 💜

[@kevinhartwell4972]

How dare you say what I meant to say first.

[@gianfrancodefrancesco7117]

This song is an absolute masterpiece. Her movements on stage are so graceful and powerful, she's dominant and in complete control of the great lineup. If could go back in time, Wembley Arena 1983 would be the place, even for this song only...👏👏👏

[@maccrazyg5]

I love the studio recording but am blown away by this live arrangement. Incredible.

[@stepitup5409]

There is not a woman on earth that can match the natural sultry beauty and voice of Joni. I believe there will not ever be another to match her beauty and voice. Every move, every single move is music. I just love her. I could drink a case of her and still be standing!

[@mitchellglaser]

"The power of reason and the flowers of deep feelings" is the most self descriptive lyric ever written. Joni is truly the girl with all the gifts.

[@moniqueaubry1027]

Yeah,because she went through so much hardship in her Life.She is an alchimiste,she turns everything into Gold.Divine Joni.

[@garyprifogle821]

Court & Spark saw me through some dark times

[@mthivier]

I always loved her subtle, sedate version on HAJIRA, but this turbo-charged live version is great too. She really drives the lyrics home.

[@michael-projectmanager5611]

I'll admit I prefer the album version. This one loses the beauty and feeling/longing of the album version.

[@anam1097]

it’s hejira

[@58landman]

I've listened to Hejira a million times but this performance is just beyond imagination. Thanks for posting it. God, I love this woman.

[@robertplunkett9365]

I agree, it takes the mood thing out of it and makes it a classic rock graceful song WOW

[@leighharris2080]

Joni can do no wrong in my book

[@christinelaws4894]

I Love. . Her. Music from. 1968

[@tomaszgeza4020]

Genius rarely manifests better, than this.

[@jgwire]

I totally agree. This is fantastic

[@jaymarks1]

Joni has given us so many wonderful songs….and my vote is the Hejira album is her masterwork. It is truly a salve for the worn and weary soul.

[@tyroberts2261]

Hejira has been favorite album since it came out when I was in high school. Not a bad song and many fantastic ones. No one has written as many beautiful songs Joni.

[@jacquesguitars]

Don't forget that band, carefully selected with good taste by Joni herself: drummer Vinnie Colaiuta, keyboard player Russell Ferrante, Michael Landau on guitar and Larry Klein on bass.

[@matthewspratt817]

Saw this concert and Michael Landau's playing knocked me sideways. But,the entire unit was pure magic.

[@dmljones2550]

Do you hear the Piano Accordion

[@deeFraniewski-er4vc]

Love Jaco with Joni

[@dmljones2550]

Could have been the keyboards- nice touch

[@claverton]

"I went to Statton Island Sharon to buy myself a mandolin, and I saw the long white dress of love on a store front mannequin" has there ever been more beautiful words written for the beginning of a song?

[@k.m.hergenrider8119]

Absolutely, and Mandolin Brothers is gone now.

[@lonnymikul9041]

I bought a Paul Beard dobro from Mandolin Brothers on Staten Island, Sharon....

[@nursebridgie]

Like mindblown every time! 🤯

[@johnjacobsjacobs4745]

I may be 61 and old enough to be your grandpa, but if I we're age...we'd be going to the prom. You have great attitude and I would love to be your friend...Indian John Jacobs.

[@BrianBattles]

One of the best songs ever.

[@ronster369]

I agree pal....A little obscure when most are given a choice to choose. But I give you great incredible taste credentials. One of the best songs ever.

[@cofan5771]

When I listen to this live performance I think if this isn't the greatest song ever written I haven't yet heard it, but then I remember the other 100+ songs Joni has written and feel perhaps any one of them could also qualify.

[@kermit3421]

I am the same. Hard to pick a favorite. She is a genius!

[@anglodutch8321]

Her voice is very strong here

[@sweetjane5033]

impeccable phrasing! performance artist, storyteller extraordinaire!!❤

[@ceciliaa8073]

Thank God for Joni! My life would not be the same without her!!!So blessed I was able to see and hear her live!!!

[@beckyquinlan3101]

Joni had so much class she should have been a triplet!

