whrrt sltc tW6 itr lrcr lilL',ltrtl slte is tcllirrg trs whnl slte lerrrtlctllttttl ('irst sl.rescts ol'tt to €ilpericnccrl,Sltc is the thcme, rurclltlr tlre timc, 5 tuakeher lift' her art''
narrative songs about made- THE LONELY ROAD €ontrtst to her earlier work, where she sings beonle,Blue placesher firmly at the centre of her story' Clouds a,ndLadies Mitchell, Blueand femalesubjectivity fr-*u, o6uio,r, fro,,' her firsi albums, Songsto a Seagull, Joni November1943) ik C:ooyoothat Mitchell (bornRobertaJoan Anderson, 7 translatethis into d an ability to drawon herpersonal experience and then is traced in'I Had a King' Fusical idiom. Her marriage to chuck Mitchell ei n.' debutalbum, M::*"*gJ[q"$::""*i1 ""J opening out the or treeclomanro gtent of her albums, in particular :o"::p: in not becomingtoo involved with lovers. of equal By the late 1960s, folk singers JoanBaez, Buf$' St Marie andJudy Collirrr pr"Ul;*l;r.,ir."i who got thereby her own had established solo careers, and in I97t Carole King emerged as or,"n.., sheexemplifies the singersongwriter 'r level of artistic and performer on her highly successfulalbum Taputry. Its promotional singlr rts. and whose albums demonstratean increasing 'It's 'You've Too Latell Feel the Earth Move' topped the charts, while Got 'r career started in Calgary where she trained as a Friend' became a no. t hit for James Thylor, who also played on the albunr Mitchell's musical folk songs in local coffee bars. By It won four Grammy awards and remained in the charts for four years.Jalris cial artist and sang traditional Festival in Ontario' she started Ian ('society'sChild') and Cady Simon ('You're So Vain') were also enjoyirrpi , after attending the Mariposa Folk lssal slrrbs and coffee-housesin successas solo artists, while Laura Nyro's 1969 album New YorA Tendaber1y rg tt., o*r, ,orrl, and performing in and moved to Detroit' provided a brilliant example of jazzlrock fusions. It seemed, then, that tht' oi. tt June 1955 she married Cb"Sk Mitchell only rwo years morredto New York, eatly I97Os was a propitious time for women to break into the solo markct . marri^{ehsted "tffifffrt".ffillthen in Laurel Canyon, outside Los Angeles, in 1968' At-this Yet, as Joni Mitchell's album Blue reveals, being independent, creatively re ,.ttfirrg success as a songwriter' single minded and original continued to raise problems, not least those ol t in time, she was already achieving Judy 'Michael from theI Mountains'forr. her grappling with a careerwhile, at the sametime, maintaining relationships. ins recorded'Both SidesNow' and Being a long, blond-haired guitar player was a positive asset during the mVildflowers(|g67),takingtheformertono.8inthesingleschartin 'The and, in the UK Fairport latter years of the 1960s but it was her particular musicality and personal . Torn Rush recorded circle Game' Nash and Young had a hit insights that made Mitchell significant in forging a new world of possibili' ion covered'Eastern Rain'; Crosby,Stills' .\Toodstock, after it became a hit for Matthews' ties for women. Not least, she o&rqd- a glglel gjfl"]: elllgnce;q-copin,{ in 1970 and shortly uK. Stephen Stills had also with the realities of working in a male-dominated mfsic industry. For many. ern comfort in both America and the and since they were howeVerfit is fiilgrdsil if"me--idiorti-of the duy.Ep]elful referencesto d bass on Mitchell's debut album Songsto a Seagull, the same management, she became part of the same social circle, astrolo.gyr.-m3 €rqr.-tf.?vel,oibJingof belng on"-'the-19ngl,[ol .$_e lg_lgy"*l93gj*9"1rg{',_of lconfronting thc Ied by "rtrolo.[v,-magii-ir,avel, - and acquiring a notoriety for her various prob_leps .girth ro .u chil{-,g1ll! and g,i_"jlcgiving T.t to adoption, ol norri.rg oo. ,o California -c-ertain "q.