What Makes This Song Great? "Amelia" Joni Mitchell

In this episode of "What Makes This Song Great?™" we explore the music of Joni Mitchell.
#jonimitchell #amelia #hejira
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[@psbarrow]

Joni loves this video too: "... [Rick] did one on “Amelia.” And she was on the phone one night telling me how much she loved this video and how much she was impressed with how this guy really understood her and the song and got it on every level." - from an interview with Patrick Mulligan about Joni's new Archives release on The Second Disc, Oct. 30.

[@FernandaGomezVasquez]

Is Rick aware of this? Hopefully this encourages him to do more videos on Joni, so that more people get to know her

[@shirohige6024]

@@FernandaGomezVasquez I once said, there should be a series called: What makes this Joni Mitchell song great. Just a thought. I Think i have to dig out that interview too. I love it, when Rick gets recognition for the right reasons.

[@FernandaGomezVasquez]

@@shirohige6024 that would be awesome. She is no blocker so...

[@BentonCBainbridge]

Joni Mitchell is my all-time favorite. I'm so happy to hear Rick Beato discuss her songwriting! And, yes-that concert is astounding to watch, Jaco and Metheny and Joni Mitchell oh yeah!

[@Lainer1]

@pbarrow I am impressed with Rick. Just found his channel a month ago. He is thorough and knows his stuff. I've been a Joni fan for ages. She is a genius. Everyone promotes Dylan through the ages, but Joni, to me was much, much better and the jazz...OMG...the jazz. Jaco being on her records just confirms it, along with Larry Carlton and Pat Metheny. I mean, c'mon! She was doing stuff back then that people didn't understand, but they do today. She got a lot of flack for the jazzy albums, but she blossomed and metamorphosed into this ascended genius beyond a genius as a writer, singer, poet. I can't express this enough. It kind of makes me sad that she wasn't given her due as much as the male players. She is so phenomenal. What a mentor to me.

[@taiwanteacrafts]

And I thought I was the only man who cried listening to Joni Mitchell’s songs. I guess there is still hope for this world then!

[@BerndThomasSchuller]

naaah lots of guys love her. We're all humans and she has a way of getting to you

[@victoraranedad1885]

Not at all. We are many.

[@codechasr1]

Literally wiping tears from my eyes as I type this. First time hearing Amelia, and I’m just overwhelmed.

[@pauldavies1710]

No there is only hope for subscribers to this channel. :-)

[@ilabelle1]

Joni is one of the all time great artists of the 20th century. You are definitely not alone.

[@wallymarcel1]

When you mention all the “lift” in the song she’s intentionally/musically creating the mood and feeling of aviation. Such a genius she is.

[@debbieschmidling8158]

❤❤❤

[@JESL_TheOnlyOne]

As we used to say at the conservatory, Hell, yeah. I heard it for the first time about a month ago, and right away, even without knowing the subject of the song, I felt aloft.

[@lynby6231]

The line “the ghost of aviation, she was swallowed by the sky and by the sea” is just so evocative

[@Reliable_Session]

The big sus4 from a sliding steel helps establish that feeling too!

[@christophercoleman857]

No one sounds like Joni. Intimate stories wrapped up in haunting melodies; who can ask for more. She is a force of nature.

[@rhmayer1]

Tears and chills. No other artist has brought so many to so many.

[@E.R.Schnaben]

Check out Janni Littlepage, “Strange Angels”.

[@lefantomer]

@@rhmayer1 Try comparing her with that mediocrity who is raking in all the attention and $$$ now, whose "music" is so trite and repetitive and who is obsessed with the long list of ex-lovers she hates. Sad. But we will always have Joni.

[@rhmayer1]

@@lefantomer I am not a "Swifty" (just not a musical style/genre that's my cup of tea) though I do think she has some talent and I appreciate her business smarts. And there are far worse out there than her! That all said, yeah - of course. She's not even CLOSE to the same league as Joni, who is probably the greatest overall musician of my lifetime, with such a broad range of outstanding and unique talents - her unique guitar and piano playing, her incredible poetry/lyrics, her art work, and of course that phenomenal voice and range. Joni and her music is unique and timeless - will be around for many generations. Even with the amazing and overwhelming popularity of Taylor Swift, she will be forgotten much sooner, with no real classics that I think will survive the test of time, and sustained for future generations like Joni's music undoubtedly will.

[@lefantomer]

@@rhmayer1 I notice the "Swifties"always drag in that woman's "business smarts" as some form of argument for her "talent". But that has nothing to do with musical talent. And that there are worse out there is hardly an advertisement. She uses people cynically -- men especially -- to build her "brand" of the poor little put-upon victim of men who fail to "save her", her lyrics are pretentious word salad without Joni's genuine poetry. (I was playing "Amelia" on cd today driving in Maine -- old car! -- and it was so perfect.) It's all so very manipulative, perhaps that's what bothers me. But I feel so fortunate to have had Joni as a big part of the soundtrack of my youth!

[@markdrechsler5660]

Thanks for giving Joni her due. Lots of people get labeled as “genius.” Joni deserves it with a capital G.

[@ransbarger]

You got that right! Even Prince thought she was a genius.

[@gordiannot77]

Yes❤️

[@patrickdrazen8411]

Especially this album! So much glorious music!

[@bemersonbakebarmen]

YES!!!

[@jagtone]

Truth (with a capital T)!

[@goofe.washington953]

When a guy tells me he cries when he is moved by a piece of music (especially a piece of music by the true genius of Joni Mitchell), I know immediately he’s a good guy.

[@jerryjazzbo2845]

I find it hard to imagine music being able to move a guy who's capable of wiping his family out with an axe.

[@kelguy2002]

G.E. W. - I AM “ THAT” GUY ☮️❤️🎼🇺🇸

[@mp5249]

God I wish that were correct. Never collect red flags.

[@kelguy2002]

Jerry Jazzbo - ????

[@adilk100]

I am such a guy also 💖

[@aarfeld]

Thank you for paying homage to Joni. She's an absolute treasure.

[@lefantomer]

Young women now think they have a "songwriter". THIS, my girls, is a SONGWRITER, and this song is a masterpiece.

[@franzpeterrolph7610]

The whole of the Hejira album is a masterpiece on every level, the greatest song cycle since Schubert's Winterreise no question. If there is a jewel in the crown then it is Amelia, a shimmering, deliquescent piece of musical word-painting. Perfect.

[@myislandgirl]

It truly is. . ✨🎶✨🎶❤️‍🔥

[@oiseaubaladeur]

@@DaleRC75 furry sings the blues is my personal favorite (I love when she sings low and does that voice imitation)

[@mateusbez2669]

To me, Coyote is Joni’s greatest song. But Amelia is right up there. 2 masterpieces.

