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".
Twisted
Joni Mitchell Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
That I was right out of my head
The way he described it
He said I'd be better dead than live
I didn't listen to his jive
I knew all along
That he was all wrong
And I knew that he thought
My analyst told me
That I was right out of my head
He said I'd need treatment
But I'm not that easily led
He said I was the type
That was most inclined
When out of his sight
To be out of my mind
And he thought I was nuts
No more ifs or ands or buts
They say as a child
I appeared a little bit wild
With all my crazy ideas
But I knew what was happening
I knew I was a genius
What's so strange when you know
That you're a wizard at three?
I knew that this was meant to be
Now I heard little children
Were supposed to sleep tight
That's why I got into the vodka one night
My parents got frantic
Didn't know what to do
But I saw some crazy scenes
Before I came to
Now do you think I was crazy?
I may have been only three
But I was swinging
They all laugh at angry young men
They all laugh at Edison
And also at Einstein
So why should I feel sorry
If they just couldn't understand
The idiomatic logic
That went on in my head
I had a brain
It was insane
Oh, they used to laugh at me
When I refused to ride
On all those double decker buses
All because there was no driver on the top
(What, no driver on the top?)
(Man, the chick is twisted
(Crazy, boop-shooby, hair flip city)
My analyst told me
That I was right out of my head
But I said, "dear doctor
I think that it's you instead
Because I have got a thing
That's unique and new
To prove it I'll have
The last laugh on you
'Cause instead of one head
I got two
And you know two heads are better than one"
The song "Twisted" by Joni Mitchell delves into the singer's experience with mental health treatment and the societal stigma surrounding mental illness. The lyrics reveal Mitchell’s encounter with an analyst who diagnosed her irrational and unfit for life, leading to her being labeled as crazy. However, Mitchell believed in her own intellect and senses, describing herself as a genius and convinced that the world was wrong about her. She even turned the tables on her doctor, saying that he was the one with the problem and she had something unique and new: a way of thinking that was beyond societal norms.
The song highlights Mitchell's unapologetic nature in the face of judgment and ridicule from those who could not understand her. Her defiance is visible in the lines “They all laugh at angry young men, they all laugh at Edison / And also at Einstein, so why should I feel sorry, if they just couldn't understand”. She touches upon the idea that people with different perspectives or intellect are often mocked and misunderstood by society at large. The song concludes with a comical and whimsical verse that reinforces Mitchell’s free spirit and her refusal to conform to societal pressure, through her quirky refusal to ride double-decker buses, simply because there was no driver on the top.
Line by Line Meaning
My analyst told me
That I was right out of my head
Joni Mitchell's analyst said that she was crazy, but she didn't agree.
The way he described it
He said I'd be better dead than live
According to the analyst, it was better for Joni Mitchell to be dead than alive.
I didn't listen to his jive
I knew all along
That he was all wrong
Despite the analyst's advice, Joni Mitchell didn't listen because she knew he was wrong.
And I knew that he thought
I was crazy but I'm not, oh no
Joni Mitchell knew that her analyst thought she was crazy, but she didn't believe it.
He said I'd need treatment
But I'm not that easily led
The analyst wanted Joni Mitchell to have treatment for her craziness, but she wasn't easily influenced.
He said I was the type
That was most inclined
When out of his sight
To be out of my mind
The analyst believed that Joni Mitchell was likely to be crazy when he wasn't around.
And he thought I was nuts
No more ifs or ands or buts
The analyst thought that Joni Mitchell was crazy, no matter what she said.
They say as a child
I appeared a little bit wild
Joni Mitchell was considered wild as a child.
With all my crazy ideas
But I knew what was happening
Although Joni had wild ideas, she knew what was really happening.
I knew I was a genius
What's so strange when you know
That you're a wizard at three?
Joni Mitchell believed that she was a genius from an early age.
I knew that this was meant to be
Joni Mitchell knew that her wild ideas were her destiny.
Now I heard little children
Were supposed to sleep tight
That's why I got into the vodka one night
Joni Mitchell drank vodka one night as a child because she believed it would help her sleep.
My parents got frantic
Didn't know what to do
But I saw some crazy scenes
Before I came to
Joni Mitchell's parents were worried and didn't know how to help her, but Joni saw some bizarre things before she returned to normal.
Now do you think I was crazy?
