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".
Day After Day
Joni Mitchell Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Miles and miles of railroad track
Night after night
Hummin' of the wheels
Their hummin' seems to say
He'll follow you someday
But someday seems a million miles away
Make a dollar, need it twice
Night after night
Lie awake and dream
Of days of auld-lang-syne
Moonlight through the pine
And linen table cloths all stained with wine
Day after day
Watch the hands move 'round the clock
Night after night
Searching for my soul
So this must be my fate
To sit and weep and wait
And pray my darlin' comes before too late
Joni Mitchell's "Day after Day" is a melancholic ballad about the tiresome and repetitive life of a woman waiting for her beloved. The opening lines, "Day after day, miles and miles of railroad track / Night after night, hummin' of the wheels" highlight the vast expanse of time that the singer has to endure while waiting for her love to arrive. The repetition of "day after day" and "night after night" evoke a sense of endlessness and the mundane routine the singer is experiencing.
Furthermore, the hum of the wheels is contrasted with the line "He'll follow you someday / But someday seems a million miles away," emphasizing the pointlessness of waiting for someone when there is no certainty of when they will arrive. The singer's longing is palpable when she says "Lie awake and dream / Of days of auld-lang-syne / Moonlight through the pine / And linen table cloths all stained with wine." Her dreams of the past are an escape from the present, yet they also add to her sadness as she recalls happier times.
In the last verse, the singer's desperation is evident when she says, "Searching for my soul / So this must be my fate / To sit and weep and wait / And pray my darlin' comes before too late." The repetition of the word "wait" reinforces the idea that the singer is stuck in a cycle of waiting, unsure if her love will ever arrive. The song's slow and mournful melody adds to the overall sense of sorrow and hopelessness.
Line by Line Meaning
Day after day
Everyday without fail
Miles and miles of railroad track
The long, winding, and seemingly never-ending journey
Night after night
During every single night
Hummin' of the wheels
The constant sound of the wheels moving on the tracks
Their hummin' seems to say
The sound suggests a message
He'll follow you someday
Your lover will come after you one day
But someday seems a million miles away
It feels like an infinite amount of time before they will come
Make a dollar, need it twice
Making just enough money but immediately needing more
Lie awake and dream
Unable to sleep and only able to fantasize
Of days of auld-lang-syne
Yearning for the good old times
Moonlight through the pine
The beautiful scenery of a moonlit night
And linen table cloths all stained with wine
Reminiscing about past memories, possibly romantic ones
Watch the hands move 'round the clock
Observing the passage of time
Searching for my soul
In search of inner peace and personal fulfillment
So this must be my fate
Accepting that this is one's destiny
To sit and weep and wait
Being still and feeling despair while waiting for love to arrive
And pray my darlin' comes before too late
Hopeful that one's lover will come soon enough
Lyrics © RESERVOIR MEDIA MANAGEMENT INC
Written by: Joni Mitchell
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
alison hurst
Day after day
Miles and miles of railroad track
Night after night
Hummin' of the wheels
Their hummin' seems to say
He'll follow you someday
But someday seems a million miles away
Day after day
Make a dollar, need it twice
Night after night
Lie awake and dream
Of days of auld-lang-syne
Moonlight through the pine
And linen table cloths all stained with wine
Day after day
Watch the hands move 'round the clock
Night after night
Searching for my soul
So this must be my fate
To sit and weep and wait
And pray my darlin' comes before too late
Source: LyricFind
Songwriters: Joni Mitchell
Day After Day lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Mateo Reed
Lovely as ever!
A slightly different, yet equally exquisite version of a song I have enjoyed immensely for many years.
Reminds me of beloved tunes like The Way It Is, I Think I Understand, Gift Of The Magi and the like...
Bless you Joni! Thank you so much for sharing this with all of us, my dear longtime friend!
❤️
Rohan Prem
Joni Mitchell has been one of the most influential people in my life. I started writing after listening to her music, and quickly realized I'd never get close to her greatness. She is, and always will be a source of constant inspiration.
D Snelson Alexander Rex
New Joni material! I am so shocked to see this. Joni’s music is a treasure to my soul.
nomi harper
In the book, author David Yaffe explains this song, Day after Day. Page 31...Joni is “young, pregnant, and far from home” traveling East and writes this song. It’s considered her first “real” song as a songwriter. Beautiful song to my ears.
Maureen
This song was performed just five days before I was born! I do love Joni Mitchell's voice, lyrics, and guitar rifts. You are one of my favourite recording artists! God bless you!
Rima Anabtawi
The clarity of the recording is sublime ! How lovely to return to such a moment in time . Gracias hermana 💗🌸
Denise Freitas
Joni is amazing! Beautiful song.
Moonie Bung
This quarantine has given me the advantage of exploring more music from the past, known to be greater and will never be beaten by many that are popular now. I guess you can't really argue with that.
jesmarluk
Just perfect in every way as always. I miss those folkie days.
pepelviskywalker
Joni, thank you so much for making my life a lot better
Jon Mars
Dang, .... new Joni Mitchell! My life continues to know purpose because there's new Joni Mitchell. I can hardly remember a time in my life when Joni has not been a most-relevant gift.