[@garypeatling7927]

Deliquescent what a fantastic word, perhaps it sums her up will try and use it

[@NickMcGivney]

Spot on. You cannot talk about lyrics, melody, instrumentation, any of it without invoking painting. What are they all but waves? And let's get real, Joni's box of colours is never going to restrict itself to the visible spectrum. Sequences of mass and space. Shadows and light. The clues are everywhere. We are fortunate that we have shared the planet with a genius.

[@joechip1232]

This song affects me like few others. David Crosby played this when I saw him with my dad a few years ago. I think I had only seen my dad cry once before in my life. He didn't even cry when we found out his cancer was terminal or as he went through the dying process. But he cried when he heard David sing this song.

[@chrishaughey648]

Thats beautiful, mate. All the best...

[@karlhector2049]

In "A woman of heart and mind" Malka Marom says that the best time she saw Joni singing (I had a King) she sobbed. I think her. music taps directly into our unconscious emotions, better than anyone else.

[@darrenworth1236]

It's on his album "Sky Trails". Fits perfectly on a great album.

[@mattjns]

Well I’m not crying now reading this....much. 😔

[@enricopersia4290]

So much respect for you and your father

[@chrisgately4358]

I was working with Pat Metheny and Lyle Mays on their Warner Brothers Music Show LP when they got the call from Joni asking them to be in her band. They were so psyched. The show they put on that evening was smokin'. After the gig, they packed up, went to Massachusetts, recorded the "American Garage" LP, and then started rehearsals with Joni. I met up with Pat when the "Shadows and Light" tour passed through Philadelphia two months later. He told me that he was having the time of his life.

[@RickBeato]

Wow, great story!

[@sidilicious11]

Chris Gately I’m so to know glad they enjoyed playing with her.

[@Pek1227]

This anecdote is great. Thanks for sharing!

[@cdavidjohnson2235]

Chris Gately has

[@markconway2677]

On the "Shadows & Light" DVD they certainly seem to be enjoying themselves. Pat and Lyle are smiling and laughing a lot.

[@louiebee6745]

Joni is a true artist. Blue is an absolute masterpiece, and River just might be the saddest Christmas song ever made.

[@72floyd]

I'm a Lynyrd Skynyrd, Outlaws southern rock fan who also loves good basic classic blues rock. But I absolutely respect the ethereal folk sound of Joni. She has sick freakish talent with her tunings and melodies and as a blue collar rocker I have great respect for Joni and her sound and voicings. Anyone who plays music has to bow in respect to her sound and feel. God bless you Joni and thank you for your music.

[@JESL_TheOnlyOne]

She's a genius.

[@ecstaticist]

This is the amazing thing about Joni. Musicians from all backgrounds will tip their hat. Just watch the expressions of all the men on stage in The Last Waltz when she is playing. This is the 70s, when men ran the place. The crowd may have gone quiet, because their minds were being blown, but every world-class musician on stage knew. She also saved Neil Young's ass in that segment. He had been up for three days, apparently. In case you think I am dissing him, he was the second best songwriter on that stage.

[@JESL_TheOnlyOne]

@@ecstaticist Exactly, good sir, I'm a semi-pro guitarist, and she's an absolute master of her craft and a musical genius.

[@kevinglennon7789]

Very well put Floyd! Thank you for putting into words how we all feel about Joni Mitchell and her outstanding work. I just love this artist of Canvas, words and music!

[@gi4sky]

Rick, I was a touring rock musician in the 60's, then I got injured in multiple car accidents and stopped playing. Ever since I began watching your videos the Joy you display when discussing music and musicians has given me the motivation to play (Hammond Organ) again. It's been 50 years and I can hardly play, but I realized I was missing the joy you live in and I need it!.. Thank you

[@lucaswallo8127]

:D

[@kimkrause4515]

He def displays joy!!💜💙⭐🎶🎼

[@gravityalwayswins1434]

Great post. Music is indeed one of life's greatest joys.

[@vibefrequencyable]

Best wishes to you....🙏

[@johnallred3124]

gabriel forzano I didn’t have anything that prevented me from playing. I just came off the road and started doing something else. That was 33 years ago. Rick has reminded me of the joy I felt back then, and I’m starting to play again.

[@allanmacfarlane5731]

Rick, I don't know but, it is possible you may have saved someone's life or at least changed it fundamentally forever with this emotional yet compassionate appraisal of your love of a great song. The world needs more of this, thank you.

[@JackiesStuff]

The first time I heard this song, it was as if time had stopped, and I had been dragged off into another world filled with a beautiful melancholy.

[@clurkroberts2650]

I’m so sad to be losing my hearing, Joni M has long been part of my essence😔. But I still remember her wonderful vocal performances.

[@groundedcoffee6538]

Who's back to watch it again after Rick's Video bashing WMG ? We're more than happy to see the video back up, Thanks for all your knowledge, enthusiasm and hard work Rick.

[@c1audius]

Came here to check right away 👊🏼

[@danielstenniskanal]

@@c1audius ne too

[@wildbeanz]

Must have been another KZbin "mistake".

[@josephravu5039]

Yep!

[@gergelyzaruba1340]

Maybe this is why the disable them. Rick makes another video and then people watch this again :)

[@rochellesumeray4213]

I love how you just get so overwhelmed by the beauty and perfection of this song that you can’t even say anything except AAAAAH. 😂

[@bh8365]

Rochelle. Yes. I love it when Rick expresses his love of songs.

[@cindykaplan3965]

Love Rick Beato. Adore Joni Mitchell. Amelia is a miracle of a song. The lyrics the poetry draws from the human experience from ancient to the now. It perfectly weaves a tapestry of musical and visionary lyric elements from the longing for a lost relationship, to the imagery of sound and observation. Each line, maybe word is a masterpiece. The music is the colors.

[@milesian1]

I'm a portrait photographer, and if I had a series called "What Makes This Album Cover Great" that gorgeous black and white photo of Joni that was used on Heijira would make the top five, easily.

[@CadeCYC]

Agreed it is so iconic!

[@joshualeppard4175]

Yep, it's on my wall.

[@Zehn-X]

Make it!

[@milesian1]

@@Zehn-X Sounds good! Any nominations besides this one?

[@ncpascoe]

Yep…you got that right!

[@paulsmith282]

I named my daughter Amelia after this song. Beautiful record and love the live version with Pat Matheny. My personal favourite album of Joni’s.