|cryl$g" !'g-'_}p"p with Graham Nash which is exploring relationships while pursuing heiown creaiivelbthway that givc rcmanlic attachments. These inctuded anaffair rejectionof her)and 'our her a special relevance.These tensioni aiE-imo-srprominent in the songs from ifle.t.d in the songs'\7illy' (which describeshis They play on street her early alffiims, Clouds and Blue, recorded when Mitchell was evidently House'. 'Other lovers are characterisedby transience' to be pitied' She choosesmen searching for her own identity. Indeed, B!!K, more than any other album, , they are husbands, they are generally whictr is to-explore the.plan€t offers a window into her subiective universe,marking the start of a recogni- ll not stop her from her prime purpose what she iia fif.. 'Life'il;ur;usq'i16sa@e key to tion of the f'otiffi j.r"-t",9*93-yffi fgTt"Ug CfiA*' uttd, -'--.-.;' especially,-the- effsc€=*s,hd-*nn**ltF{1tli: ary Routh-ot. SAVSabout men. - '-'Zi;;;@7), folk-basedwith little observes. her secondalbum was essentially herself, it included her luppofting instrumentation. Produced by Mitchell 'Both Sides No,,y', and was her first record to reach the Top This geographic memory is a hallmark of her imagery, and is firmly o*. ,t.tti6" of "Best Performance. The song's central based in her desire to trav€l ... Blue is the description of a year or lO, *i""i"g a Gia;ffid-fT5r Folk
78 79 rner6ph(,rof 'clourls'relionIteli witlr u youtltlttl ol',tinli!tnrtingecl witlt reality. E llrrusing tlre 'ups' try u chikllike evoe{tiotrof ltlelsure: t*# r tF , e-an fv rl.- -+ - '-\.- / ltows and flows o[ angcl hair And ice-creamcastles in the air real ; clouds--- love-- 'downs' urtl the $fo-31gb3lqore cynical realism: But now they only block the sun They rain and snow on ev'ry one at - all at - all tlre imagery of the first four lines is not dissimilar to the cotton-candy ol at - all .firni Hendrix's 'spanish Castle Magic'. But here the comBarison witlt lrsychedslia gnSls.There is little sense of the hallucinogenic' Rather, tlrc - 'I ''lyqics oveiill read like atho;rghdul evaluadoa-qt relationships, a coming to I all, the song comes across as a personal statement of self-doubt reims with life rather-rba.q an escapg-.i$m realityl-Th6 vogftlglivery rs don't know' - attd, as such, has a senseof candour and honesty which arena tI i st i nct iv-g-agdl-el$, y-i t h thg t-r-!g!s,""d.J-oys :etreciing t hc lnates with rhe introspection of the late 1960s. \Tithin the broader I -qf-rhe*msbfu 'I', 'Me', had tIE '\7'ho am I?', the solipsistic imagery of the lyrics. rock the YuLrLrvuquestioning of 'Be 'Nowhere lreu 'Fixing4 a Hole' (the Beatles), Verses two and three again focus in on the transitory as the fairytale c(I such5ULIr songs)Vu5J as4J rfvwlrL^e Man',t (Donovan), 'I've a rapture of first love gives way to a realisation that things change and that lf' (Graham Nash), 'Dare to be Different' Got Vith f'eelings often need to be hidden. The realisation that experience does not ' (|im Croce) and 'W'ho Am I?' (Country Joe and the Fish)' necessarily bing a clarity of vision is opened out by the chorus. Here, e11]the quest for self-identity - its many struggles, frustrations, confu- where Mitchell gr*es us.,.ofA9l94&gqT'ilg-3qJl_.vilord-painti to focus thc and confidences - is expressed through a richness of imagery turn, tmageryi ism and pessimilsm are Iinformed by personal reflection. This, in by a sensually rhythmic use of language. Rhyme is used exten- both to emP-k*sp",same5rliccli.9h6su- 'Moons and Junes', 'Dreams and ', and to i*t"*rnot. comple" imotions into association:
Tears and fears and feeling Proud To say 'I love you' right out loud.
