Hello again. The album for this month is Blue by Joni Mitchell. Generally regarded as a brilliant, raw album, and loved by so many, I was surprised to find I hadn’t heard much of it.
So I sat down and listened to it, especially in the dark whilst I was travelling this month, waiting for the heat to mellow so I could sleep. Her voice kept me company during a lot of that time.
Most of the songs have few instruments and backing vocals, and leave Joni Mitchell’s voice to speak for itself, which it does. The album is melancholic at times, but holds tight onto hope. She writes about her daughter, who she put up for adoption after giving birth at 21 in the 1960s out of wedlock. There’s loss and love intertwined in her imagery, leaving behind a lingering nostalgic sadness, and a void that should have been filled with memories.
Little Green stands out to me most as the song with this feeling. Her voice is soft and tentative, unfiltered and entirely raw.
And then there’s Carey, written as part of a birthday present for someone she met whilst travelling. Carey is carefree and hopeful, and made perfect company for wandering narrow streets and trying to speak to the natives. There’s something uniquely humbling when you try to speak in the language of the foreigners and they immediately switch to English.
The people here were lovely, although the location shall remain unnamed. We went to the city nearby during the trip to see some of the sights it’s most famous for, but I find the crowds and the noise overwhelming. I prefer the smaller town nearby, where we can walk the quiet streets and see the locals, and watch with our mouths agape as cars drive the streets that seem impossibly narrow.
There’s a lot about travelling in Blue as well, notably the song California. Dreaming of your home is easy to do when you’re navigating a foreign country. You can be desperately in love with it, but when you walk paths you don’t know and you don’t know anyone around, you remember home, and the feeling of returning after time away. And yet, you return with a great sense of loss, too. Your experiences so quickly become memories, which are worn away as the years go on. She captures this feeling perfectly.
All in all, Blue is full of whimsy and longing of home, balanced with the hunger to leave. Regret merges with gratitude, and love is hardened by loss, but throughout all – hope. Joni Mitchell is a creative, and it is clear that whether things are awful or wonderful, she finds solace in painting and singing. She has gifted her listeners a piece of her soul with Blue. It is nostalgic and beautiful and real.
