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".
Introduction
Joni Mitchell Lyrics
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Blindness, blindess and sight...
Built on priests bright standards are our own ideals we fight
Wrong, wrong and right
Joni Mitchell's song Introduction (Live) is a powerful and evocative lyrical piece, rich in imagery and meaning. At its heart, the song is about the duality of life and the fact that all things, no matter how seemingly straightforward, have both light and darkness within them. This is represented by the lyrics "Every picture has its shadows and it has some source of light." This speaks to the idea that even in the darkest times, there is always a glimmer of hope shining through, if we only know where to look.
The theme of blindness is also woven throughout the song, with the repeated phrase "blindness, blindness and sight." This can be interpreted in a variety of ways, but at its core, it seems to be pointing to the fact that we all have certain areas of our lives where we are blind or ignorant, and that it is only through gaining sight - whether through experience, introspection, or education - that we can overcome these limitations and truly see the world around us.
Finally, the song touches on the idea that our values and beliefs are often shaped by outside forces, such as religion or societal norms. The line "Built on priests bright standards are our own ideals we fight" suggests that even when we want to break free from these constraints and forge our own path, it can be difficult to untangle ourselves from the influences that have shaped us.
Overall, Introduction (Live) is a thoughtful and introspective piece that encourages us to look beneath the surface of our lives and explore the complexities that lie below.
Line by Line Meaning
Every picture has its shadows and it has some source of light
Just as every image cast a shadow, there are always both positive and negative aspects to everything.
Blindness, blindness and sight...
The concept of sight and vision is not just limited to physical perception, but also includes emotional and intellectual perception.
Built on priests bright standards are our own ideals we fight
Our personal values and beliefs are often influenced by societal standards, particularly religious ones, and we sometimes struggle to reconcile those with our own individual beliefs.
Wrong, wrong and right
There is always a subjective interpretation of what is right or wrong, and it constantly changes based on individuals, cultures, and society as a whole.
Writer(s): Michael Ivey
Contributed by Grace M. Suggest a correction in the comments below.