exploration of positive and negative subjectivities, the juxtaposition of poetic with the prosaic, is compounded by the senseof personal reflec- ('win Tresignationin the chorus. Mitchell again makes use of clich6s and
continuing emphasison illusion which, as she oot, i, what people both refuse to acknowledge in their continuing and reflective tied notes which are coloured by the shifting instrumental of the romantic discourse of love and which, paradoxically, is what harmonies to effect a musical metaphor for the transitory nature of clouds, ultimately buy: 'I also knew how fickle people could be. I knew they love and life itself. buying an illusion and I thought, "Maybe they should know a little bit about who I am."') ,Both Sides Now' thus implies a truthfulness, a connection between the ro I present and who I am' in its exploration of the personal il^tY::y$"y The pacing ofthe song, the plateaux, the focus on change itselfallied to ge.rtle ebb and flow ol the supporting harmonies are far removed from
80 81 tltt.rt. is lt tcIls|(t|| ltl lritt.tit.trlitt., citlrc'r tlrc"tirrrt'lcssnt'ss'ol lrrrllrrtirrog,t'nir sorrl.qs ol tlrc (,r' rlrF tiv(.(ill'(.cf (.fcilt(.s t'ttltltittttirl l)rcsstlf(.s. 1x'rirxl, (otn('s acl'ossin tllc.stx111;::::::': ittttl tlcPcntlcncywhitlr thrtrstingurgcn(y of'contcrrrlxlruryrot'k. 'l'ltc vtxll dclivcly, irr lrirrtitrrlrrr. 'cn :ffi:'iil.y;'*..'lrccclotn thepitch *l::.rorrowing alignsthc f'cmininc'wh
8) 82 ?
{ tltt.rt. is lt tcIls|(t|| ltl lritt.tit.trlitt., citlrc'r tlrc"tirrrt'lcssnt'ss'ol lrrrllrrtirrog,t'nir sorrl.qs ol tlrc (,r' rlrF tiv(.(ill'(.cf (.fcilt(.s t'ttltltittttirl l)rcsstlf(.s. 1x'rirxl, (otn('s acl'ossin tllc.stx111;::::::': ittttl tlcPcntlcncywhitlr thrtrstingurgcn(y of'contcrrrlxlruryrot'k. 'l'ltc vtxll dclivcly, irr lrirrtitrrlrrr. 'cn :ffi:'iil.y;'*..'lrccclotn thepitch *l::.rorrowing alignsthc f'cmininc'wh 8) 82 ? { ancl betwcen major/minor r drrrkening chromaticism' vocal leaps: AbmT Do you see how when he's me and them lone- (Aflm) \-/-\-//- Y some blues---=_- col - lide cf Then we both get the bed's too c*m7 blue AbTsus AbmT wide =- A major' Even here' there fore the harmonic progression back to the tonic, her lover returns ('then he comes It is cleady no coincidence that the final word of the song 'free' should lr a ,rrrr. of fragile insecurity, for although ;j, vocal leapsand the ETsuson 'home' supported by the same restless harmonies as 'blue'. The first song ol rr in. aitir".ement of accents,the implied in the fade out at the concept album is instrumental in establishing thematic content and frottr f..hrrg of wistfulness.This is equally " major/minor tonalities resonate with the onset Mitchell prioritises her ambition' aware that the 'road' will lr of the soig where the alternating problematic, but equally certain that it provides 'the key to set me free'. ! omnipresent bluesnessof dependency' are developed further in the \Thereas the acoustic guitar is analogous to the sketch-pad and implics The tensions inherent in deplndency/freedom ,Little Mitchell's only child who was surren- movement, (6) Mitchell's songs which are piano-accompanied are rooted in it song, Green" a lullaby to bluesness where freedom and personal flight no longer aPpear a viablc to adoption. 