[@fireworkboy]

Nice. My guitar is called Amelia 😌

[@Nickelini]

Oh I love that too. I almost named my daughter Amelia after this song too (also, the Amelia the song is about)

[@peachmelba1000]

Joni, being from Canada and through her work, might give some insight on what it means to be from here. Much like Rush, Neil Young, The Band, The Tragically Hip etc, the sound really belies the vastness of this place, and the empty space, of which there is plenty. And I know some American states get real winter weather, but there is something awe inspiring and terrifying about travelling across Canada in the winter, or just getting up for work when it's minus 30C and it won't be light until 9am. You need the solo from Limelight on the car radio, while you sip coffee and drive through slush. You need Joni in the background, painting with words, or Gord from The Hip (RIP) wailing about Wheat Kings or doomed fishing trips. Canada is really a nation of people with little to no ideology, or maybe even identity, but somehow, perhaps involuntarily, each is a natural feature, like the trees, mountains, prairies, or the coasts. Sorry if that's flakey sounding.

[@04beni04]

Not at all (says a fellow Canadian). Although now I'm really missing the road trip I would have been taking this week in other circumstances. Joni is well represented in my open roads playlist.

[@JimGeigerMusic]

Joni is one of Geddy Lee's favorite artists.

[@thehallowqueen]

I was named after this song!! Joni Mitchell holds such a special place in my heart. Thank you so much for doing this!!

[@sh230968]

Very nice to be named after a gem by a great artist. I am sure you will make Joni proud.

[@artemanan4540]

Wonderful!

[@tommyroseguitar4557]

That is awesome

[@donaldbass6737]

Your parents were very cool to do that.

[@NicolaLarosa]

Rick named his children Dylan and Lennon (I forget the third one). No Joni though...

[@blackdawg7361]

Joni Mitchell is, quite possibly, the greatest songwriter, lyricist, and storyteller throughout the history of rock (folk, jazz, classic) music. 😄

[@Robinwhiteart]

For popular music she is in the same category as Bach is in for classical. True art lasts forever

[@philhayhoe1]

So happy to re-watch this after seeing that Rick went for dinner with Joni. Vicarious ecstasy!

[@CathyKeating]

Oh, you get extra props for explaining your reluctance and delay in featuring her music, Rick! She's intimidating, and I find it totally impossible to closely listen to her without losing a lot of myself in emotion. I wept as I watched this! Thanks for honoring this amazing artist and craftswoman. She's peerless. Then, now, and forever.

[@themusicshopct]

So well said.

[@russelljackman1413]

Amen, Cathy!

[@michaelmoraga2926]

'peerless'... spot on!

[@terryd4025]

Dead on, Cathy. Exactly what I thought too! Saw her in concert in Glasgow many years ago, one of my favourite gigs ever...

[@bobkerr4438]

Exactly! Well put! What's really baffling is that some people just don't get her music.....but then people also elected "guess who"

[@williamfarley8559]

Rick you are the guy that will load $5000 of musical equipment in a $500 vehicle to go play a gig that pays $50!! You make these videos not for profit or gain, but for the love and appreciation of others that would do the same. I see your work as being the keeper of lost souls...never letting others forget they were here and how they made the world a better place.

[@arnieus866]

That is the business model for most musicians. The $50 is for moving the equipment.

[@rockdrumr2772]

You guys are daft! Just look around the room. Maybe when he was 16, but not now. He's smart. He's doing well! 50 bucks in a $500 car, ROTFLMAO

[@RocknJazzer]

He is doing it for profit, said it's his main source of income. Obviously also for the true love of the craft, so all is good. But load the van ruin your back scratch your gear and lose money, I doubt he does that anymore

[@williamsstephens]

The true function of old people is teaching. We're too old to gad about the country, and our heads are stuffed with all kinds of knowledge.

[@curtarmmar]

Joni Mitchell is mind-blowingly talented. I've been playing for years and her use of tunings still astounds me.

[@wwjjss33]

"Hauntingly beautiful" --perfect snapshot of Joni's music

[@DWeirich76]

I just listened to the "Blue" album for the first time. I think I'm in love.

[@sameljota]

Man, surprisingly enough, albums like 'Hejira', 'Court and Spark' and 'Hissing of Summer Lawns' are somehow even better than Blue.

[@musiclistsareus1029]

Heijira, Court and Spark, and Blue are all among the greats. I liked her early stuff first, but there's just so much good Joni stuff to choose from

[@knarf_on_a_bike]

Blue made me fall in love with Joni, too. I'd heard all her singles, but had never heard any of her albums. I melted when I heard Blue. She opened her heart and poured it into that disc. I'm still in awe, 50 years later.

[@pauldi7268]

Blue is really good but hejira melts me every time, Amelia, coyote, ect so amazing

[@philhood5752]

They're all great but "Blue" is almost a solo record. Just Joni on guitar, dulcimer, piano. The songs are so deep. It's an astonishing achievement.

[@CathyKeating]

A thing about the chorus. She sings the beginning, but the completion of her thought and feeling is completely instrumental. The guitars finish and articulate words that can't be said. Oh, Amelia, it was just a false alarm. The rest of it, and the heart of this song, is spoken by guitars and bass and is absolutely the most haunting thing I ever heard.

[@drkmriggs]

Cathy Keating Never thought of it that way. Very astute observation!

[@rhmayer1]

This commenter understands Joni's music. Nice to read.

[@bobkerr4438]

What an insightful observation Cathy. You surely truly feel Joni's emotional commentary. .Lucky you!

[@PM-nc1km]

Interesting analysis.. I always looked at it as, there is actually no 'chorus', but 7 cycles of verses with the same resolution, lyrics and all, re-using the intro each time.. Dylan's "Tangled Up In Blue" works the same formula.

[@CathyKeating]

@@PM-nc1km Yes, I can see that. Although each verse in Tangled Up in Blue takes you to such a very different place, and time. Each chorus + instrumental bridge seems devised to usher you into each of those different times, scenarios, and outcomes, which makes it sort of a saga, kind of like a Nordic poem. Hard to pinpoint the writer's point of view but that is what makes it feel epic. Different from the structure of Amelia, but I see your point.

[@SkepticMaestro]

After all these episodes, I just realized what you're doing. At least for me, it's like you're unlocking hidden secrets behind these iconic songs. Joni's music has always been on somewhat of an other-worldly plane for me, I don't have the musical aptitude to connect with the more sophisticated and beautiful songwriting structures she utilizes, but after watching this episode, I finally feel like I grasp her songwriting a little more deeply, which makes me appreciate her talent a hundred fold. Thank you for sharing your own unique talent of making a breakdown of a song an art in and of itself.

