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

[@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.

[@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 ?

[@harveyneedleman817]

And songwriter , Garysimpson

[@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!

[@johngraydon506]

I love her always did , must say these eighties sets in London and Paris show her off at possibky a very happy time.looking stunning & happy & so into it, really you want to shout from the roof tops it really gets you 🎉

[@kenthughes4396]

Agree with you 100%

[@michaelhayes2794]

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

[@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.

[@templeofswitches]

so well said.

[@steelydrwu5555]

God Bless You Calvalita.

[@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

[@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.

[@Mwgsyboy]

I was at the Birmingham NEC for the other UK leg of this tour and the whole band were fantastic. She could always attract the best. This version of Song for Sharon stuck with me because of Mr Landau's superlative interpretation

[@johndoe-mh7kz]

I was there epic show.​@@Mwgsyboy

[@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.

[@garyprifogle821]

Court & Spark saw me through some dark times

[@DavidJames-p9f]

It's a great album.

[@nickbiskinis4854]

Brilliant song, very enigmatic - you can imagine hearing it when on a long distance train during a summer sunset with a clear view of a moon

[@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

[@danw5785]

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

[@lancewillson34]

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

[@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.

[@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

[@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.

[@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.

[@seawolfbeach]

My all my time favorite version.

[@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

[@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

[@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...👏👏👏

[@stuweb5848]

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

[@karenmadge5175]

Beautifully said..

[@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!

[@edfederoff2679]

#1 comment!

[@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.

[@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.

[@leighharris2080]

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

[@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!

[@waltpastick1236]

Oh ya she saved me many many times

[@Thadmotor1044]

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

[@keithepley2132]

"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.". Best friend and I would scream at this line!!!

[@marcuswhitehead9615]

Incomparable talent; we will never see the like again

[@novianovioTV]

Just heard this on radio Caroline. Then put it n here. Never heard it before. Concealing emotion is over rated and thankfull this amazing singer knows that

[@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.

[@hugopablofailla4211]

Brilliant

[@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.

[@anglodutch8321]

Her voice is very strong here

[@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!

[@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

[@sweetjane5033]

impeccable phrasing! performance artist, storyteller extraordinaire!!❤

[@萩原修-e8n]

雰囲気だけで最高です！

[@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.

[@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

[@msegal8104]

"...well there's a wide wide world of Noble causes and lovely landscapes to discover, but....All I really want to do right now, is find another lover....."

[@marilyncatling6866]

Simply unique our Joni. Prince thought so too!

[@markthompson4953]

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

[@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 😱😍

[@akgypsy54]

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

[@keithepley2132]

Fantastic performance!

[@stephenchalloner7681]

Was at this concert Wish she would tour again

[@ninewolves213]

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

[@herrbonk3635]

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

[@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!!!

[@stuartpearson5371]

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

[@rineric3214]

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

[@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.....

[@andytaylor5476]

This just gets better the more I hear it!

[@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.

[@YewtBoot]

Superb!

[@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.

[@DDaggerz9]

Amazing, as usual.

[@cynb3502]

Fabulous arrangement. I had never heard this.

[@bristleconepinus2378]

best version, great arrangement, love the bounce

[@dmljones2550]

Up tempo version I really l like . The story is classical. Always liked Michael Landeau playing. Joni’s voice phrasing as usual is impeccable.

[@christiangonzalez-xl4cq]

No words exist to call her ! A giant !

[@SactownOwen]

This tour was pure perfection!

[@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!!!! (:

[@davidgardiner4720]

Does make me realise how much I miss Jaco.

[@JOY-ld3jc]

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

[@suzangittens2046]

This song covers lifetimes.

[@lifelover515]

I think one of the things that makes this version work so well is the mix. Despite the edgy, metally guitar which dominates the backing, it never interferes with the densely worded vocal. which comes through clear as a bell. Who would have thought it possible to improve on the recorded version on 'Hejira'? With Joni, everything is possible.

[@matthewspratt817]

Great artists always push it further in a live performance. Jaco provides a link between Joni and the great Weather Report..Their Montreux '76 concert is a case in point. Fabulous performances of Black Market,Elegant People and Gibraltar.

[@bristleconepinus2378]

I think the Marlboro's might have helped as well.

[@lifelover515]

@@bristleconepinus2378 I smoked them for decades but still sound like geese farts on a muggy day, as Leo Kottke once described his own voice, lol (he didn't).

[@fabioziliani7508]

August 2021 the sound of Joni again in my head !

[@DRUOPS]

this rocks

[@jgwire]

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

[@MY-ue7no]

Just superb !

[@jazz185]

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

[@bjbinmke]

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

[@davidnash4231]

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

[@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 💯💯💯💯

[@lindajacobowitz9297]

my favorite album is Hejira!

[@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.

[@fredrikanilsson3992]

I discovered Joni too late, I was just four when this was recorded...and now she's not touring any longer, so I will never see her live. She's a genius and I love her.

[@TonySchopp]

It makes no difference how her music touches your soul. You’re automatically a more dynamic human once you’ve let this in.

[@beckyquinlan3101]

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

[@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!

[@arniecohn1396]

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

[@tyros60]

Great

[@Taiko2046]

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

[@fgrady1]

This song’s performance is nothing short of transcendent.

[@davidtowner-jones5386]

Just perfect

[@neurofire]

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

[@harveyneedleman817]

7 minutes of absolute bliss

[@ronster369]

Song For Sharon easily in my top 3 by Ms. Mitchell. What I call a classic for me. Only now do I know why I connected then and never forgot this song. "Love's a repetitious danger, you'd think I'd be accustomed to. Well I do accept the changes.....better than I used to do."

[@sharonforro3237]

We all fall for repetition.

[@folknblues1]

Scorching and brilliant.

[@thomasgajackson]

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

[@sidilicious11]

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

[@jamescorbett5729]

Utterly brilliant. First thing that comes to mind is how on earth can she remember all those intricate lyrics, sing so well and play guitar? And this would be just one of many songs performed that night if it’s a concert.

[@abrarahmed1888]

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

[@carmenrizzo6408]

Love too Joan

[@gs6022]

Just sublime on so all levels - songwriting, arrangement, vocals, backing and snarling lead guitar.

[@markcarson9023]

David Crosby commented she is a better songwriter than Dylan.?Maybe different priority!

[@johngraydon506]

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