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".
The Last Time I Saw Richard
Joni Mitchell Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And he told me all romantics meet the same fate someday
Cynical and drunk and boring someone in some dark cafe
You laugh, he said you think you're immune, go look at your eyes
They're full of moon
You like roses and kisses and pretty men to tell you
All those pretty lies, pretty lies
When you gonna realize they're only pretty lies
He put a quarter in the Wurlitzer, and he pushed
Three buttons and the thing began to whir
And a bar maid came by in fishnet stockings and a bow tie
And she said drink up now it's gettin' on time to close
Richard, you haven't really changed, I said
It's just that now you're romanticizing some pain that's in your head
You got tombs in your eyes, but the songs
You punched are dreaming
Listen, they sing of love so sweet, love so sweet
When you gonna get yourself back on your feet?
Oh and love can be so sweet, love so sweet
Richard got married to a figure skater
And he bought her a dishwasher and a coffee percolator
And he drinks at home now most nights with the TV on
And all the house lights left up bright
I'm gonna blow this damn candle out
I don't want nobody comin' over to my table
I got nothing to talk to anybody about
All good dreamers pass this way some day
Hidin' behind bottles in dark cafes
Dark cafes
Only a dark cocoon before I get my gorgeous wings
And fly away
Only a phase, these dark cafe days
In Joni Mitchell's song The Last Time I Saw Richard, she sings about reuniting with an old friend, Richard, whom she met during the height of the Detroit riots in 1968. Richard, who used to be a romantic, is now cynical, drunk, and broken. He tells Mitchell that all romantics meet the same fate someday, and that her love for roses, kisses, and pretty men is nothing but delusion, only pretty lies. He also notes that despite her belief that she's immune to the same fate, her eyes are full of moon, a telltale sign of a romantic. When Mitchell speaks with Richard again, he has settled down into domestic life, married to a figure skater, and spends most of his time watching TV at home.
Mitchell's lyrics show the contrast between idealistic youth and the cold realism of adulthood. She contrasts romanticism with cynicism, and shows how what seems pretty and sweet at one point in life turns out to be nothing but a mirage once life intervenes. The bar maid's fishnet stockings and bowtie are clearly elements of Richard's fantasies, but the drudgery of everyday life killed those dreams. The final lines of the song show that the dark, mournful tone of the lyrics is not reflective of Mitchell's outlook towards life. The phrase "Only a phase, these dark cafe days" conveys that the darkness of the present moment is just temporary and will eventually be replaced by hope, optimism, and beauty.
Line by Line Meaning
The last time I saw Richard was Detroit in '68
The singer is recalling the last time they saw Richard, which was in Detroit in 1968.
And he told me all romantics meet the same fate someday
Richard expressed his belief that every romantic person will eventually face a similar fate.
Cynical and drunk and boring someone in some dark cafe
Richard's personality has become cynical, drunken, and tedious, as he spends his days in dark cafes.
You laugh, he said you think you're immune, go look at your eyes
Richard pointed out that the artist is not immune to the same fate as he is, and suggested that they examine their own eyes to see the truth of it.
They're full of moon
The artist's eyes are full of romantic notions, symbolized by the moon.
You like roses and kisses and pretty men to tell you
Richard accuses the singer of enjoying romantic gestures and compliments from attractive men.
All those pretty lies, pretty lies
Richard considers the singer's romantic beliefs to be lies.
When you gonna realize they're only pretty lies
Richard questions when the artist will come to terms with the falseness of romantic ideas.
He put a quarter in the Wurlitzer, and he pushed
Richard inserted a coin into a jukebox and selected a song.
Three buttons and the thing began to whir
The jukebox began to play the song after Richard made his selection.
And a bar maid came by in fishnet stockings and a bow tie
A female bartender in risqué attire walked by the table.
And she said drink up now it's gettin' on time to close
The bartender reminded Richard and the artist that it was almost time for the bar to close.
Richard, you haven't really changed, I said
The singer observes that, regardless of Richard's situation, he hasn't fundamentally changed.
It's just that now you're romanticizing some pain that's in your head
The singer believes that Richard is idealizing and embellishing his past hurts.
You got tombs in your eyes, but the songs
The melancholic look in Richard's eyes contrasts with the love songs he selects at the jukebox.
You punched are dreaming
The songs Richard selected on the jukebox are imaginative and expressive.
Listen, they sing of love so sweet, love so sweet
The artist points out that the songs Richard has chosen are about sweet and romantic love.
When you gonna get yourself back on your feet?
The singer inquires when Richard will be able to move on from his romanticizing and face his reality.
Oh and love can be so sweet, love so sweet
The singer acknowledges that love can be sweet and ideal, but it can also be deceptive and sugar-coated.
Richard got married to a figure skater
Richard married a woman who was a figure skater.
And he bought her a dishwasher and a coffee percolator
Richard gave his wife practical household items as gifts.
And he drinks at home now most nights with the TV on
Richard now spends most of his nights at home, drinking and watching TV.
