This kind of discourse is expected today, but it wasn’t always the case. One subscriber is incredibly honest: “When I was younger I never got the appeal of Joni Mitchell, now I’m kicking myself for not realizing sooner in my life how great she is.” “This is hypnotizing, I had never heard of this song prior to 20 minutes ago,” another says. “Holy Jesus, what did I just stumble upon?” one comment reads. That clip, which resurfaced in Martin Scorsese’s 2019 Rolling Thunder Revue doc, currently has 3.5 million views. They’ve all lived it, but none of them can sum it up the way she does. Instead, he and the other dudes are completely transfixed, hearing this brand-new stunner about romantic freedom and loneliness on the road. Unlike that time she played him Court and Spark, Dylan isn’t falling asleep.
Lightfoot and Roger McGuinn are hovering behind, while Dylan accompanies her on guitar. It’s 1975, and Mitchell is traveling with Bob Dylan’s Rolling Thunder Revue tour, wearing a black beret and strumming an acoustic guitar on a new song she’s just written.
If you want a refresher course on the incredible, unique power of Joni Mitchell‘s music, take a trip back to Gordon Lightfoot’s living room.
