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".
Don't Interrupt the Sorrow
Joni Mitchell Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Darn right
In flames our prophet witches
Be polite
A room full of glasses
He says, "your notches liberation doll"
And he chains me with that serpent
To that Ethiopian wall
Anima rising
Queen of queens
Wash my guilt of Eden
Wash and balance me
Anima rising
Uprising in me tonight
She's a vengeful little goddess
With an ancient crown to fight
Truth goes up in vapors
The steeples lean
Winds of change patriarchs
Snug in your bible belt dreams
God goes up the chimney
Like childhood Santa Claus
The good slaves love the good book
A rebel loves a cause
I'm leaving on the 1:15
You're darn right
Since I was seventeen
I've had no one over me
He says, "Anima rising
So what
Petrified wood process
Tall timber down to rock"
Don't interrupt the sorrow
Darn right
He says, "we walked on the moon
You be polite"
Don't let up the sorrow
Death and birth and death and birth
And death and birth
He says, "bring that bottle kindly
And I'll pad your purse
I've got a head full of quandary
And a mighty, mighty, thirst"
Seventeen glasses
Rhine wine
Milk of the Madonna
Clandestine
He don't let up the sorrow
He lies and he cheats
It takes a heart like Mary's these days
When your man gets weak
The Joni Mitchell song "Don't Interrupt the Sorrow" is a masterful poetic treatise on the struggles of women to find their voice and claim their power in a world dominated by patriarchal authority. The opening lines set the tone for the piece, warning the listener not to interfere with the flow of sorrow that Mitchell unleashes in the rest of the lyrics. The phrase "In flames our prophet witches" suggests the fate of women who dared to challenge the prevailing order and speak their truth, often being burned at the stake as witches or other imagined heretics.
The singer of the song finds herself trapped in a room full of glasses, with a man who tries to control her by labeling her "notches liberation doll" and chaining her to an Ethiopian wall with a serpent. The image of the serpent evokes Biblical legends of temptation and fall, suggesting that the man is forcing the singer to bear the burden of original sin and subjugation to male authority. However, the singer asserts her anima rising, which is the feminine element of the psyche that seeks to balance the dominant male energy. The Queen of Queens archetype comes to her aid, washing her guilt of Eden and empowering her to fight back with an ancient crown.
The rest of the song deals with the difficulties of finding truth and liberation in a world of oppression and confusion. The singer mocks the religious hypocrisy of patriarchal society, where God goes up the chimney like childhood Santa Claus and the good slaves love the good book. She asserts her independence by leaving on the 1:15, having had no one over her since she was seventeen. The man tries to belittle her anima rising by talking about petrified wood and tall timber, but she remains strong in her resolve not to let up the sorrow. The final lines reveal the singer's heartbreak at the weakness of her man, and her longing for a heart like Mary's to sustain her in these troubled times.
Line by Line Meaning
Don't interrupt the sorrow
Do not prevent or disrupt the expression of emotional pain
Darn right
Absolutely correct or agreed upon
In flames our prophet witches
Women who prophesize are being persecuted
Be polite
Act with civility and respect
A room full of glasses
A space surrounded by objects that can contain liquids
He says "Your notches liberation doll"
He objectifies and demeans her with sexist language
And he chains me with that serpent
She is trapped or fooled by a deceitful man
To that Ethiopian wall
She feels confined or oppressed
Anima rising
The rise of feminine energy or soul
Queen of Queens
A powerful female ruler
Wash my guilt of Eden
Cleanse me of my original sin and shame
Wash and balance me
Help me to achieve emotional stability
Uprising in me tonight
A rebellion or awakening of her inner self
She's a vengeful little goddess
She embodies a fierce and just divine feminine
With an ancient crown to fight
She carries the weight of a long legacy of oppression to overcome
Truth goes up in vapors
The concept of truth is fleeting and impermanent
The steeples lean
Religion is losing its power and influence
Winds of change patriarchs
Traditional male authority is being challenged and eroded
Snug in your bible belt dreams
Narrow-minded, conservative religious beliefs that block progress
God goes up the chimney
The idea of God is being discarded or thrown away
Like childhood Santa Claus
God is perceived as a fairy tale or myth
The good slaves love the good book
Religious institutions use faith to control and oppress people
A rebel loves a cause
Those who challenge authority or the status quo are passionate about their beliefs
I'm leaving on the 1:15
She is moving on from a situation or relationship
Since I was seventeen
From a young age, she has been independent and self-reliant
I've had no one over me
She refuses to be controlled or oppressed by anyone
He says "Anima rising-
He dismisses or ridicules her spiritual awakening
So what-
He shows indifference or lack of understanding
Petrified wood process
The gradual hardening or loss of living essence
Tall timber down to rock!"
Metaphor for the destruction of nature and loss of vitality
Don't let up the sorrow
Do not cease expressing or acknowledging emotional pain
Death and birth and death and birth
The cyclical nature of life and suffering
He says "Bring that bottle kindly
He seeks to use alcohol to numb or distract from their problems
And I'll pad your purse-
He manipulates her with money or material possessions
I've got a head full of quandary
He is confused or uncertain about his thoughts and feelings
And a mighty, mighty, thirst."
He is unable to quench his inner emptiness or desire
Seventeen glasses
Excessive drinking or indulgence
Rhine wine
An alcoholic beverage from Germany
Milk of the Madonna
A drink that is pure and holy
Clandestine
Done in secret or hidden
He don't let up the sorrow
He is persistent in causing emotional pain
He lies and he cheats
He is untruthful and deceitful in his actions and words
It takes a heart like Mary's these days
It requires a compassionate and resilient spirit to endure suffering
When your man gets weak
In times of vulnerability, men may lose their power and control
Lyrics © Reservoir Media Management, Inc.
Written by: Joni Mitchell
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind