Both Sides, Now

It was in fact Joni Mitchell that wrote ‘Both Sides, Now’ at the tender age of just 23, and would be the first hit she wrote. That was despite the fact that the song was originally released by folk musician Judy Collins in 1967, as Joni wasn’t a recognised performer so instead settled for writing songs for other artists. Collins would go on to win the Grammy Award in 1969 for Best Folk Performance and ‘Both Sides, Now’ is widely regarded as her signature song, but she gave Joni her due by helping her launch her own career as a musician. Joni cited Judy Collins as a major influence and was thrilled she chose to record a song she’d written. Collins continued to support Joni, introducing a then-unknown Mitchell during her set at the Newport Folk Festival in 1966, which she remained grateful for. Not being able to sufficiently provide for her baby as a young, single mother, Joni gave up her daughter for adoption, a distressing experience that remained private for the majority of her career. After wedding musician Chuck Mitchell in the same year, their marriage would soon dissolve which started a dark period for Joni. Though, it provided the primary source of her inspiration. Talking about the moment she began to pen her first song, Joni recalled: “I was reading Saul Bellow’s Henderson the Rain King on a plane and early in the book Henderson the Rain King is also up in a plane. He’s on his way to Africa and he looks down and sees these clouds.” “I put down the book, looked out the window and saw clouds too, and I immediately started writing the song. I had no idea that the song would become as popular as it did.”