Recently Joni Mitchell made a surprise appearance at the Newport Folk Festival. Encouraged by Brandi Carlisle after suffering a life altering brain aneurysm, and having endured the rough road back to health, Joni wowed everyone both on and off the stage. Although when she wrote the song in the late ‘60s the message she conveyed then was about the disillusionment of love, I feel that the song now has new meaning. The representation that there are two ways you can look at things still carries through – the clouds provide optical illusions, and we may see something inside them and project what’s inside us, as it can happen with love. In the second verse she implies the innocent vision of love, but as “every fairy tale comes real”, the innocence of love can be shattered by reality. It’s the third verse that I feel has a different meaning than originally thought. “Something’s lost, and something’s gained” for me means that before her aneurysm everything was easy, and life didn’t present the challenges she faces now. Despite that, she has met new friends who have encouraged her back to the road of performing again. This is my version of “Both Sides Now”. Stay safe. Stay strong. Especially Joni.
