joni mitchell again

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Both Sides Now

Rows and flows of angel's hair
And icecream castles in the air
And feathered canyons everywhere
I've looked at clouds that way
But now they only block the sun
They rain and snow on everyone
So many things I would have done
But clouds got in my way.

I've looked at clouds from both sides now
From up and down, but still somehow
It's cloud illusions I recall
I really don't know clouds at all.

Moon and Junes and Ferris wheels
The dizzy dancing way you feel
As every fairy tale comes real
I've looked at love that way.
But now it's just another show
You leave them laughing when you go
And if you care, don't let them know
Don't give yourself away.

I've looked at love from both sides now
From give and take, but still somehow
It's love's illusions I recall
I really don't know love at all.

Tears and fears and feeling proud
To say "I love you" right out loud
Dreams and schemes and circus crowds
I've looked at life that way
But now old friends are acting strange
They shake their heads, they say I've changed
Well something's lost, but something's gained
In living every day.

I've looked at life from both sides now
From win and lose, but still somehow
It's life's illusions I recall
I really don't know life at all.


Who said pop songs cannot also be poetry?

If i had not found this commentary on the Wondering Minstrels site i would have written one myself:

'Both Sides Now' has everything -- a superbly executed rhyme pattern (don't miss the internal rhymes in the first, fourth and seventh stanzas that pick up the tempo of the song so effectively), a repeating structure that brings out the deeper allegories, some incredibly vivid phrases (what better description of a cloud bank than"feathered canyons everywhere"), a gorgeous refrain (to really know how gorgeous, listen to the song and feel the breath catch in your throat as the pause before "at all" stretches forever and ever) and an emotional range that goes from the almost joking (Moons and Junes and Ferris wheels) to the achingly lonesome ("if you care, don't let them know").

But most of all, this is a song that even read aloud has a voice all its own. It's the voice of a generation that grew up too quickly, the voice of cynicism, the voice of tiredness. But it is also the voice of hope - of the spirit's struggle to reclaim lost wonder, of an acceptance of one's own limitations that is both humility and joy. It is at once the voice of our defeat and the voice of our renewal.

- Assem Kaul
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