[@rogerbaker5976]

I have loved Joni Mitchell since the late 1960's. So many of her songs have been my saviors when I have needed something to lift me up. . . 'Amelia' in particular. They can be so satisfying, so intelligent, so completely beautiful. . . and there are so many of them.

[@bjm240]

Fighting back tears seeing somebody actually get Joni and illuminate some usually unexamined aspects of her work. Thanks, Rck

[@babylonlarry]

When Blue came out, I wore out the grooves, sang and knew every word. From then on, Joni was the brightest light in my world. A great many of the singer-songwriters I knew cited Joni as their most profound influence. A great many listeners consider her the Greatest of All Time. David Crosby said (paraphrasing) "In a hundred years, they'll look back and realize that Joni was the best of all of us". Thank you, Rick for the great analysis of Amelia. I'd have a hard time deciding between Blue and Hejira as my favorite album.

[@NediSafa]

Elsewhere, Crosby said that Joni was not the best of this generation, but the best EVER.

[@willosee]

I have bought Hejira three times! Didgital couldn’t come fast enough.

[@orriolbohigas591]

This is why I love Rick. You can clearly see the passion, the awe and the respect that He has for these wonderful musicians. Gotta love that !

[@geoker55]

Had to rewatch this after the Dinner with Joni video. Yeah... damn straight this is a great song. What makes it great? Everything.

[@belaboured]

An older woman I worked with said "I had friends that knew her in art school, and they said they were glad she made it, 'cuz they all just thought she was weird." I understood immediately that my colleague was unredeemable, if that's the only thing she could think of to say about Joni. I lived off Hejira for months when I first discovered it. Some people are lighthouses, showing you how you can navigate forbidding waters, but look out there's rocks here.

[@kennethgarcia25]

Tragic that we will never again fall under the melodic incantations of this bedeviled enchantress in live performance. Rising up from the ashes of polio, this waif of the Saskatchewan plains, learned to transmute her demons whispers into a Siren's voice for every mind and soul. Until now and forever, with only a strum from her twisted tunings and sweet rebelliousness, she draws me, helpless and eager, to revisit her ramshackle entourage of wondrous and tragic timeless characters moving round and round in this circle game only Joni could guide one through. A voice more compelling than the winds or crashing waves....a vision more insistent as life itself...a painter of words... a lyricist of light.

[@stackofiasco5591]

I seen what ya done there Señor. Que bonito!

[@maryfedotova4406]

I’ve discovered Joni’s music earlier this year and I came into it knowing she was some kind of a legend, so I wasn’t completely unbiased when hearing her material, I knew it was something big. But nonetheless I was actually stunned and moved as mover before. This music is something otherworldly, hearing a woman being so open in her creativity, flowing in harmonies and melodies just regularly makes me cry as I can’t be even remotely as free in my daily life and because her chord progressions actually hit me to the core, they are so unbearably moving. I’m so glad to be alive in the same era as her 🙏🏻

[@debbieschmidling8158]

❤

[@marktwain5232]

Beautifully said! Bless your Heart and Soul!

[@sherryheim5504]

I love Joni and this is one of my favorite songs as well as the album Hejira. I have a hard time choosing between Blue and Hejira as my favorite album of hers. Perhaps her writing, voice and musicianship are the best on Hejira, but so many of her songs color the tapestry of my youth that it is difficult to choose. To be honest I have never heard a Joni song that I don't love. She is a true legend and anyone who has not taken the opportunity to know her music is doing themselves a huge disservice. Thank you for doing this podcast, I loved your analysis of this song. Joni paints a moving mural with her lyrics.

[@powlobo.m.b.]

This entire album is a masterpiece - lyrics, music, arrangements, textures, performances, everything is out of this world! Joni at her peak IMHO.

[@da5idnz]

Yup, my favourite Joni album. It's not quite as accessible as something like _Night Ride Home_ (another favourite album) but the songs are very poetic etc

[@paulsandor3522]

Maybe my favorite all time album. I have to listen to it in its entirety. When finished, I'm thrilled to have taken this trip with Joni.

[@gordonroylambert]

I find Joni Mitchells talent to be so extraordinary that its emotionally overwhelming. Creativity is an easy word to say but when you see it in full reality through her music its just stunning and inspiring at a level that’s beyond words. Joni from Ft McLeod Alberta...simply a gift to the universe. Thanks Rick for sharing the emotional impact of her brilliance.

[@daveeddy2402]

My fiance and I both owned Joni albums before we met, and we never talked about it, but Everytime we hear her, we know.

[@alanparsonsfan]

I haven't cried over Joni's work. But I HAVE been deeply moved and then stunned at how accurate she is in her insights. How completely like my experiences on the road. How gifted she is musically, and how effortless she makes her mastery feel.

[@kbsokolan]

Rick, Joni Mitchell....sigh.... At 67 less a day I am still moved to the core by her immense candor and lyrical interpretation - of her own songs, let alone anyone else's! Did you hear her sing at this year's Newport Festival?! Med beds had better be real, coz I can't imagine a world without her! Glad to make your acquaintance here, Rick. More, please!

[@galumpher8107]

Yeah we need her many talents and heart for a bit longer. Med beds, zero point energy whatever it takes. Changes are upon us and I want Joni around to witness those changes. And to write us a tune or two about it.

[@kbsokolan]

@@galumpher8107 I vote for Medicare beds!!!! For us all!!! How amazing that would be to have her completely recover and tell us everything she knows whether in song, or by candid interview!

[@WhistlingGary]

I had to watch it again after your story of having dinner with Joni. Her humility seems to be as extraordinary as her music. Thanks for bringing her to us again with such joy and light.

[@djohn029]

"Honor died in World War II. You know, it just kinda died. Not very many people know how to do it anymore. If they honor you wrong, it makes you arrogant, because it stung. If they honor you right, it's humbling because it's inspiring." - Joni Mitchell. Rick you honor her right, thank you.

[@rabukan5842]

One of the greatest songwriters of all time. She is a painter of songs, a writer of colors, and most of all, a poet .

[@kathyhoyer4586]

Hauntingly Beautiful....I often cry when I listen to Joni...she touches your soul. Thank you for featuring this amazing song, Joni deserves it and you did it well. I love that you were honestly so moved by her music! She is a legend!

[@mikebrison1838]

Joni is a treasure. As a child, the Beatles changed my world. As a young adult, the world again changed when Joni entered. Her growth from coffee shop folk music to a superb jazz artist (and beyond) and everything in between has influenced me. I laugh, I cry, and feel everything. I can never get enough Joni.

[@linsefilm]

I swear I was just thinking the other day, "why doesn't Rick cover Joni?" "Is he scared?" "Alt tunings?" Cuz I *knew* you had to love her. She makes me cry all the time,too, Rick. Thank you.

