Plein Air 03: Both Sides Now

For the third episode of Plein Air I trekked out in a baking June heat to the foothills. The breeze was a life saver, cooling me off a bit and contributing rustling grasses to the soundscape as I played “Both Sides Now by Joni Mitchell.

Released on her 1969 album Clouds, "Both Sides Now" is one of Joni Mitchell's best known songs. Joni is one of my first and longest inspirations as a songwriter, guitarist, and artist. Both Sides Now is exemplary of her introspection, wit, and grounded songwriting, as she muses about how her perceptions of the world have changed as she grows up and experiences challenges. Yet, the song is not an indictment of the childlike wonder and positivity she once felt, but remains in doubt of what is real about love, life, or clouds. She chooses not to identify with either her childhood naivety or her adult cynicism about the three, and surrenders in singing "I really don't know clouds...love...life at all."

This song can be cast in a hopeless, nihilistic light, but I don't believe that to be a faithful reading of Joni's lyrics. I remember learning in a college intro to Psych class that we often remember our past experiences through the lens of our present feelings and experience of the world. "Both Sides Now" is an admission of that reality, a mourning for the loss of childhood joy and simple pleasures, and a recognition that even after decades, we still haven't scratched the surface of what life has to show us.