The album covers beaten The player old and worn The needle barely tracking From all the scratches borne Upon the vinyl surfaces Of albums that were stored Unlocking wonderous worlds Of music I adored
I would lie in cloistered darkness To hear a voice so sweet There I'd usher in the nighttime To worship at her feet Struck by earthy lyrics But somewhat strange Unearthly tunes To trace with disconnected fingers The most sensitive of wounds
How sad that good songs Unsung heroes Like "Morning Morgantown" Wouldn't live forever To "buy your dreams a dollar down"
Recall "Big Yellow Taxi"? You can rest assured I do! And "Ladies of the Canyon" And her epic album "Blue" Most folks recall a song Entitled "Both Sides Now" 'Bout clouds and love and life But they do not know Her poetic expression Unearthed deep jazzy riffs Elitism. Hypocrisy. And "Summer Lawns" that "Hissed"
At the pinnacle of greatness Her album "Court and Spark" Will always be a touchstone For purity in art
A deeply troubled woman At certain times in life Loving truely... deeply In the "Industry" meant strife
A versatile genius Her lyrics resonate Fot the very thing that scarred her Also made her great
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At times I'd sit and ponder A self-inflicted crime But I would postpone the act To hear her one last time Her songs touched me so deeply Places only she could know With her voice to guide me I found a place to go She became my inspiration My metaphor. My muse. Joni Mitchell told my heart To write of its abuse
I aspire to higher standards A perfection as it were And should my work be recognized I owe it all to her. Though endlessly I search For perfect sense of art It's brought on by
INPERFECTION
But a kind and loving heart.
What I saw in her self portrait Was a humble, gentle face She was the greatest mentor
Judy Collins. Joan Baez. Carol King. Just to name a few female Singer/songwriters of the 60s and 70s But my favorite was Joni Mitchell. Her songs "spoke to me". I was often suicidal as a teen. But I would lie and listen to music and let her voice talk me out of it. I loved her poetic expression And she is why I am a poet/songwriter today.