[@jonathanchristen2235]

Rick, thank you. I’m 16, and if it wasn’t for your channel and others, I wouldn’t find this great music! A lot of people say the internet is ruining my generation, but I think we’ll turn around and surprise those people. I’m excited for the day that I’ll put my music out there from inspiration of your videos.

[@JohnSmith-oe5kx]

Great music is great music. I'm so encouraged that you are not afraid to reach back into the past. Absorb everything you can and make great new music!

[@MonolithTMA]

I was only a couple of years older when I discovered Joni. I'm so happy to know you are exploring her work now.

[@lnl3237]

Be a student of music all the days of your life. You'll never be bored. Ever.

[@DingleBerry88]

Keep up the good work young blood.

[@andrekunkel1520]

High praise. I’m sure this comment will please Rick more than most. His passion is passin’ on his passion! He’s obvious achieved that with this young artist. I too would be interested in hearing the music this composer will someday write. A total “win” for all involved.

[@thomasmancuso1465]

I had the extreme pleasure of being alive when Joni was touring with Tom Scott/LA Express and attended the smallest of venues in Rochester NY. Roger McQuinn opened for this 400 seat venue. I was following Joni Mitchell since 1965-66 when she was writing world class songs and performing in Toronto. I was thunderstruck watching her perform barefoot standing on a Persian rug. The 35 year old genius who surpassed every performance I had seen up to that point. I've seen my share of the greats in concert, but I reach back in saying that of all, Joni was the most prolific of all, knowing of her ability,and courage to overcome her childhood illness which affected her vocal presentation, she embraced the love of words( the greatest wordsmith in the industry) and expressed her music in emotional tunings from her heart. Which I believe was the one thing overlooked by everyone she connected with and cared about. She is the GOAT.

[@garygartside1434]

Hey Rick, I've watched episode 91 many times like an old movie, and your perspective and knowledge and appreciation of music theory to bring light to Joni's Greatness is a gift, thank you Rick and Joni

[@dwaynewladyka577]

Joni Mitchell is a Canadian music icon. Plain and simple. Cheers! ✌️🇨🇦

[@AndyFunke]

Totally! Born in Fort Macleod AB, grew up in Saskatoon SK, and attended Alberta College of Art and Design in Calgary AB.

[@dwaynewladyka577]

@@AndyFunke Exactly!

[@KurtRichterCISSP]

Joni Mitchell is an icon of all humanity.

[@jaylozier4083]

Maybe West Virginia will claim her, too?

[@dwaynewladyka577]

@@AndyFunke Joni Mitchell paved the way for other female Canadian singers, like Sarah MacLachlan, and others.

[@OCnStiggs]

In Nevada on 95, heading south, you run through the desert. About 75 miles northwest of Las Vegas, just to the north of 95 is Indian Springs AFB, the practice field for the USAF Thunderbirds. Joni must have been driving down from Reno or San Francisco to Las Vegas and witnessed the team doing maneuvers with smoke on ("vapor trails"). It's a captivating thing to witness when the whole team is together as "six jet planes." That 747 she describes at icy altitudes could have been just south of her headed into or -out of, LAX. In 1981 I was a student going through flight training at Williams AFB when I stopped by a stereo store and "Amelia" was on. I was absolutely captivated at the grandeur and spot on imaging she brought into that song. Having witnessed her song from the side of the pilot, like you, I find it immensely moving. I can't count the number of times I have been at sub-zero temperatures at altitude in summer, looking down on a baking desert, and thought of Joni's amazing words. After a 30 year career in aviation and with a lifelong love of music, Amelia is still one of my all-time favorite songs, and my favorite from the incomparable Joni. Thanks for the reminder Rick.

[@johnnycockatoo1003]

right on

[@philweight3480]

Beautifully said.

[@vKarl71]

Thank you for this. Beautiful. Life creates so many amazing connections.

[@PaulJHershey1]

Thankyou for adding color to JM's music - I'd not heard the Thunderbird flight team idea before as an explanation of the six trails, then the hexagon, etc, etc. Makes such complete sense now. I also then learned in this video about the strings of her guitar ....what an absolute master lyricist she is...

[@philweight3480]

@@PaulJHershey1 The "hexagram of the heavens" reference is to the Chinese mystical fortune telling system the "I Ching" which uses hexagrams of 6 solid or broken lines for its symbols - there's 64 combinations, but Hexagram 1, six unbroken stacked lines exactly like 6 guitar strings, is called "The Creative" - so very fitting as Joni was writing songs for "Hejira", including "Amelia", on the road as she journeyed across the States and saw the vapour trails.

[@jasonnolan394]

“Free man in Paris” is one of my favourites. She wrote it in a few hours in a hotel room in Paris while on a trip with her then producer, David Geffen. The song is entirely about Geffen. And it’s so beautifully written… “I was a free man in Paris; I felt unfettered and alive. Nobody calling me up for favours; nobody’s future to decide…….. Stoking the star maker machinery behind he popular song.” “I deal in dreamers, and telephone screamers. Lately I wonder what I do it for. If I had my way, I’d just walk through those doors…..” Amazing…. she conveys what it’s like to be a music producer in a way we can all relate. Geffen didn’t like the song. Not because it wasn’t a great song. It definitely is. But for Geffen it was too personal and made him feel uneasy about being the subject of the song.

[@loiskane4536]

One of my top 100 days as a parent was the day I overheard my youngest daughter @ 14 yrs singing A Case Of You in the shower. In an era of iPads & headphones , I didn’t realize that she had been paying attention to the music which I play . She then asked if she could have my original album of Blue. My heart ✨ I informed her that she could have that , Court N Spark and Hejira, as the three albums belong together -in my mind. If the current generation hears Joni’s music, they love her as she has inspired so many of the female artists who came much later. While I was mesmerized, they find something familar ,yet much deeper and richer than what is normally commercially available to them . In time they will see the genius . Thank you so very much for not only covering a woman, but covering Joni Mitchell 💗 This must have been difficult to even know where to begin. Layers upon layers upon layers ... Again, thank you !

[@ScottHz]

ah, you have done well, @Lois Kane!

[@Gzoratto]

@@ScottHz That album, Joni with Pat Metheny live is a high water mark. On par with the live version of The Weight, by The Band, with the Staples. It is rarified air when you have artist, performance, music and lyrics all converging in magic. Nobody write lyrics like Joni. From, "Furry Sings the Blues" "Pawn shops glitter like gold tooth caps In the gray decay They chew the last few dollars off Old Beale Street's carcass" It's mind blowing.

