Underneath the Streetlight - Joni Mitchell

Underneath the Streetlight - Joni Mitchell
2:18

Wild Things Run Fast, 1982

Written by Joni Mitchell

Joni goes pop!  Drawn to the sleek sound of early-’80s new wave, she trades acoustic introspection for bright drums, stacked harmonies, and urban sparkle.  Joni's vocal here is bright and cheery, the whole having a restless immediacy and energy conspicuously missing in much of her beloved folk oeuvre.  The song depicts an urban romance, maybe just a glimpse through a window or under a bar sign.  Amid the professions of adoration, the bustling and buzzing cityscape is painted in vivid images. "Yes I do I love you! / I swear on the buildings above I do / I swear on a billion yellow / And T.V. blue windows / Gayboys with their pants so tight / Out in the neon light."

People's Parties - Joni Mitchell

People's Parties - Joni Mitchell

2:15

Court And Spark, 1974

Written by Joni Mitchell

In this song, parties and laughing mask loneliness and estrangement.  "I'm just living on nerves and feelings, with a weak and a lazy mind / And coming to people's parties, fumbling, deaf, dumb, and blind."  With a beautiful piano melody, and lush atmospheric arrangement, the song uses vivid, specific details to create a universal portrait of unease and detachment at lavish social gatherings, capturing the hollowness of LA parties specifically ("I told you when I met you I was crazy / Cry for us all, Beauty / Cry for Eddie in the corner, thinking he's nobody") and the emotional disconnect between people in general. 

Little Green - Joni Mitchell

Little Green - Joni Mitchell

3:27

Blue, 1971

Written by Joni Mitchell

This song is about Mitchell's daughter, whom she gave up for adoption in 1965 (they later reunited).  This was not publicly known until someone who knew Mitchell in the 1960s sold the story, one that was clearly not hers to tell.  "So you sign all the papers in the family name / You're sad and you're sorry, but you're not ashamed / Little Green, have a happy ending."  This is not the kind of song I usually put on here; I like songs that are fun to listen to in the car.  This is raw and personal, but it is pretty.

California - Joni Mitchell

California - Joni Mitchell

3:50

Blue, 1971

Written by Joni Mitchell

The narrator is in Europe, but pines for California, despite the bad news in the States: "They won't give peace a chance / That was just a dream some of us had."  She says of France, "I wouldn't want to stay here / It's too old and cold and settled in its ways here."  The second verse, in which she sings of meeting "a redneck on a Grecian isle" is about some hippie she met.  She writes about him in "Carey" as well; here she calls him a rogue and says he stole her camera.  Mitchell's voice is the star, but James Taylor plays a subtle, springing acoustic guitar which sets the mood.