'My Old Man' provides an insight into the 'I want's of the openin,g option. Choose her a name she will answer to longer an enigmatic presence,he is constituted by action - :t song. No Call her Green and the winters cannot fade her " ' singer, a walker, a dancer. In contrast, Mitchell is homebound and her happi ness is dependent upon his pfesence, and while there is a certain optimistll with'EIi's-Song" a is interesting to contrast this mother-to-daughter song in the'we don't need no piece of paper from the city hall'(with the implicrr sung by h.r-.o-ro.t io.g by country artist Jack NTilliams and John tion that the bonds of marriage are no longer relevant in a freewheelinpl feminine modes of nver. Traditiorr^tty, theories have been posited that post-1960s' culture), the musical coding implies brauado.Mitchell'scharat figurative' more 'felt' iexpression are chatacterised by an intuitive, - of the equivocal sus4 chord implies an underlying instability anrl rational and teristic use icon than masculine modes which may be more coldly personal experience of blues, bluesness, is then opened out through th(' 'Eli's Song' ('Born in her rete.7This is illustrated by the sratement of fact in 84 ,Agc \ the nr'nrlr rf' June') ond Mitchell'snllusirn t' rhe ustrological r (ircen' Arluarius'in 'Little ('llorn with the moonin cancer')which is rich i not talk of fare-thee-wellsnow iconography,with the mrxrn linking the chird to the sexuality of the motlrrr, I*t's fertility and birth, Maiden ?he niilht is a starrYdome and Mother. The child is, by anaiogy,the yourrg ('Carey') g**;$, the new moon, surrounded by the vibrant colours of spring * .Jrr* a lYttle green like the colour when rhe spring is born' - and the endlessryt le birth of a child and 'Little of life itself - 'There'll ionally, the star is also associatedwith the be icicles and birthday clothes'. lCarey' are brought into association not simply through an \7hile 'Little Green' is primarily a poetic and highly personalised ' and song equally through the immediacy about Mitchell's relationship 3en,linc senseof separution and loss, but to her child, it equally ptorria., a particulur f,: guttar accompanrments.gWhile the gentle.acous.ti; lullaby *:",1":,:: insight into the problems surrounding the single mothir. As Miffin writcs. lbe in its fusion of the poetic with the 'To be pregnanr and unmarried jn 1964 ttr'e foU. traditlon of self-expression *u, lik" you killed somebody ., 'Carcy'brings the listener iy autobiographical,the funky guitar intro to Joni allowed her daughter to be givep.up-for adoptign and then relocatedrrr heart of the album. As Mary Routh observes: a one bedroom billet ln"Manhitian's effiilea disirici.'8 As such, the undt,r lying poignancy of 'stay, baby' ('My old Man'), with its restlessharmonir about this songshouts 'traveller' and the openinglines' instability locks into the starknessof 'He went ro california ... He senrlr lverything you a letter and she's lost to you' to create an articulate musical expression.l The wind is in from Africa loss. Lastnight I couldn't sleeP At the same time, the song construcrs a mood of undedying resilienre of it. ('You're a tiny village called Matella, that only has one road in and out sad and you're sorry but you're not ashamed')which, ii its avoirl- est road by dusty and arid hills' You do not get ance of the personalised'I' implies