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".
Nathan La Franeer
Joni Mitchell Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And though we shared a common space I know I'll never meet again
The driver with his eyebrows furrowed in the rear-view mirror
I read his name and it was plainly written Nathan La Franeer
I asked him would he hurry
But we crawled the canyons slowly
Through the buyers and the sellers
Through the burglar bells and the wishing wells
The ghostly garden grows
The cars and buses bustled through the bedlam of the day
I looked through window-glass at streets and Nathan grumbled at the grey
I saw an aging cripple selling Superman balloons
The city grated through chrome-plate
The clock struck slowly half-past-noon
Through the tunnel tiled and turning
Into daylight once again I am escaping
Once again goodbye
To symphonies and dirty trees
With parks and plastic clothes
The ghostly garden grows
He asked me for a dollar more
He cursed me to my face
He hated everyone who paid to ride
And share his common space
I picked my bags up from the curb
And stumbled to the door
Another man reached out his hand
Another hand reached out for more
And I filled it full of silver
And I left the fingers counting
And the sky goes on forever
Without meter maids and peace parades
You feed it all your woes
The ghostly garden grows
In Joni Mitchell's song Nathan La Franeer, the singer is on her way to catch a flight, looking out the window of the coach she hired. The driver, Nathan La Franeer, appears to be agitated and grumbling as they slowly make their way through the busy streets filled with buyers and sellers, gangs and girly shows, and even an aging cripple selling Superman balloons. Although the singer is in a hurry, they're forced to crawl through the chaos of the city. As they pass through a tunnel and into the daylight, the singer feels a sense of escape from the symphonies and dirty trees, parks, and plastic clothes.
In the final verse, Nathan La Franeer asks for an extra dollar and proceeds to curse at the singer. As she stumbles to the door with her bags, another man reaches out his hand, asking for more money. She fills his hand with silver and walks away, leaving him counting. The song ends with the line, "You feed it all your woes, the ghostly garden grows," implying that despite her efforts to escape, the chaos and confusion of the city continue to thrive.
Line by Line Meaning
I hired a coach to take me from confusion to the plane
I paid for transportation to the airport in hopes of finding clarity and leaving my confusion behind.
And though we shared a common space I know I'll never meet again
Despite being in the same physical location, I sense that we are on different journeys and will never cross paths again.
The driver with his eyebrows furrowed in the rear-view mirror
I noticed the driver's expression in the rear-view mirror and observed that he seemed distressed.
I read his name and it was plainly written Nathan La Franeer
I saw the driver's name tag and took note of his identity as Nathan La Franeer.
I asked him would he hurry
In my eagerness to reach the airport, I requested that Nathan drive faster.
But we crawled the canyons slowly
However, our progress was hindered by the slow movement of the vehicle through the narrow roads.
Through the buyers and the sellers
The streets were filled with commerce and trading activities.
Through the burglar bells and the wishing wells
Amidst the hustle and bustle, there were sounds of alarm systems and hopeful wishes being made.
With gangs and girly shows
There were rough groups of people and displays of sensual entertainment along the way.
The ghostly garden grows
Despite the chaos of the city, the ethereal garden continues to expand and thrive.
The cars and buses bustled through the bedlam of the day
Automobiles and public transportation moved hastily through the noisy chaos of the daytime hours.
I looked through window-glass at streets and Nathan grumbled at the grey
As I gazed out the window at the streets, Nathan expressed his displeasure with the monotonous grey scenery.
I saw an aging cripple selling Superman balloons
Among the people on the streets was an elderly person selling colorful helium-filled balloons in the shape of the superhero character Superman.
The city grated through chrome-plate
The city was abrasive and harsh, like the sound of metal being scraped against another hard surface.
The clock struck slowly half-past-noon
I noted the time as the clock slowly ticked past 12:30 PM.
Through the tunnel tiled and turning
We passed through a winding tunnel that was lined with ceramic tiles.
Into daylight once again I am escaping
As we emerged from the tunnel, I felt a sense of relief and freedom from the enclosed space.
Once again goodbye
I acknowledged that it was time to bid farewell to this part of my journey.
To symphonies and dirty trees
I was leaving behind the sounds of orchestral music and the sights of polluted vegetation.
With parks and plastic clothes
I was also leaving behind natural parks and the disturbing prevalence of synthetic apparel.
The ghostly garden grows
Despite my departure, the spectral garden remained ever-present and well.
He asked me for a dollar more
Nathan solicited additional payment from me.
He cursed me to my face
Nathan expressed his anger towards me directly and with verbal abuse.
He hated everyone who paid to ride
It became clear that Nathan harbored resentment towards all paying customers.
And I filled it full of silver
I gave Nathan a stack of coins as payment, potentially further enraging him.
And I left the fingers counting
I moved on from the situation while Nathan was still counting and handling the payment.
And the sky goes on forever
The vast expanse of the sky felt infinite and unbounded.
Without meter maids and peace parades
Despite my desire for a sense of order and tranquility, the sky existed without the regulation of traffic wardens or demonstrations for peace.
You feed it all your woes
You give into and fuel your troubles by focusing on them.
The ghostly garden grows
Once again, the spectral garden continues to bloom and flourish regardless of the negativity you cast towards it.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Joni Mitchell
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind