"
Both Sides, Now" is a song by
Joni Mitchell, and one of her best-known songs. First recorded by
Judy Collins in 1967, it subsequently appeared on Mitchell's 1969 album
Clouds. She re-recorded the song in a lusher, orchestrated version for her 2000 album
Both Sides Now.
Mitchell wrote "Both Sides, Now" in March 1967, inspired by a passage in
Henderson the Rain King, a 1959 novel by
Saul Bellow.
- I was reading Saul Bellow's "Henderson the Rain King" on a plane and
early in the book Henderson the Rain King is also up in a plane. He's
on his way to Africa and he looks down and sees these clouds. I put down
the book, looked out the window and saw clouds too, and I immediately
started writing the song. I had no idea that the song would become as
popular as it did.[1][2]
Judy Collins recorded the first commercially released version of the song, shortly after Mitchell wrote it, for her 1967
Wildflowers
album. In October 1968 it was released as a single, reaching #8 on the
U.S. pop singles charts by December. In early 1969 it won a
Grammy Award for
Best Folk Performance.
[3] The record peaked at #3 on
Billboard's Easy Listening survey and "Both Sides, Now" has become one of Collins' signature songs.
Rolling Stone ranked "Both Sides, Now" #171 on its list of
The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
[4]