I may have been only three
But I was swinging
Joni Mitchell was swinging at the age of three, and wondered if she was crazy.
They all laugh at angry young men
They all laugh at Edison
And also at Einstein
So why should I feel sorry
If they just couldn't understand
The idiomatic logic
That went on in my head
Joni Mitchell believes that just like angry young men and famous inventors, they also didn't understand the logical thinking that was going on in her head.
I had a brain
It was insane
Oh, they used to laugh at me
When I refused to ride
On all those double decker buses
All because there was no driver on the top
Joni Mitchell had an intelligent brain, but other people would laugh at her because she refused to ride the double decker bus which did not have a driver on the top.
(What, no driver on the top?)
(Man, the chick is twisted
(Crazy, boop-shooby, hair flip city)
Others think she is crazy for not riding the bus with no driver on the top.
But I said, "dear doctor
I think that it's you instead
Because I have got a thing
That's unique and new
To prove it I'll have
The last laugh on you
'Cause instead of one head
I got two
And you know two heads are better than one"
Joni Mitchell tells her analyst that she thinks he's the crazy one because she has a unique and new idea, and she'll have the last laugh. Joni also notes that two heads are better than one.
Lyrics © A SIDE MUSIC LLC D/B/A MODERN WORKS MUSIC PUBLISHING
Written by: Annie Ross Annabelle Short, Wardell Gray
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@hanscane3701
My analyst told me that I was right out of my head
The way he described it, he said I'd be better dead than live
I didn't listen to his jive
I knew all along he was all wrong
And I knew that he thought I was crazy but I'm not
My analyst told me that I was right out of my head
He said I'd need treatment but I'm not that easily led
He said I was the type that was most inclined
When out of his sight to be out of my mind
And he thought I was nuts, no more ifs or ands or buts
They say as a child I appeared a little bit wild
With all my crazy ideas
But I knew what was happenin', I knew I was a genius
What's so strange when you know that you're a wizard at three?
I knew that this was meant to be
Well I heard little children were supposed to sleep tight
That's why I drank a fifth of vodka one night
My parents got frantic, didn't know what to do
But I saw some crazy scenes before I came to
Now do you think I was crazy?
I may have been only three but I was swingin'
They all laughed at Al Graham Bell
They all laughed at Edison and also at Einstein
So why should I feel sorry if they just couldn't understand
The litany and the logic that went on in my head?
I had a brain, it was insane
Don't you let them laugh at me
When I refused to ride on all those double decker buses
All because there was no driver on the top
My analyst told me that I was right out of my head
The way he described it, he said I'd be better dead than live
I didn't listen to his jive
I knew all along he was all wrong
And I knew that he thought I was crazy but I'm not
Oh no!
My analyst told me that I was right out of my head
But I said "Dear doctor, I think that it's you instead
'Cause I have got a thing that's unique and new
It proves that I'll have the last laugh on you
'Cause instead of one head... I got two
And you know two heads are better than one"
@barbhart6387
One of my favorite songs of all time! My girlfriend and I used to walk the streets of Philly singing this song when we were in our late teens. Now I have updated my will to play it at my funeral. It's my life story! ;-)
@AndreasDelleske
I knew you are a genius :)
@mfsgirlrmt
Me too!!!! And my Sis and I still sing in public embarrassing places, like our father's nursing home!
@barbararenton8009
How cool! I need to update my will, too...Thanks for an idea of picking a song by Joni.
@ddelv583
And nobody in Philly gave you a second glance, no doubt! 😎
@dged492
It's a very good version, and it's worth mentioning that Annie Ross composed the inventive lyrics to Wardell Gray's excellent tune and solo. Gray's demise is one of the great tragedies in the long list of those in jazz history. His genius is exemplified in "Twisted."
@Bob-yl9pm
Joni! I'n the 70's You were my salvation! I Love You!
@TJTarheel
Joni at the Grammys! And I just had to go listen to my favorite album Court and Spark and my favorite song Twisted and remembered every single word! ❤❤
@crotalusatrox7931
Only Joni Mitchell could pull off with Twisted. The girl was out there, contributing with Cheech and Chong, girlfriend of Graham Nash and idol of Robert Plant. So many people she has influenced, a great songwriter and musician. Love you Joni Mitchell.
@Skivvystain
Best version of Twisted ever. Joni just nails it. No wonder all the 70's jazz greats wanted to work with her. Amazing!!