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June 22, 1971

 The Times recently covered--at length--the fiftieth birthday of Joni Mitchell's "Blue."


It's startling to see how this album is now one classic after another, after another, after another: "Little Green," "California," "Carey," "River," "My Old Man," and the list goes on.

I'm a big fan of the first song, "All I Want," which is a note from a restless woman in her twenties, addressed to her lover/antagonist. It's a note, but its audience is (also) everyone in the world:

I am on a lonely road and I am traveling, traveling, traveling, traveling.
Looking for something.
What can it be?

The young woman goes on to express exasperation toward her lover, and toward herself:

I hate you some, I hate you some. I love you some.
I love you when I forget about me.
I want to talk to you, want to shampoo you,
Want to renew you--again and again.
Applause....applause....Life is our cause....
When I think of your kisses, my mind see-saws....

Simple and direct--and full of ambivalence and confusion. I'm also a fan of "knit you a sweater, write you a love letter, make you feel better, make you feel free...."

In gratitude for fifty-plus years of Joni.
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