And all the house lights left up bright
Richard keeps all the lights on in the house, which could signify a reluctance to confront his true emotions in the darkness.
I'm gonna blow this damn candle out
The artist decides to snuff out the candle, which may symbolize their hope for a romantic future.
I don't want nobody comin' over to my table
The singer desires solitude and isolation, as they don't want any interruptions.
I got nothing to talk to anybody about
The singer feels there's nothing worth discussing with anyone anymore.
All good dreamers pass this way some day
The singer notes that even those who idealize love and life in general must learn to face the reality of things at some point.
Hidin' behind bottles in dark cafes
The artist paints again the melancholic scene of drinking away your sorrows in a dimly lit pub.
Dark cafes
This phrase is repeated as a motif representing the dismal state Richard and the artist are in.
Only a dark cocoon before I get my gorgeous wings
The singer envisions a dark period of transformation before they can spread their metaphorical wings and become something more beautiful.
And fly away
The singer hopes to eventually escape the mundanity of their current situation and soar to new heights.
Only a phase, these dark cafe days
The artist reflects that their current difficulties are only temporary and will someday come to an end, as they describe the current moment as a phase.
Lyrics © RESERVOIR MEDIA MANAGEMENT INC
Written by: Joni Mitchell
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Autostade67
Probably the most sincerely existential 'pop' song ever written: on the surface, a personal moment; more broadly, an elegy for a particular generation; and in the greater scheme, something for all of us in the raw, honest portrayal of the small apocalypse that waits within us when, with time, magical thinking evaporates and we know that we are dreadfully insignificant and then must choose or not how to react. Could there be anything more catastrophic than '[marrying] a figure skater, [buying] her a dishwasher and a coffee percolator [and drinking] at home most nights with the TV on all the house lights left up bright"? Make no mistake - this arresting image cannot be read only literally; and yet it carries no ham fisted doctrine, only one's subjective sense of its bleakness.
Ms. Mitchell is, despite her iconic status, still highly underrated compared to her contemporaries - some of who have even recently won major prizes; what makes her so brilliant is that it is too easy to only read her lyrics from the surface, to see deception in her lyricism, and to dismiss her 'prettiness' of melody and poetic word play. She is neither overtly political nor a chic nihilist, nor 'the 'voice of a generation'. If she seems too 'personal' (a charge some might levy against another under-ratee, Paul Simon) one can counter that this remains within her songbook: she is not the 'performed' public persona that some were and yet, a feminist with her own vernacular, she frustratingly, arrogantly, and brilliantly posits herself as the artist hero (Beethoven, Van Gogh, etc.) in a Paris dress with runs in her nylons. If she is heavy handed, it is still lighthearted compared to her fellow men, though she is incorrectly seen as lightheaded. To lock her in to a particular time and generation is to do her - and many songwriter/artists, a disservice.
The continuity of albums in the years following 'Blue' represents a high artist ascending. The song 'For the Roses' is probably the best popular document about fame yet written, accompanied as it is by the subtle melancholy of 'The Judgement of the Moon and Stars', and the totality of 'The Hissing of Summer Lawns' and the radical, yes, radical 'Hejira' ("I'm going to write an album almost entirely for acoustic guitar and invoke Amelia Earhart and Mohammed and Toller Cranston while I sing in the 'male' voice of, "Yeah, I'm a love 'em an' leave 'em a-hole, but I just gotta wander because I'm going toward and running from 'cause that's what the guys do.") cannot be dismissed with a simple comparisons to other icons of her generation.
You don't have to agree with me, but I think she does need to be reconsidered alongside some of the fellows whose names slip very easily from the lips.
Oh, one more thing. She can sing, too. Imagine that.
Igor Ciqueira
A Última Vez Que Vi Richard
A última vez que vi Richard foi em Detroit em 68
E ele me disse que todos os românticos encontram o mesmo destino
Algum dia, cínico e amargo e chateando alguém
Em algum café escuro
Você ri, ele disse você pensa que você é imune
Olhe para seus olhos
Eles são cheios de lua
Você gosta de rosas e beijos e homens bonitos para lhe dizer
Todas essas lindas mentiras, lindas mentiras
Quando você vai perceber que são só lindas mentiras
Só lindas mentiras, lindas mentiras
Ele colocou uma moeda no Wurlitzer, e ele apertou
Três teclas e a coisa começou a girar
E uma garçonete veio por uma meia arrastão e uma gravata borboleta
E ela disse: Bebam agora que está na hora de fechar
Richard , você não mudou de verdade, eu disse
Só que agora que você está romantizando alguma dor que está em sua cabeça
Você tem suas tumbas em seus olhos, mas as canções
Que você tirou estão sonhando
Ouça, elas falam de amor tão doce
Quando você vai estar de volta em seus pés?
