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".
Lucky
Joni Mitchell Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I'm a lucky girl
I'm a lucky girl
I'm a lucky girl
I'm a lucky girl
I'm a lucky girl
I found my friend
(I'm a lucky girl)
I've been all around the world
Mission Impossible
Chasing the rainbow's end (I'm a lucky girl)
Wise guys
Shy guys
And sly lover boys
With big bad bedroom eyes
I never loved a man I trusted
As far as I could pitch my shoe
Ooh, 'til I loved you
(I'm a lucky girl, I'm a lucky girl)
You're my lucky star
You're my magician
You make the night prowling disappear (I'm a lucky girl)
Vanished from the Star Wars bars
Empty repetition
I get my heart full here (I'm a lucky girl)
Playboys
And stray boys
And "say, hey, hey" boys'll treat you like a toy
I never loved a man I trusted
As far as I could pitch my shoe
Ooh, 'til I loved you
(I'm a lucky girl)
(I'm a lucky girl)
Cheaters
Woman beaters
And Huck Finn shucksters hopping parking meters
I never loved a man
I trusted
As far as I could pitch my shoe
Ooh, 'til I loved you
(I'm a lucky girl, I'm a lucky girl)
I'm a lucky girl
I found my friend (I'm a lucky girl)
I been all around the world
Mission Impossible
Chasing the rainbow's end (I'm a lucky girl)
Wise guys
Booby prize guys
And sly lover boys
With big bad bedroom eyes
I never loved a man I trusted
As far as I could throw my shoe
Ooh, 'til I loved you
Joni Mitchell’s song Lucky Girl is an ode to the power of friendship and an exploration of the many men that have come and gone in her life. The repeated refrain of “I’m a lucky girl” sets the tone of gratitude that flows throughout the entire song. She is grateful for finding a good friend, traveling to different parts of the world, and most importantly, for finding a man that she can trust.
The lyrics describe her experiences with different types of men: wise guys, shy guys, playboys, woman beaters, and Huck Finn shucksters. Through all of these encounters, however, she never found a man she trusted until she fell in love with the person she is addressing in the song. The lyrics are a testament to the fact that finding true love and trust can be a rare and priceless gift.
Line by Line Meaning
I'm a lucky girl
I feel incredibly fortunate
I found my friend
I have found someone who truly understands and supports me
I've been all around the world / Mission Impossible / Chasing the rainbow's end
I have traveled far and wide, been on many adventures and pursued lofty goals
Wise guys / Shy guys / And sly lover boys / With big bad bedroom eyes
I have encountered all types of men - those who are clever, those who are timid, and those who are charismatic and seductive
I never loved a man I trusted / As far as I could pitch my shoe / Ooh, 'til I loved you
Until I met you, I had never fully trusted any man and always kept my guard up
You're my lucky star / You're my magician / You make the night prowling disappear
You are my shining star and have the power to make all my fears and anxieties vanish
Vanished from the Star Wars bars / Empty repetition / I get my heart full here
I have left behind meaningless, mundane pursuits and found fulfillment in our relationship
Playboys / And stray boys / And "say, hey, hey" boys'll treat you like a toy
I have encountered men who only see me as an object or conquest
Cheaters / Woman beaters / And Huck Finn shucksters hopping parking meters
I have crossed paths with men who are unfaithful, abusive, and dishonest
Booby prize guys
I have dealt with men who are foolish or disappointing
I never loved a man / I trusted / As far as I could pitch my shoe / Ooh, 'til I loved you
Despite my past experiences, I have learned to trust you completely and have opened my heart to love
Lyrics © RESERVOIR MEDIA MANAGEMENT INC
Written by: Joni Mitchell
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind