The Joni Mitchell song written to outdo Neil Young
Songwriting is never supposed to be a sport. Even though many artists might like to outdo whatever great song they did the last time they sat down with their instrument, the best songs are about capturing a piece of oneself that could hopefully resonate with millions worldwide. The muse can come from all sorts of places, though, and Joni Mitchell found her inspiration in disagreeing with Neil Young.
Towards the end of the 1960s, Young quickly turned into one of his generation’s most in-demand solo artists. Fresh out of working in Buffalo Springfield, Young’s first steps on his own on albums like Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere were enough to win over the supergroup Crosby, Stills, and Nash, who would bring him on for their sophomore release Deja Vu.
Despite the mild-mannered folk-rock of the other three solo artists, Young brought a nastiness to the group that was sorely lacking, turning their version of Mitchell’s ‘Woodstock’ into one of the fiercest rock songs they had ever made. Although Young could still break out his acoustic guitar chops, he never held back when delivering ballads like ‘Sugar Mountain’.
Written as one of Young’s first ballads, the character in the song is imagining himself moving on to the next phase of his life, as he talks about taking his first drag off a cigarette and moving out of his hometown. Even though the song may be about new beginnings, the tone of Young’s voice denotes a sense of weariness, as if he knows that the good old days of being a teenager will never be that good again.
While Mitchell had admired Young’s work, she had a few issues with the attitude that went along with the song. In response, Mitchell offered up ‘The Circle Game’, which brought the childlike innocence back into the fold. Whereas Young was talking about the teenagers who can’t stay on ‘Sugar Mountain’ after they pass the age of 20, Mitchell’s response is full of hope for the future.
When talking about the origin of the song, Mitchell explained that she wanted to put a positive twist on what Young was initially trying to say, telling her audience during a show, “Neil Young wrote this song that was called ‘Oh to live on sugar mountain’ which was a lament for his lost youth. And I thought, God, you know if we get to 21 and there’s nothing after that, that’s a pretty bleak future, so I wrote a song for him and myself just to give me some hope. It’s called ‘The Circle Game’”.
Even though Young’s conclusion at the end of his song is pretty bleak, Mitchell sees the different stages of life in a circle, as everyone goes through subtle changes in their personality that take their lives in different directions. While Mitchell was still spreading her wings as a songwriter, the tune would become one of the most popular of her early career, inspiring people to put their take on the song. Young may have had that cynical bite in his lyrics for most of his career, but Mitchell reminded the audience that just because you grow up doesn’t mean the good times are over.