a ,Littlc aeparatedfrom the main certain emotional distancing. feeling by accident, you go there. And you are sitting on the-beach' Green' is situated within a qualitative experience of time - conceptiorr, a woman who has made it to this remote and birth, beginnings, endings. She ,a cl and happy ... U.t. is may wish her child happy ending^',bur has village'by herself, can afford to wonder where to go next' and- the song nevertheless closes with the reflective 'ro-"ri-", there'll be when she feels ready. 'Maybe I'll go to Amsterdam, sorrow'. There is, then, no easy solution, ,eret"o go"ho-e to rather a continuing engagemenr flowers I'll go"to Rome, and rent me a grand piano and put some with the ups and downs of life, the tensions between stability and ireedom . guaranteeing that she will rrs rrl ioo-.'rvv--- The names are totemic, a theme which is also present in the next track 'carey' Y - .indeed where the iconog- plano/'"-ln there.-y And when she does, she can afford to rent a gtand raphy surrounding the moon (and its relationship to the feminine) ir replaced by the star. 'good time' are brought into association-with Mitchell's use of imagery is closely transitory nature of the linked to her mapping of personal Here' p -'the bright red devil who's keeping me in identity. Traditionally the star is aligned with hope and iaithloften in the -'!it -t9:tttt.town'' staying/leaving are again focused by Mitchell's character- hour of crisis when darkness appears to immobilise the senses.At the same implicationJof to her top iegister which, in context, triggers a distresssignal' time, it can signifii a struggle with life, a seeking of destiny and an arreml)l : swoop to become more independent. As such, it is not surprising that within tlre context of the album, rhe srar is associatedwith her lover _- Starbright, starbright? You've got the lovin' that I like alright ('This Flight Tonight') oh you know it sure-ly is hard- to leave- you Ca-rey with moments of crisis is rooted in the conflict between 'Catey' and the fact Just before our love got lost you said lack of stability 'not Again, there is word-painting' Th:.melody is I am as constant as a northern star this is my home'. (the tonic, the home key) but the word 'home' sits ('A :ally centred on Db Caseof You') lack of ity'o.,.t. chord of ,tbZ Ghe dominant) to effect musically a 86 is itttolttlrittttctt t'y itr lls wilys lrcrc",{ot'tt'l]ll.ltl"' rrs()ltttioltttt tlrt'l V ritrlrtrtc.ll{.;rrcy,lrrrrrst'll, is tlesrrilrcelils'lt nlciul olrl r'oltl rrtr,lscltlt'tl tr1ltliriolrirlly'lrlrllr()l' rnirior ltirrtttottit'.swltt'lt, ,l,r,l,ly'.irltlrorrglr it is irlrlriuctrtllonr tlrc lrirtrnorritrrntlcrpinning tlr,rt ) lo ririst,tlu,rIrt,sriorr'wliy ('Ir('rt Mitt h<'lllir,ls orrt ol lrt.rtlcl,tlr m.rtit'snotrl('sw,trltlw()r.lr(r t'llcct "':rjr. in whichshc usc-sl:f.lnuslc ^ 'il'111""'i'i',i''"f"''*.tt;'t,11",1':),:1.']'il:'i]:::l,r"rit.rrrrclrhc way e^t('y it,l)rccis"-:-.1]:tit:'lu, evoke :il, i :l}:i;:J:ilil[ illl liiundercuts: :i r: ;ll{ithis by t;the ;*iliJi-:7th.to ' srlggestsstaDlrr Mitchell "i tlrir.l t il.mf ir sc n sc o f wis h - fu Ifi -* lY* ::::":fi :f :iill'll?; ,1;1,',il::,t.