[@peterfilkins4290]

Better late than never to preach the Gospel according to Joni, Rick. Thank you for this wonderful analysis! This is my favorite record of hers, but it is a difficult choice. You are right to tell people to explore her entire catalog. She is a true artist, ever evolving and never satisfied by her genius work. In my humble opinion, she is one of the greatest artists of the 20th Century - period.

[@btRU_funQsta]

i'll join that Amen choir, any day, Peter!

[@bobperkins9495]

I'll rank her on a short list of the greatest all around artists of the 20th century with Frank Lloyd Wright and Pablo Picasso

[@flamered24]

I'm called after her. I love her voice and lyrics. Thank you for your technical explanation. Her talent puts her in her own category.

[@sharonocallaghan4019]

Hi Rick . I'm a 62 year old farmer from New Zealand and I have loved your video on Joni. She was the sound track of my young woman years and you have taken me right back there complete with tears and ripped heart that only her music can do. I loved sharing the experience with you describing how much you love and are affected by the music that has always been quite a solitary experience for me . Kiora

[@siglavikingkearns8108]

I'm the same age as she is and my wife is from the small city where Joni started playing. I was familiar with her but not a big fan and we've never met. But, here we are, 55 years later and I have to say I'm finally starting to realize her genius. Better late than never.

[@panorama4526]

Mitchell‘s daughter realized that, too. Now that she knows her after decades...

[@RandyMony]

It takes as much artistry to appreciate Joni Mitchell's music as it does on her part to create it! It's sad that so much of today's music lacks the soul of work like this! Just a brilliant musician and artist! Thank You for this presentation of her!

[@triestelondon]

So much of the music then lacked the soul of work like this!

[@PinkSugar111]

The problem is that trust me, there such amazing music, it's just that the industry wants to sell music that doesn't make you overthink our society, lives etc... It started somewhere at the end of the 90's...

[@dpinskey]

Having been a child born in the 60s to two very enlightened parents we always had great music playing in the house, and Joni Mitchell was one that my mother particularly loved and would play a lot. I would see her sitting still, listening and reflecting on what this beautiful music was saying to her and her place in a world that was so male dominated and I would see her get so angry that it made me aware that something in this world was incredibly wrong in the way it treated women. It was so confusing for my young mind to comprehend how such beautiful music could make my mother so sad and so angry. And I could see some of that anger being directed towards my father and even myself but I felt like I grew to understood where it came from, and I have tried very hard throughout my life to not be like the men that came before me and to treat women with respect and to recognize that women must be treated as equals even if being faced by their anger. The struggle persists today but because of great women like Joni Mitchell making her voice heard through music and speaking for other women of her generation I see the change in the world - but I also see where it still gets pushed back upon. So here’s to the voices of those who are set upon and struggle to be seen and heard as equals as those who fight to cling so greedily to the powers that shape this world and may we all realize how much greater we all become when we all come together to shape this world as equals. Thanks Rick for recognizing such a magnificent and important musician and thank you Joni Mitchell for helping me understand my mother’s anger.

[@ajhoncantara]

Hejira has been a huge part of my life since the day it was released. I was born & raised in the Canadian prairies, just like Joni, and the first time I heard Amelia I wept because she paints that landscape and the experience of travelling across it to perfection.

[@denniswinters3096]

I bought this album around 1977, and when I heard the lines " I pulled into the Cactus Tree motel to shower off the dust, and I slept on the strange pillows of my wanderlust", I suddenly realised what poetry is, because it can be taken poetically or literally. I'd never really got what people meant by the word poetry until then.

[@phoneme52xxx6]

Brilliant comment

[@andrewmair7371]

Interesting comment ~ ☝️😊

[@bananabob2185]

Jimmy Page said Joni is the greatest lyricist... ever! 💖 Listen to Two Grey Rooms. Simply... elegant. Or Edith and The Kingpin 💔 Or Trouble Child. Or Blue 💙 There's just no one like her.

[@rhmayer1]

Tears and chills. No other artist has delivered so many to so many.

[@braunhausmedia]

It boggles my mind that there is anyone on this planet that doesn't know who Joni Mitchell is. I can't even fathom it. The greatest singer-songwriter in my lifetime, that's for sure.

[@marylouleeman591]

OMG That little period at the end of a phrase!!! I always hear it and enjoy it but actually didn't KNOW it was real until you just told me. Love it!! Music is so rich in people's lives. And YOU TUBE university is awesome. I never could appreciate/ enjoy JM's music until I just now watched a biography of her and then tuned into the fabulous Rick Beato teachings again. It all comes together now and her poetry speaks to my heart.

[@belindaintexas8789]

5,329 comments? Only Joni could do this. Thank you Rick for your thoughtful explanation of her music to help other generations appreciate her genius. You are the best!

[@Stefankallaelt]

I've been wondering how familiar you are with Joni's work and if you were ever going to discuss one of her songs in this series... And there you are covering one of my absolute favourites and it turns out you are as passionate about her music as I am. Wonderful to see someone share that enthusiasm. It was a delight watching this video. Here's to crying to Joni's music!

[@davidaughenbaugh9732]

I heard that one thing Joni loved about Jaco when they first started working together was that he didn't ask her "what is the root?". She said bass players always asked her that and she resisted nailing it down. Some chords are ambiguous. She liked the flow that came from ambiguity, and Jaco was all about that. (paraphrasing)

[@frose1]

Word. 🎤

[@pgoindi]

Nice one.

[@MrMrh1958]

Jaco’s playing is the perfect accompaniment to Joni’s style!✌️😎

[@drmarshall19]

Joni has always been my absolute favorite artist of any medium.

[@SmeeUncleJoe]

Another most amazing thing about that song, that you did not mention, perhaps you are unaware, is the fact that it isn't a pedal steel guitar, rather Larry Carlton on an ES335. This is - and I don't think anyone could argue otherwise - the most AMAZING presentation of pedal steel guitar effects ever recorded or performed. I spent 20 years certain that it was a steel and then i heard it was Larry and his regular ES335. I inquired and, as I recollect, got the man himself to confirm, via an email reply, he did it on his electric hollow-body guitar. Joni had laid the basic track down and as I recollect Larry went in afterwards, just he and the engineer and did that stunning guitar work. That's not to say what Joni was doing was any less. It is a beautiful song and I thank you for those chord demos.

[@RobMullerUnderground]

In that interview with her, she exemplifies the age-old saying about creative endeavors that "In order to break a rule you must first be aware of that rule." She and her art are truly magnificent.

[@RaysTrack]

James Taylor said with her tunings she was like an artist who started work by making their own canvas. I loved the 60s (I was teenage) - always a big Beatles fan; but in my life (no pun intended) Joni has produced THE best debut album bar none. I've never really been interested in lyrics, except with Joni. Her music also has made me cry and when the time comes, I want Sisotowbell Lane played at my wake.