[@kennewicksheri]

" ... All emotions and abstractions It seems we all live so close to that line And so far from satisfaction ..."

[@yasminabekhti9952]

I read your comment right when she sung that line 😱😍

[@andytaylor5476]

This just gets better the more I hear it!

[@ninewolves213]

"Eighteen bucks went up in smoke!" I love it when Joni rocks.

[@bjbinmke]

"Well, there's a wide world of noble causes....."

[@susannelandino2109]

I Just discovered this live version of “Song for Sharon” I love the changes with the guitar sound. She’s a musical genius. She really understands and gives us girls all she’s got where love and heartbreak are concerned. Such a generous song writer. Thank you Joni girl.

[@hannjenn]

I've loved Court and Spark since my dad bought it for me in 1974 or 75, but I never ventured more deeply into Joni Mitchell's songbook. I've now discovered Hejira and can't even imagine how anyone can possess the talent and skill to produce something so perfectly beautiful. This is a fantastic live performance of one of the great songs off of that thoroughly amazing album. Wishing Ms. Mitchell well.

[@robinday2137]

hannjenn There is one lyric in a song on this album that describes me perfectly: I travel coast to coast just to contemplate.....

[@JOY-ld3jc]

Starting a new decade listening to Joni...timeless. 💜

[@christiangonzalez-xl4cq]

No words exist to call her ! A giant !

[@rineric3214]

Joni is always great, but this performance is even better than usual!! Wow!!!

[@halloweenjack2562]

The various April '83 Wembley videos surely deserve being strung together for an official release (....not just because I happened to be there!) with the sound & vision tidy-up technology available today... One of the absolute live concert experiences of my life - JM was just fabulous! And with a version of Heard it on the Grapevine as one of the encores.

[@suzangittens2046]

This song covers lifetimes.

[@jazz185]

Hejira.. The best ever Joni album. Once you get over "Coyote" the others are true classics.

[@fabioziliani7508]

August 2021 the sound of Joni again in my head !

[@iamreg1965]

Hejira was the first Joni Mitchell album I heard and this became my favourite track from that album. Joni is such a visionary and confessional story teller.

[@SactownOwen]

This tour was pure perfection!

[@herrbonk3635]

I like how she smiles at that last guitar roar :D

[@raecoyote]

Beyond brilliant & stunning! Genius can't even describe her, I love you Joni ...

[@freemangriffin4953]

Have you heard her live version from this concert of "Amelia"? Just stunning! (: I sure wish I had been at this concert!!!! (:

[@stuartpearson5371]

Christ I love this woman's music - and this version is indescribably good.

[@Mwgsyboy]

Michael Landau was an integral part of Joni's sound in the 80s and 90s.

[@markthompson4953]

I actually like this live version a little better than the recorded track. I love when Joni lets loose and rocks out !

[@seawolfbeach]

My all my time favorite version.

[@davidnash4231]

Such a brilliant performance of one of my all time favorites from Joni. Thank you so much for this piece of art Joni.

[@lindajacobowitz9297]

my favorite album is Hejira!

[@cynb3502]

Fabulous arrangement. I had never heard this.

[@bristleconepinus2378]

best version, great arrangement, love the bounce

[@Taiko2046]

I've watched this a dozen times and still am blown away.

[@thomasgajackson]

Amazing music, how can anyone create music and poetry in such a harmonious perfection!

[@abrarahmed1888]

That’s some tasty, restrained but threatening guitar work from Michael Landau.

[@paulhoughton5164]

Oh Joni where will we be without you? You have no idea just how much your words and music have meant to me these last 63 years. KZbin just keeps on giving in terms of these little gems I would otherwise have never seen and each one is a gift. This one in particular is a big fat diamond

[@Thadmotor1044]

Joni's growth is astounding and is the soundtrack to ours

[@carmenrizzo6408]

Within you and without you

[@joelbaechle6892]

It’s the economy of line, the chiaroscuro over the bones of structure, and then it lights up when she rocks it live. I love the history of Eric Clapton staring at her fingers when Croz introduced them. I’ve seen one of Henry Dilts’ unpublished photos of Joni and Graham Nash in the back of a limo, like “Edith and the Kingpin staring eye-to-eye”. Pure Aubrey Beardsley Art Nouveau in real life. The definition of a performing artist. Rock on!