-':,il;il1'1d;#;;;r-l-r-]rarmonieswhichaccompanv-* n.lrrrt Californiu, cutlto'"" if,iu" ..ir.u: li:i:::*:t^? lt:*1"Jf,:3:ltt: l]llxfi'lTfiffi $5'iiG+il;i::t*":::::::,"J*i:me'('c. li;'';;l': "op. ,liII.rnia) i, r n ia) isi: tempettt"ry::,L:t^, redb;;'; l:.?:::':"f"1?ffi her riglrtJTff to be; ,n. versesshow) ,,o,-t:: gi',ri.,g :[t.herselt'rlowevct'";;;;1?;i*i'i'*nitnthesongends-suggestsan ffiT#:,[J::,., cF: lll,ff r am. *tttt-l',']'Lr-i.""ti"i"f-t.'l* * l:'*T: ffiTl;H ;;::'; of 'Nfill you take me as the tress as "r:-5.::::',"".,oolier. rin g vurnerabi I itv I''.;4 I 11 :::, aT:.i:ff metaphor for the constaocv l'.:i##Tilil:t'.; G.*'bil;'ib*omes^ and, as the hip phrase of the 1970s 'out of sight' implies, while he has her love: 'blown her mind'he is, nevertheless'out of her league'. Can't numb You out Mitchell then plunges into the bluesnessof the eponymous rrack 'Blue', ouc of mY mind' ' Can't drum You As the fifth song on the album, 'Blue' is pivotal, reflecting on what has gont, Lrs4r thalL'4! -li-""a before and informing what is yer to come. At one level, the song is a cynical lyrics unfold'untoto' itlt is.rs clear - r, as the lyrics ltilc::i heri:":?:::[i:1 awareness of ('you look so.criti:1t;^.-.-' commentary on the late 1960s: r who is not suPPortlve ic nnened out bv pra!r:'^-"-' :iffi ;;:rq::*ilr'isopenedou'cbv Acid, booze,and ass ffisltuatlolr' ;i:;""i1ft'"'J::ffi Lrrs - havenavegot o"'n1s-t"f:(lr L'rJ "'"'^-a'r.rine tonight.' Needles,guns and grass t."ii*,i""'Irealisation'I shouldn'tshouldn.t rhan rhe next track 'River' on blueBlue reflectretecr^"".;;ffin. a sens:, Lots oflaughs, lots oflaughs il;;; songs;;t {^:tT: P,ef"tedp,eraced bybv a moody,andmoody and running away ls a rsr,e,----that ,e . of^r the.L- introi.r"^ providesnrovides Bells', the .". - the 'everyone is saying that hell's the hippest way ro go' resonating with tcrolutelYminor'Jrngr :-^ "ii""."ess' orChr is'c mas' a'[ Ime ;: * the deaths of Joplin, Hendrix, the death of optimism. It is also a recognition [XJil:;'Lffi is::::*,particularlv i:;,'::::::acute: of defeat, of loving someone but being defeated by circumstances. She is 'at Tilililffit"ttt "ruti"g "tont sea' with her ('crown ";.'?;;;il' emotions, torn between staying and leaving and anchor TheY'recutting down trees me, or let me sail away') but there are no answersin this pain. reindeer soliloquy to TheY'rePutting uP Rather the and song opens out the problems, the price that is paid by those who Ani singing songsof ioY Peace' 'on arelwere the road' and this senseof anomie, this bluesness,links the song an all- the past' is focused by with 'California' which picks up on the continuing war in Vietnam, the nostalgia' of looking Od The mood of :;t: and of her lover' The dream of peace, 'the bloody changes' juxtaposed with the 'pretty people' in ot uo""tt' of pervading sense "'o*' 9l -;"t; iepetitiveness of the vocal Spain 'Reading Rollin' Stone,readingWgud. by tt" bleakn.rs or .r,. ttu"utiu't'i'"""tit'flnttd The guitar accompaniment is again"p_1y_ggl"inaulhe.n*r-i9ari.lg*tlre*ltt11th- -woman line "fldnSpr'of the autobiographic, the pithy o6iervdtioni of a folk singer travelling through Europe, 'sitting in a park in Paris, France'. The guitar also enhances the feeling of immediacy for the stream-of-consciousness thoughts, 'still a lot of lands ro see',the wandering hippy in a street full of strangers. Again, Mitchell makes use of colour to effect subtle mood inflec- tions for her thumbnail sketches.'I wouldn't wanna stay here. It's too old 89 88 .