[@pawnhearts8785]

Nick Drake: Hold my Depression

[@helenespaulding9372]

She has been my favorite singer and songwriter since Song of a Seagull.....and for me, I would put her debut album...my favorite of hers...in the top five for sure.

[@karlhector2049]

At my funeral they will play Woodstock and Urge for Going.

[@ejb7969]

In France They Kiss on Main Street. That song ... I could listen to it for eternity.

[@stackofiasco5591]

@@karlhector2049 Urge for Going-first heard that done beautifully by Tom Rush-he and Judy Collins ere mining her ruthlessly, lol , I had the album and said who this Joni Mitchell. Shortly thereafter I couldn't stop singing Micheal from Mountains and Cactus Tree what meter in that-and Night in the City -well what else ya gonna do winters in Saskatoon eh?

[@justinludeman8424]

Joni Mitchell is that artistic type who moves constantly forward, never content to tread the same way twice. Such an inspirational songwriter and tonal painter to my mind. Studying the harmonic and melodic interplay in her compositional breadth is never boring or without revelation.

[@alinchitown7556]

Rick you bought me back to one of greatest memories of my youth. I was hunting for aloft space in NYC back in the 70’s and as my bass player and I got off the freight elevator on I forget what floor and we heard this incredible piano and voice ringing out and we walked into the loft since the elevator had stopped on that floor when we opened the door and way down at the end was Joni Michell who hadn’t noticed us enter and we had no idea who she was but when she stopped and turned around and realized I almost wet my pants. Anyways it was an amazing accidental experience and I still think of it today when I play her vinyl and I always smile.

[@julioortuzarmunoz13]

Excuse me for my English but Tried to explane my gratitud for Rick because it was very emotional this Joni Mitchell song. Thanks Rick because when I was young and listened this kind of jazz songs I never underestand why the acords or melodies were so intensive and deep and strange and beautifull. Today I open my mind for this masterclass. I am 58 years but I look my pass and the life with other eyes. Rick is not only the an amazing person and teacher, I considered my friend and guru.

[@danielrobert3588]

Your message comes through loud and clear. Your heart carried it through. Peace.

[@bws1971]

Man, I swear. "Help Me" is the most '70s tune there ever was. Just listen it. Feel the vibe!

[@iancurtis1152]

My favourite Joni song also.

[@gene4682]

I can watch the Shadows And Light concert over and over without tiring of it. You don't have to be a Joni Mitchell fan to enjoy it, just one who appreciates excellence.

[@johnbrady1211]

"Blue" is my all time favorite. Every song on it is perfect. Lyrics are just incredible and take some surprising turns. I cannot play or listen to this album in particular and others of Joni without crying. Either in sadness or because of the sheer beauty of the music.

[@EdwardRLyons]

Joni Mitchell is one of the greatest musical artists who has ever existed. Amelia especially is one song that brings tears to my eyes and sends chills down my spine. You could spend a lifetime analysing her songs. But the best thing is to just *listen* to them.

[@azcharlie2009]

I will never forget the first time I saw Joni on Ed Sullivan over at a friends house. All I could say was, "Who the heck is that!" I've been in love with her ever since.

[@spudeleven5124]

This is a brilliant deconstruction of Joni Mitchell's incredibly complex songwriting, and I really enjoy it. This is what music appreciation should be.

[@zorrozen68]

For many years, Jimi Hendrix was my favorite musician of all time, but about 3 years ago I got on a Joni bender, and I had an incredible musical epiphany where she is indubitably THE BEST!!!

[@cello64]

Joni and Jimi actually met here in Ottawa back in '68. I saw her play that week at Le Hibou (The Owl) - I was a young teenager. Missed Jimi - a year later I had also become an avid Jimi Hendrix fan. I heard that he took the time to catch one of Joni's sets...and they hung out together after.

[@alatamore]

Supposedly Led Zeppelin’s Going to California on IV was written about Joni Mitchell. “Someone told me there’s a girl out there with love in her eyes and flowers in her hair.”

[@bobperkins9495]

true

[@Shaigorath]

"To find a queen without a king They say she plays guitar and cries and sings"

[@sh230968]

Really? I did not know that. Good piece of trivia. Thanks for that. (By the way, Going To California is a great tune by Led Zeppelin. Robert Plant's voice has never sounded better IMHO).

[@bendancar]

@@sh230968 Yes, for sure. He doing an absolute imitation/tribute to Joni in the way he sings on that track, rising at the end of lines ("in her haiiiirrrr") and phrasing it in that relaxed California way that Joni perfects.

[@robsimeon1806]

Robert Plant even name checks her in the song on the "How The West Was Won" live album.

[@SnowTheJamMan]

This whole album is a masterpiece, especially "Song for Sharon" which is one of my all time favorite songs. Glad you're doing some of Joni's work

[@KeithHedger]

Absolutely. I love 'Don Juan's Reckless Daughter' and I wish Rick would do 'Talk to Me' from that album....

[@pawnhearts8785]

Rick needs to do a WMTSG on “Disorder” by Joy Division

[@ProdlessidGroj]

Personally really love Hejira, Joni's voice together with Jaco's beautiful melodic playing is perfect

[@sealisa1398]

I love that song....

[@pbanders]

Really, there's no song that evokes emotion like "Song for Sharon". It's not even close.

[@therealbettyjane]

Beauty that surpasses time and space, Joni Mitchell songs. Thank you Rick for sharing your tender heart. I'm 67, grew up with Joni Mitchell as the soundtrack to my life. Hers is the music of the ages. Tears are thunderous applause across eternity.

[@martinbyrne5626]

It’s so good to be amongst people who get Joni. This song in particular is a pean of yearning. She is a genius.

[@stefan-anamericaninrussiaa6683]

Brutal that You have to explain the existence of Joni, to a generation that may have no idea.. surely, she and her music are immortal..

[@PattyJeddyfun]

Well hopefully a few who were not aware will go check out Joni for themselves. Rick did a public service IMO.

[@tranquilitybase6417]

I cry to all Joni’s music. Thanks for FINALLY covering Joni! This lineup with Metheny and Jaco is HISTORICALLY amazing!

[@icarumba]

It would be impossible for me to pick my favorite song of all time, but I can say without hesitation that this is the ONLY piece of music that still gives me chills after almost half a century. Every time I hear it, it takes me back to the first time I heard it. I was working in a record store in 1976, and one day the store was deserted due to a torrential downpour. Someone put a brand-new copy of Hejira on the turntable, and when this song started, it stopped me in my tracks. For the rest of the song, all I could do was stare out the window at the rain, motionless, transfixed on every note. I remember it like it was yesterday. Utterly brilliant.

