Mitchell began singing in small nightclubs in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, and throughout western Canada, before moving on to the nightclubs of Toronto, Ontario. She moved to the United States and began touring in 1965. Some of her original songs ("Urge for Going", "Chelsea Morning", "Both Sides, Now", "The Circle Game") were recorded by other folk singers, allowing her to sign with Reprise Records and record her debut album, Song to a Seagull, in 1968. Settling in Southern California, Mitchell helped define an era and a generation with popular songs like "Big Yellow Taxi" and "Woodstock". Her 1971 album Blue is often cited as one of the best albums of all time; it was rated the 30th best album ever made in Rolling Stone's 2003 list of the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time", rising to number 3 in the 2020 edition. In 2000, The New York Times chose Blue as one of the 25 albums that represented "turning points and pinnacles in 20th-century popular music". NPR ranked Blue number 1 on a 2017 list of Greatest Albums Made by Women.
Mitchell switched labels and began exploring more jazz-influenced melodic ideas, by way of lush pop textures, on 1974's Court and Spark, which featured the radio hits "Help Me" and "Free Man in Paris" and became her best-selling album. Mitchell's vocal range began to shift from mezzo-soprano to more of a wide-ranging contralto around 1975. Her distinctive piano and open-tuned guitar compositions also grew more harmonically and rhythmically complex as she melded jazz with rock and roll, R&B, classical music and non-Western beats. In the late 1970s, she began working with noted jazz musicians including Jaco Pastorius, Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, and Pat Metheny as well as Charles Mingus, who asked her to collaborate on his final recordings. She later turned to pop and electronic music and engaged in political protest. She was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 44th Annual Grammy Awards in 2002 and became a Kennedy Center Honoree in 2021.
Mitchell produced or co-produced most of her albums. A critic of the music industry, she quit touring and released her 17th and last album of original songs in 2007. Mitchell has designed most of her own album covers, describing herself as a "painter derailed by circumstance".
Black Crow
Joni Mitchell Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Black and ragged
Tree to tree
He's black as the highway that's leading me
Now he's diving down
To pick up on something shiny
I feel like that black crow
Flying
I took a ferry to the highway
Then I drove to a pontoon plane
I took a plane to a taxi
And a taxi to a train
I've been traveling so long
How am I ever going to know my home
When I see it again
I'm like a black crow flying
In a blue, blue sky
In search of love and music
My whole life has been
Illumination
Corruption
And diving, diving, diving, diving
Diving down to pick up on every shining thing
Just like that black crow flying
In a blue sky
I looked at the morning
After being up all night
I looked at my haggard face in the bathroom light
I looked out the window
And I, I saw that ragged soul take flight
I saw a back crow flying
In a blue sky
Ooh, I'm like a black crow flying
In a blue sky
The lyrics to Joni Mitchell's "Black Crow" suggest a feeling of independence and a sense of wandering. The opening lines describe a black crow flying from tree to tree, and the singer feeling similar in their own journey. The repetition of the line "I feel like that black crow flying in a blue sky" emphasizes the desire for freedom and exploration. The singer is on a journey, taking various modes of transportation, searching for love and music. They feel a sense of disconnection from their "home" and are unsure if they will recognize it when they see it again.
The second verse suggests that the singer has been on this journey for a long time, faced with "illumination" and "corruption." The repetition of "diving" reinforces the idea that the singer is diving into this new world, seeking out experiences and collecting them like shiny objects. The final verse paints a picture of the singer looking at themselves in the harsh light, acknowledging their tiredness and ragged appearance, while still maintaining the freedom and independence symbolized by the black crow.
Overall, the lyrics of "Black Crow" express a longing for adventure and personal growth, along with a sense of feeling lost and disconnected. The black crow becomes a symbol for the singer's desire for independence and the freedom to explore and experience the world around them.
Line by Line Meaning
There's a crow flying
There is a black crow in the sky.
Black and ragged
The crow looks scruffy and worn out.
Tree to tree
The crow is moving from one tree to another.
He's black as the highway that's leading me
The crow's color is as dark as the road that is taking me forward.
Now he's diving down
The crow is swooping down towards something.
To pick up on something shiny
The crow is attracted to something that is reflecting light.
I feel like that black crow
I can relate to the black crow's behavior.
Flying
I too am moving through life.
In a blue sky
The sky is a beautiful blue color.
I took a ferry to the highway
I traveled on a boat to reach the road.
Then I drove to a pontoon plane
I went by car to a plane that lands on water.
I took a plane to a taxi
I flew on a plane to reach a taxi cab.
And a taxi to a train
I used a taxi to get to the train station.
I've been traveling so long
I have been on the move for a considerable time.
How am I ever going to know my home
I am unsure how to recognize my home after all this traveling.
When I see it again
If I were to see it again.
In search of love and music
Throughout my lifetime, I have been seeking love and music.
My whole life has been
I have always dedicated myself to this quest.
Illumination
My journey has been full of enlightenment.
Corruption
I have also experienced dishonest and immoral behavior.
And diving, diving, diving, diving
Just like the crow, I have been diving deep into experiences that caught my attention.
Diving down to pick up on every shining thing
I have been attracted to everything that sparkles, just like the crow.
Just like that black crow flying
I am like the black crow in how I navigate through life.
I looked at the morning
I observed the sunrise.
After being up all night
I stayed awake through the night.
I looked at my haggard face in the bathroom light
I saw my tired and exhausted appearance in the bathroom light.
I looked out the window
I gazed through the window.
And I, I saw that ragged soul take flight
I noticed the crow flying away.
I saw a black crow flying
I witnessed a black crow in flight.
In a blue sky
The sky was a beautiful shade of blue.
Ooh, I'm like a black crow flying
I feel like I relate to the black crow's journey.
In a blue sky
The sky is still a beautiful shade of blue.
Lyrics © Reservoir Media Management, Inc.
Written by: Joni Mitchell
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind