Everyone was truly surprised when Joni Mitchell showed up at the Newport Folk.
She hadn’t performed in quite some time and there were plenty of rumors that she was in failing health.
But there she was, seated center stage on an appropriately lavish throne (she could no longer stand up to perform) in late July surrounded by younger generations of singers and performers who were thrilled to sing back up harmonies in reverence to this legend.
The terms legend and icon get thrown around a lot lately, but with Mitchell it really holds true. She’s an incredibly influential lyricist, musician and performer who has been relevant for 50 years now.
It’s hard for me to pin-point my favorite Joni song but I am particularly drawn to one of her more popular pieces called “Both Sides Now” which is a song about observing the world and love and life from multiple angles but ultimately not understanding any of it.
Like Harry Chapin’s “Cats In The Cradle” or Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” it’s one of those songs that can immediately bring on nostalgia and melancholy and, boy, do I like to wallow in both of those.
When the Newport performance popped up on my YouTube feed (good job, algorithm!) I couldn’t click fast enough.
It was a mature and beautiful performance with Joni sitting well behind the beat with her lyrics and perfectly timed harmonies from about two dozen performers such as Brandi Carlisle and Winona Judd.
Not being able to help myself, I fell down the rabbit hole and started searching for other Joni performances and came upon one for “Both Sides” at the Isle of Wight Festival in 1970.
It was like being transported back in time.
Here was the same woman, more than 50 years younger, just incredibly bright and bubbly and energetic singing the same song, which was only about a year old at that point, an octave higher at a completely different tempo but delivering an equally captivating performance.
And as I listened to the lyrics I couldn’t help but feel like Joni had written this song as a 24 year old for her 78 year old self to sing. About how life is unpredictable and complex and hard to understand. It was truly remarkable.
There is a cliche that goes something like “no one on their deathbed wishes that they’d spent more time at the office.”
And, for certain, that is true (cliches are cliche for a reason).
It’s hard to argue that we wouldn’t all be better suited spending more time with loved ones and in nature and enjoying art or spending the weekend listening to a living legend perform her signature songs.
But (WARNING: Hard pivot ahead!) I think we can say that equally for taking care of your health and your fitness.
Just as quickly as you’d remind your younger self to skip that work dinner in order to go to your kid’s music recital, your older self would most definitely recommend that you invest your time and your money on eating better food or splurging for that gym membership or prioritizing getting to bed.
If you could talk to your 85 year old self I am certain that they would tell you that money in the bank pales in comparison to being able to tie your own shoes and go for a walk or be able to get up from a fall or be well enough to attend your granddaughter's wedding.
I’d actually venture to guess that if you couldn’t do those things, you’d pay any fee and spend any amount of time to make them happen.
Just as Joni’s younger self wrote a song for her older self to sing, consider this as my way of channeling your older self to remind you to take care of yourself now, while you still have the opportunity. It will pay huge dividends. You will not regret it. And if you don’t end up having it - if you are bedridden and in pain and peril - I guarantee you would do anything to get it.
It’s not too late. The earlier you can start, the better. To use another cliche, the best time to plant a tree was 50 years ago. The second best time is today.
(Ok, that’s it for the cliches. One more and they take the keyboard away from me.)
The last lyric of “Both Sides Now” is “I really don’t know life at all”.
And 1970 Joni sings it with an incredible trill as she bashfully steps away from the microphone. Almost embarrassed by the maturity of the sentiment.
But 78 year old Joni finishes it with a laugh.
It’s only been 53 years. How could she possibly understand?
I’d like to dedicate this particular post to my Grandmother (who we all called “Ami”) who passed away last week. Ami was a holocaust survivor and the strongest person that I’ve ever known. I feel lucky that I got to have my grandparents in my life even as I entered my fifties. It’s a real gift.
We all have to go at some point. No one has beat it yet. And you can even do everything right and still have your capabilities and independence taken away from you.
But seeing Ami deteriorate physically in the last few years I wish I could have shared the advice above with her in her younger years.
Take care of yourself. I promise it’s worth it.