The crucial songwriting advice Joni Mitchell shared with David Crosby
Emerging from the vibrant folk scene of Southern California in the 1960s, Joni Mitchell carved a path as one of the most influential figures in music. Her reputation was built on her profoundly personal lyrics and exquisite musical compositions. Mitchell also engaged in several impactful relationships with fellow artists, each of which found its way into the timeless verses of her songs.
Mitchell’s romantic history includes some of music’s most enduring figures, among them Leonard Cohen and Graham Nash. Yet one of her most consequential relationships during the late 1960s was with David Crosby, just before she embarked on a relationship with Nash. “I walked into a coffeehouse in Coconut Grove, and she was standing there singing those songs, and I just was gobsmacked,” Crosby recalled. “I fell for her. Immediately. It’s a little like falling into a cement mixer. She’s kind of a turbulent girl.”
During the 1960s and ’70s, Crosby earned a reputation as a key collaborator with some of the era’s most prominent musical acts. He played an essential role in founding The Byrds and is primarily recognised for his contributions to the folk-rock supergroup Crosby, Stills, and Nash. Whenever he put pen to paper, he thought back to one valuable piece of advice given to him by Mitchell.
“I said something to her, and she said, ‘Write that down,'” Crosby recounted. “I said, ‘Huh?’ She said, ‘Write that down!’ I said, ‘Why?’ ‘Because it was good! If you don’t write it down, it didn’t happen’.” While it might have appeared as simple advice, it evolved into a pivotal component of Crosby’s creative approach. In fact, he applied Mitchell’s guidance when writing his track ‘Sell Me A Diamond’. The song’s refrain features lyrics that he overheard: “You said it was conflict-free / Such a beautiful concept, that such a thing could be”.
After leaving The Byrds, Crosby lent his support to Mitchell in the creation of her debut album. Prior to this, Mitchell had primarily focused on live performances and writing songs for other artists, including hits like ‘Both Sides Now’ and ‘Chelsea Morning’. Collaborating with Crosby, Mitchell gained the opportunity to display her talents to a wider audience, solidifying her position as one of the most significant voices in the folk music genre.
Talking to Howard Stern, Crosby once described Mitchell as being “as good a poet as Bob [Dylan], and she’s ten times the musician and singer than he is,” she said. “I care about him, but the truth is she’s much better as a musician and much better as a singer”. However, the exact nature of their relationship remains ambiguous, as Mitchell conveyed to David Yaffe in Reckless Daughter: A Portrait of Joni Mitchell: “It was a summer affair”.
During their time as a couple, Crosby found himself consistently outmatched by his partner, pushing him to elevate his musical abilities. “Listen, imagine if you wrote a song, a really good song, and you sang it to her when she came home, and then she sang you three better songs that she wrote last night,” he told Stern, adding: “I don’t get along with her that well anymore, but I do love her with my whole heart for what she’s given us.”