[@audiotomb]

Congratulations Rick on your deep dive and love of music. I must be so rewarding to have Joni really appreciate your uncovering her brilliance. To have you meet her is the culmination of such musical joy

[@TheVegasJones]

Joni is a genius. The more I listen the more I am blown away by the power of her composition.

[@danielmoss2394]

I’m so old that I found it hilarious that you needed to explain who Joni is. 😂

[@alvarofernandezdecamino]

Younger than yesterday, ne’ertheless

[@VoodooDuck]

I am 17 and found it hilarious too lol😂

[@garypeatling7927]

A young jaz singer on radio was being interviewed the interviewer said some jm influence in your songs the girl said she was not familiar with jm the interviewer physically choked

[@riverman53]

Beyond beautiful. She deserves all the accolades in the world.

[@radioPete444]

Released in November 1976, Joni's "On The Road" album, with her reflections on traveling alone across our country. The first time I heard Hejira, I was standing in a dimly lit crowded room in Buffalo during Christmas week '76. It was 5 degrees outside, with snow and ice that would not melt until springtime (a great setting for a song writer). The weather explained in part why there were so many people there. The body heat everyone emitted was welcomed warmth. . I tuned out the chatter in the room and listened closely to "Coyote" and what followed. Joni's music is so magical, beautiful, and thought provoking. She is a national treasure, as explained so eloquently by Rick.

[@gardinselmer1005]

I met Joni in a grocery store on the Sunshine Coast BC about 10 years ago where she owns a house. I told her I was a huge fan at the cashier and she thanked me. The cashier was a 20 something girl who looked very confused that I was in awe of this older looking woman who seemed very average. Lol

[@rexmonarch2]

I met her in 1976 in a natural food store in Boulder Co. While I was reading the label of a natural foods product someone came up to me and stood very close to me. She said: "You look like someone I know." I remember thinking: "This woman looks exactly like Joni Mitchell." Like the self-portrait on the cover of the Clouds album, she was heartbreakingly beautiful. And she was super warm and flirtatiously trying to talk with me. But I was so star struck that I just froze up. She tried to engage me in conversation that maybe I was someone she knew. I was just tongue-tied. She gave me several chances to affirm that maybe we knew each other but I was totally paralyzed with awe. I ended up telling her that she was 'mistaken' that she knew me. She said: "Are you sure you don't know me." I said: "Yes." She replied to me: "Well, that's just too bad then" -- and she ended up walking away. I actually followed her out of the store for a couple of blocks wondering if it was really her. Then I convinced myself I just imagined it was Joni. When I got home from that dream-like encounter the phone rang and a friend told me: "Joni Mitchell is in town visiting Robben Ford." I found out later she was driving coast to coast on her Hejira adventure and she stopped in Boulder to visit Robben who was studying at Naropa. Anyway, I feel lucky I got to stand in her personal space and feel how warmly flirtatious and friendly she was -- she's an Angel.

[@mjt11860]

@@rexmonarch2 she was a good looking lady. she broke some hearts along the way. i think graham nash wanted to marry her. but she was just too much of a free spirit to settle down with anyone.

[@tomallen5837]

she'll grow up

[@victorhawkins3461]

On our first date, my late partner and I were sitting next to Joni and her attorney at the bar of an Italian place on Beverly Blvd. in L.A. The place was stupid crowded, and Joni and her guest were already at the bar when we showed up. Shockingly, we were seated at a two-top on the patio BEFORE she was. There was an available two-top next to us, and sure enough, the two of them were seated next to us (the tables were, like, six inches apart). We had a wonderful meal, the conversation jumped back and forth across the tables, and it was all most enjoyable. But having lived in L.A. for a while, I knew better than to get wacky around a "star," so I never mentioned anything about who she was or about her work...until Bert and I were ready to leave. We stood, and I looked at her and simply said, "I cannot leave here without saying thank you." She looked at me, kind of perplexed, and said -- in all earnestness, "For what?" I just looked at her and smiled. "For the music." She grinned and nodded. A helluva first date...he and I were together for the next 10 years until he passed away. And I continue to think the world of Joni Mitchell.

[@jamesm.3967]

Young clueless. Redudent.

[@mykeyoh1536]

I hope she sees this and gets to read all great comments about how much she's loved. For me, it will always be the "The Circle Game". I was a young man in college listening to a borrowed cassette tape of Ladies of Canyon. The tears started welling up halfway through the song. I called my eldest sister that night and asked her if she'd ever heard it before. "Of Course" she said. "I used to sing it to you when you were little".... Thanks Joni!!!!

[@pauldavies1710]

MykeyOh The Circle Game. Such a simple childlike song, but it does just creep up on you and tear your heart out.

[@kevinhalloran1377]

Great Job Rick, I'm in northern California, my buddy and I have surfed together down hwy 1 for over thirty years together, we always started out with a lil Joni and ended the day with her, you're spot on brother keep it going Rick great Job, Kevin Halloran

[@okonspruce]

Though I'm not musically, I so appreciate your enthusiasm, understanding & breakdown of "Amelia". I love Joni, her lyrics & melodies. As a Canadian from Toronto, I grew up on Joni's music. Discovered her at 16 in 1966. The first time I saw her live was at a small venue - the Mariposa Folk Festival summer of 1967. Have all her albums - waited for each one to be released. Joni's brilliance continues to fill my life to this day - beyond amazing! (BTW - my granddaughter is named Amelia - a beautiful melodic name).

[@northwestsparrow]

One of my favorite lines on Heijira: What a strange, strange boy He sees the cars as sets of waves Sequences of mass and space He sees the damage in my face Joni helped me through my young adult romances, and general youthful angst. If I wasn't listening to her songs, I was singing them. Thanks for the loving tribute, Rick!

[@kelguy2002]

Here Here ...👏👏👏BRAVO RICK B.

[@steveowen7475]

Astonishingly Joni Mitchell SIMPLY blows the rest away.....musically and as a wordsmith SIMPLY PEERLESS......Dylan fades into insignificance ......his jealousy has always been apparent......the noble prize should have been presented to Joni Mitchell

[@alexadvorson1090]

>If I wasn't listening to her songs, I was singing them.< Or living them! (In many cases among many of us)

[@alexadvorson1090]

@@kelguy2002 Surely. you mean "hear hear" -- that's how it's written and what it means. :)

[@fewerbeansplease]

Me too..."he sees the cars as sets of waves" and then "he sees the damage in my face." She does this a lot, the sudden change in perspective that brings awareness.