A song about nostalgia, homesickness, wanderlust, and longing, Joni Mitchell delivers a wonderful mix of these ideas in one flowing story. The artist is out in the world, discovering new things about the lands and the people around her, believing that it will all result in a better worldview for herself. But there is a constant nagging at the back of her mind for her home, California.
All the news conveyed from this place brings her sadness, even the happy news, widening the gap between herself and the people around her. She is constantly battling this idea of being enough to return, asking repeatedly if she will be taken as she is. That feeling of not belonging, of not feeling at home or feeling like you are enough, has a timeless quality to it. It’s a good quality in a song to be able to be plopped down in 1970 or 2026 and still hit the same.
A song that I always go to on an album I am always going to. Hopefully, it will take me as I am.
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