The 1970 Joni Mitchell song Graham Nash said “breaks my heart”
The break-up of any relationship is difficult, but especially so in the case of Graham Nash and Joni Mitchell, as both dealt with their heartbreak through their art.
Due to the nature of their line of work, both Nash and Mitchell had to accept that their heartbreak was set to be released for public consumption, for all to hear. Nevertheless, while there was no fairytale ending to their two-year romance, there was no hatred either, with Nash able to appreciate Mitchell’s work that arose from their split.
For two years, they lived the dream in Laurel Canyon. They were madly in love, and nothing else mattered in the wider world. Although that couldn’t prevent their relationship from reaching its natural conclusion, there is one song that still reminds him of the good times.
In 1968, they first crossed paths when The Hollies performed in Ottawa, Canada. After the show, they got acquainted, and Mitchell played some of her material to Nash, immediately capturing his attention. He once described the evening as “magical on so many different levels”, which started a whirlwind romance.
Sadly, by 1970, their relationship had become intolerable for Mitchell, who moved out of their shared residence and cuttingly informed Nash of her decision via a telegram.
While she’d moved on from Nash romantically, she used her third album, Ladies of the Canyon, to reflect artistically on their experience living together in the plush Los Angeles neighbourhood.
Notably, on the track ‘Willy’, she declares her love for Nash and sings from the heart: “Willy is my child, he is my father, I would be his lady all my life, He says he’d love to live with me, But for an ancient injury, That has not healed, He said I feel once again, Like I gave my heart too soon.”
By the time that the track was finally released, their love had dissipated. Nevertheless, Nash had ‘Willy’ as a source of comfort, which reminded him that it wasn’t always this way.
He admitted to the song to Uncut in 2015: “‘Willy,’ to this day, breaks my heart when I hear it. But her artistry is such that she takes a personal situation and turns it into a world situation. The relationship she’s talking about can apply to anyone who’s listening.”
Nash then paid Mitchell the ultimate compliment, stating she has perfected songwriting as a medium, adding, “That’s the art of writing a great song, taking a simple thing and making astounding music from it.”
Going one step further in his praise, Nash said, “I really believe that in a hundred years from now, when people look back on the ’60s, the great writers will be Bob Dylan, John and Paul, and Joni.”
Although ‘Willy’ breaks Nash’s heart because of his personal connection to it, he knows first-class songwriting when he hears it, and can’t deny its sheer magnificence.
Similarly to Mitchell, Nash didn’t take to his pen with anger following the relationship’s conclusion. Instead, he looked back through rose-tinted glasses on the Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young track ‘Our House’, another song birthed from their perfect Laurel Canyon abode.
Just like how Nash has an unshakeable soft spot for ‘Willy’, Mitchell also holds nothing but admiration for ‘Our House’, telling the Los Angeles Times in 2021: “I thought it was beautiful. It captured that day. Our relationship was warm and cozy and loving.
Sometimes, I get sensitive or worried, and it might bother the man I was with. But not Graham. He just said, ‘Come over here to the couch; you need a 15-minute cool-out.’ And then we would snuggle. It’s a beautiful memory.”
Their lives may have splintered off into different directions, and they’d both marry other people, but these two songs provide the pair with a portal to their shared carefree youth.
Their story didn’t get the Hollywood ending they may have once envisaged, but it did give us beautiful music. Vitally, Mitchell and Nash also remain close friends who are capable of fondly reminiscing about the good old days without getting into a slanging match.
Listen to ‘Willy’ below.
