The two songs written about Joni Mitchell breaking hearts
We’re all guilty of describing Joni Mitchell as some sort of ethereal folk fairy queen, myself included. But the reality is that over the course of her life and career, the Canadian songstress has possessed a more than formidable personality and changeable temperament that only those in her closest circles have been at the behest of. Quite often, her gentle lullaby melodies were nothing more than a ruse when it came to describing Mitchell at her fiery best, and no one was more familiar with that wrath than the trail of broken hearts she’s left in her wake.
But as is only natural to musicians, if your romantic hopes have been left in despair, the path to channelling the breadth and weight of the emotions is through song. Indeed, penning tunes about heartbreak is no new phenomenon, but if you’re on the receiving end of those lyrical odes, it must evoke quite the heady mix of feeling. Annoyance? Pity? Wry humour? Sadness for yourself for being in the situation? In Mitchell’s case, with the songs written about her, the answer to all of these was, most probably, yes.
The first of these hardly warrants an introduction, as Mitchell’s life spent hanging around Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young was more than a little prolific. Having romantically churned her way through most of the group—a questionable fling with Stephen Stills included—the eventual breakup of Mitchell and Graham Nash in 1970 spawned the latter’s tune, ‘Our House’.
But quietly watching on was Neil Young, who, from his own unique perspective of being on the inside orbit of both camps, created the perfect track to summarise the weight of his feelings in the form of ‘Only Love Can Break Your Heart’. It was written from the point of view of the forlorn Nash, who was allegedly dumped by Mitchell after he proposed to her. Brutal as it may seem, it did have all the makings of a massive hit.
In a similar vein, Mitchell really was no stranger to a romantic romp with some of the world’s biggest folk rock stars back in the day, and Leonard Cohen was no exception. Though their relationship was admittedly a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it affair, the result clearly had a lasting impact on Cohen in particular, who based his tune ‘Winter Lady’ on the departure of the songstress he evidently fawned over.
But perhaps, unlike others, the peripatetic nature of music and creativity found a kindred spirit, and Cohen, in his lyrics, reflected on Mitchell’s freely whimsical ideal and need to keep viscerally experiencing the world. It may have caused him his fair share of heartbreak, but what better healer is gifting that melancholy and pearls of wisdom to the world?
Of course, this is not to say that Mitchell was always so cold as to never acknowledge her previous loves and losses. It’s easy to see that a fair chunk of her own songbook is made up of similar stories, situations, and sorrows, and in the end, that’s the only real thing that matters in a musician’s eyes. Heartbreak may be harrowing, but as long as you can spin a song out of it, you’ll probably make it out the other side relatively unscathed, possibly with a hit.
