But the highlight of the set was the song “Both Sides Now,” written by 23-year-old Mitchell in the same year he first played Newport in 1967. At the time, some critics ridiculed the presumptive wisdom of the lyrics: what could the 23-year-old girl probably know about both sides of her life? But over the years, it became clear that the song contained immeasurable depth that could only be heard in later interpretations.
When she was 57, Mitchell, backed by a 70-piece orchestra, re-recorded the lush version of “Both Sides Now” on her 2000 album of the same name. Her voice was deeper, graceful, gracefully tired. “It’s an illusion of life that I remember,” she sang at the end of the song, “I really don’t know life at all.”
That version was considered a tier jar car (and was used for this effect in the classic scene of the movie “Love Actually”), but again, as we get older, we find melancholy. Is easy. Aging inherently causes suffering, weakness, and loss — this is not news. Mitchell’s performance of the 2022 song was that it could also bring contingency, long-delayed satisfaction and joy. Mitchell, an expert reinterpreter of her own material, has infused some of her most famous lyrics with new meaning. “I was able to drink your case, and I’m still at my feet,” she sang with Carlile, Line is not only a challenge to her lover, but a survivor. I became proud of my life itself.
Some of the most encouraging things about Mitchell’s recent revival of pop culture, like the revival of Bush’s surprise charts, are that some underrated artists receive her glory while she’s still alive. Is to enable. (Wynonna Judd, who is still saddened by her mother Naomi’s death, also went on stage with Mitchell and cried openly throughout “The Light and Shadow of Youth.” Visualizing the cruel fate and the unique dichotomy of the song. They either grow older or simply obscure them and obliterate their influence, which thus felt like a quiet and radical act to honor Mitchell. Young artists have had the opportunity to give serious respect to their elders. A mature woman who has not yet finished reinterpreting the work of life has regained the stage.
When Mitchell wrote “Both Sides Now,” she seemed to shrug and sing, surrounded by an enthusiastic crowd of unborn friends, fellow musicians, and fans. I really don’t know life at all.. As if to say: you never know — something can happen. Even with this.