[@edgreen8140]

Love when joni plays electric. Love jaco and a metheny fan for the last 40 years. Rip jaco. Moma and Betsy say rip it out Joni!

[@death2pc]

This aforementioned "rocky" version really (no surpise) flows with such force, punch, dynamic, balance, rhythm............. Wow. I'll say as others have................ Amazing.

[@sidilicious11]

Binging on Joni, someone who gave voice to so many passions of my youth.

[@mdcecichannel4366]

Joni has brought a ray of sunshine for all of these years with her music and stage presence. I so much admire and appreciate Joni......keep up the recovery....

[@neurofire]

Oh M G - this is absolute killer Mitchell - best version I've ever heard her do. Wow.

[@fgrady1]

This song’s performance is nothing short of transcendent.

[@carmenrizzo6408]

Love you Joan ❤️

[@hugopablofailla4211]

Brilliant

[@jgwire]

All these years I was unaware that she could do this better than record- and w 80s sounds! But it’s great

[@tradest1]

Ice cool supertalent - There is only one Joni.............

[@ericjohnsawyer]

Mama and betsy say-"find yourself a charity." Help the needy and the crippled or put some time into ecology." Well, there's a wide wide world of noble causes And lovely landscapes to discover But all i really want right now Is... find another lover

[@pattisteely4650]

This is so awesome! She is so cool and talented! I love watching and listening to the words to this song! ❤💃 Joni you rock it.

[@davidrogez2012]

I wore out all my Joni Mitchell albums before 1980. Thank you you tube for letting me enjoy Joni 30+ years later

[@Manjonion]

This STELLAR....what a FIND in 2019.

[@arniecohn1396]

ive been a joni fan forever,just discovered sharon,its now my fave

[@MY-ue7no]

Just superb !

[@erikshen1107]

SOOOO SATISFYING!!!

[@DDaggerz9]

Amazing, as usual.

[@carmenrizzo6408]

Love you Joan

[@alaneisenberg1438]

Joni at her best. Great track and great backing band.

[@jessicafalstein]

Can't listen to this one enough, so fresh and gritty. Joni can do anything.

[@huytonbaldy]

I love this version. Had this concert of an old VHS recording. Played it to death. Thanks for posting

[@johngraydon506]

The planets finest all round lady songwriter & musical talent xx thank you Joini my life has been rewarded everyday from late sixties xx

[@oldsurferdude1]

For me, the best she's ever written. Otherworldly.

[@dennisartman9119]

Quite simply, the definitive version of the best song by the best woman songwriter ever. Best to you Joni.

[@noregretcoyote1808]

Take out ‘woman’ and you’re there.👍🏻

[@nursebridgie]

@@noregretcoyote1808 💯💯💯💯

[@libbynielsen6267]

shine your light on me Miss Liberty

[@alanhowell3646]

Libby Harrison ha! I always heard that line as "shine your light on me Mr Bertie" you've enlightened me.

[@carol-lynnfillet3439]

I have LOVED your artistry as soon as I found Song to a Seagull.

[@akgypsy54]

Thank you Sonic Boy! Joni is phenomenal and you always post the best videos of her!♥️👏🎶

[@marcuswhitehead9615]

Incomparable talent; we will never see the like again

[@carminerizzo7231]

Joan I still want you , I love You Forever and ever , A Christmas Tree Forever , a miracle , you are an angel

[@marioestevesfilho4699]

It' better than perfect! Brilliant song, poweful performance, almost like a brand new and perfect song. Joni is the best, ever!!!

[@sherlockdoyle2649]

A Great Moment, Pure Electricity

[@YewtBoot]

Superb!

[@bernlin2000]

This almost has a Grateful Dead jam-like quality to it, Joni's versatility as a singer-songwriter is unparalleled!!

[@folknblues1]

Scorching and brilliant.

[@msm663]

That song says sooo much. Fabulous performance too!