-& - c I t '/ .) !t t. th 1t f, +- e*- J ---tT---"' NI J 7 )' a J I could drink tried hard - you know, ho >---/' ease_ which createsa musical alignment between the 'what he did for me' and tlr, 'why' of loss.The introspection of the lyrics, the underlying pain, is realist',1 oh, would still still be on mY feet partly in the formal tensions of the music itself. The narrative of loss rr - rooted in repetition, the need to escape by upward movement, cht,t,l F Dm7 colouring and a lack ofresolution. og='----= G7 I would teach my feet - to fly r r --r^l-^.. lrrrr awareawAr€ tthat if she -^rll^l.--cc herhor pig-headefltT:nio-headedness, but f rckno*l"dsingher selfishness' ?lj"llt".o Ut."a',.o Iil;;11;-::'":',1,i*:Li:t";'5:*'-:J:"".:ffi-io'ro,h.urbo-,compromlse- I rccept specificfocus. ;\;'ffu:;:#ilifiil'::r;iln: i'l berongs pas'c'dark 'I 'co'rhe Mitchell''rhe The final chorus, wish I had a river I could skate away on' and the reap J of th. Jr,rnk ,h. boring' of youth. I, fJil;il;;..ior., ^tid pearanceof Jingle Bells', twisted harmonically as a musical metaphor for $ *f6s 'the last time I saw Richard l" nJ'" tt*' ltilt"i"g ub;i self-reproach ('I made my baby cry'), ends with a stark perfect fifth over l) i with the moon herselfwith the thought i' i"t'i*'"t"t' Uit'*"otts (D7 omitting the F#) to provide a final and reflective coding of emptiness I ,,,'knows.r'ut and while'the butterfly d""-t"'rtt passthis^way t";;-;;y' Even here, however, Mitchell does not talk of returning to her lover. Rather' # that 'all good the mood will P6s'1t *i'igt and fllqh't suggestihat there is the implication of skating even further away. , lmageryoilgo'gtoo' rather he personr- i'..tilnprttg iitnutJit no solution' freedom, the resultant that moment nt' ro* a figure The conflict between love and pain, belonging and dream' rrt nut opted out''"maried that accompany the 'lonely road' are cleady the unifying fies the end of tht'"ilita6J sitting in a dark emptiness can *o-"" sh;;;; t""" i' still through the evocation ikater'rather trt"" ui'"Jri"g 'And that" savs themes on the album and, with nostalgia constructed ;;; p"tt or that dream' 'A caf6,three ,tu" ottl;ii;i;;"t' of Christmas, Case of You' provides contemplative insights into love and whvshe despises-him""lu loss.Here. Mitchell musesover her obsessivelove: ffh'i.* t(ilR;;;,'is no real end' songs that nu' to real beginning' Blue. then,is like a cycle of 9r 90 l& '! ltctt'.. 'l{rr lwotrltl tlr'rtlk M;rry ltrt ltlt rttstl"ltt. l(;rtlrcrtlrt' lriittrrr()uu() to lr;rrrl'wrtll rt\ sottrt'wlr:ttrk'solittr' littrtl r lr,'t,l Z Ag,rrrr, (l()fl())\Voorlttrtrl:,l.ttrttltttt: Sitlgwitk wrllr.l,rrrM;,;ii..ii. il,,i...,'u"i,.l . r'('rulnstlrt, listt,nt'rt() tlrl lorrt'lyloir,l wlrcr('llu';rllrrrrrr[rt'giur. Wlr,rt r: !l frircrvrcw 2 i' rtttrl lrrt ksotr, 1r' r -."...-/',,*-r.rr"."'c persrPerspccttvc, lrowt'vcr,is tlrt'frrtt tlrirtlrt'lrirrrl tlrc cxlrt't'it'rrtt'ofthe solrljsli('s rlt. j.,'.i."*1ri,,,, (.0rnlxrsiritrrrirl l)rott.ss: ()nc l.ovcr-(.ont[]oser's t'vitlt'rrt, iir. fi,_r, f G'c relsj(tyy4l Qaierinv'thePitth"[he rcalityof llrc r'lroict'sMittlrt'll ltirtlto nlakc il shc'wc'rct() achicvchcr rur'l,r iri lfrcrt, l). , wtx,tl' ti.';'Ii"i:h';;as' Rou.titdgt lt is not suggested tiorrs.In tlrat slrcwas a pi g) 93 I