Oh e o amor pode ser tão doce, amor tão doce
Richard casou-se com uma patinadora
E ele comprou-lhe uma máquina de lavar louça e uma cafeteira
E agora ele bebe em casa a maioria das noites com a TV ligada
E todas as luzes da casa acesas
Eu vou soprar esta droga de vela
Eu não quero mais ninguém vindo à minha mesa
Eu não tenho nada para conversar com ninguém
Todos os bons sonhadores deixam isso passar um dia
Escondendo atrás de garrafas em cafés escuros
Cafés escuros
Apenas essa escuridão antes
Eu pego minhas lindas asas
E vôo para longe
Apenas uma fase, estes dias de cafés escuros
guilherme lopes
Last time I saw Richard was detroit in 68
And he told me all romantics meet the same fate
Someday, cynical and drunk and boring someone
In some dark cafe
You laugh, he said you think you're immune
Go look at eyes
They're full of moon
You like roses and kisses and pretty men to tell you
All those pretty lies, pretty lies
When you gonna realize they're only pretty lies?
Only pretty lies, pretty lies
He put a quarter in the wurlitzer, and he pushed
Three buttons and the thing began to whirl
And a barman came by a fishnet stockings and a bow tie
And she said: Drink up now it's getting on time to close
Richard, you haven't really changed, I said
That's just now you're romanticizing some pain that's in your head
You've got tombs in your in your eyes, but the songs
You punched are dreaming
Listen, they sing of love so sweet
When you gonna get yourself back on your feet?
Oh and love can be so sweet, love so sweet
Richard got married to a figure skater
And he bought her a dish washer and a coffe percolator
And he drinks at home now most night with the TV on
And all the house lights left up bright
I'm gonna blow this damn candle out
I don't want nobody comin'over to my table
I've got nothing to talk to anybody about
All good dreamer pass this way someday
Hidin' behind bottles in dark cafes
Dark cafes
Only a dark cocoon before
I get my gorgeous wings
And fly away
Only a phase, these dark cafe days
Mark O'Neill
This masterpiece is a dialogue between hope and existential despair. What is achingly sad is that we don't believe those dark cafe days are just a phase
Adam Felix
be strong, we all here n go away the same
Adam Felix
incredible masterpiece definitely ✨️
Adam Felix
tell us how you really feel ha... the beat goes on
Lees Begley
Nice!
Emma Young
thats incredibly touching x
Autostade67
Probably the most sincerely existential 'pop' song ever written: on the surface, a personal moment; more broadly, an elegy for a particular generation; and in the greater scheme, something for all of us in the raw, honest portrayal of the small apocalypse that waits within us when, with time, magical thinking evaporates and we know that we are dreadfully insignificant and then must choose or not how to react. Could there be anything more catastrophic than '[marrying] a figure skater, [buying] her a dishwasher and a coffee percolator [and drinking] at home most nights with the TV on all the house lights left up bright"? Make no mistake - this arresting image cannot be read only literally; and yet it carries no ham fisted doctrine, only one's subjective sense of its bleakness.
Ms. Mitchell is, despite her iconic status, still highly underrated compared to her contemporaries - some of who have even recently won major prizes; what makes her so brilliant is that it is too easy to only read her lyrics from the surface, to see deception in her lyricism, and to dismiss her 'prettiness' of melody and poetic word play. She is neither overtly political nor a chic nihilist, nor 'the 'voice of a generation'. If she seems too 'personal' (a charge some might levy against another under-ratee, Paul Simon) one can counter that this remains within her songbook: she is not the 'performed' public persona that some were and yet, a feminist with her own vernacular, she frustratingly, arrogantly, and brilliantly posits herself as the artist hero (Beethoven, Van Gogh, etc.) in a Paris dress with runs in her nylons. If she is heavy handed, it is still lighthearted compared to her fellow men, though she is incorrectly seen as lightheaded. To lock her in to a particular time and generation is to do her - and many songwriter/artists, a disservice.
The continuity of albums in the years following 'Blue' represents a high artist ascending. The song 'For the Roses' is probably the best popular document about fame yet written, accompanied as it is by the subtle melancholy of 'The Judgement of the Moon and Stars', and the totality of 'The Hissing of Summer Lawns' and the radical, yes, radical 'Hejira' ("I'm going to write an album almost entirely for acoustic guitar and invoke Amelia Earhart and Mohammed and Toller Cranston while I sing in the 'male' voice of, "Yeah, I'm a love 'em an' leave 'em a-hole, but I just gotta wander because I'm going toward and running from 'cause that's what the guys do.") cannot be dismissed with a simple comparisons to other icons of her generation.
You don't have to agree with me, but I think she does need to be reconsidered alongside some of the fellows whose names slip very easily from the lips.
Oh, one more thing. She can sing, too. Imagine that.
Nicole Ropp
the most poignant comment I’ve ever read on YouTube. ♥️
Davis Worth
Joni WAS NOT A FEMINIST, stop putting artists on pedestals, for all her greatness she has plenty of faults like all of us.
Sarah LeFerne
Great words. However, Joni was never and isn't underrated, and Dylan isn't overrated. You had to be there.