The night Joni Mitchell shattered all preconceptions: “They all think of you as this very sad person”
Pete Townsend once said: “There are very few people truly authentic to the cause: David Byrne. Mick Jagger. Neil Young. Joni Mitchell. Deborah Harry.” Authenticity, in Mitchell’s case, is often related to her reputation as a poetic intellectual thanks to her ability to craft incredibly thought-provoking lyrics. While many admired this, the singer felt it was a misconstrued perception that didn’t entirely reflect her real personality.
When Townsend likened Mitchell to a handful of authentic musicians, he meant it as a compliment, of course. However, while Mitchell’s ability to craft ingenious musical tapestries that focus on realism and the human condition became a major selling point regarding her wider artistry when it came to unwinding and having a good time, Mitchell seemed somewhat different.
Although the singer became renowned as a world-class poet, she didn’t always concern herself with serious topics, and often disregarded certain aspects of school in favour of artistic expression. In her own words: “I was anti-intellectual to the nth. Basically, I liked to dance and paint, and that was about it.” As a result of her interests, the songwriter learned very early on that she would rather be dancing than in the middle of an intellectual debate.
Although this was the case, few knew who she really was, even at the peak of fame. In fact, her skyrocket to widespread popularity supercharged her reputation as a serious musician and further eclipsed the less restrained aspects of her personality. Mitchell experienced this first-hand when she was out one night, and wanted nothing more than to just have a bit of fun.
“I’m a very analytical person, a somewhat introspective person; that’s the nature of the work I do,” Mitchell once explained to Cameron Crowe. However, she also said this represents “one side of the coin”, and most people don’t know that she is a “goodtimer” who rarely gets to party because most events in the music industry are organised so that people can “conduct business”.
One time, at a private club in Hollywood, however, in an attempt to have a good time, she realised more about those around her and their perception of her than anything she could have learned about herself. Surrounded by an “all-star cast” involving Linda Ronstadt, Jerry Brown, Bob Dylan, Lauren Hutton, Rod Stewart, and others, she noticed a “postage stamp of a dance floor” that “nobody was dancing” on. As a result, she experienced an epiphany: “These are all people who dance, in one way or another, in their acts.”
The issue was that Mitchell wanted to dance, but no one wanted to dance with her. “They were all incredibly shy,” she explained, confused by the fact that no one wanted to enjoy themselves. After a moment, it dawned on her why they felt the need to keep to themselves: she was the “introvert”, and everyone bought into her serious reputation.
A woman approached her and finally agreed to dance, but not before revealing something about Mitchell’s peers that would confirm her suspicion. “You know, they all think of you as this very sad person,” the girl said, according to Mitchell. She continued: “That was the first time that it occurred to me that even among my peer group, I had developed this reputation.”