Music that means something – Day 5 – Joni Mitchell

Joni Mitchell wasn’t at Woodstock and neither was I. She missed it because of a TV appearance, I missed it by being born about a decade too late and on the wrong continent. But I remember vividly watching it on the news and realising, without understanding, that somehow, I was watching the world change.

Those changes were echoed in the charts. Dinner-suited crooners shared the airwaves with long hair, flowers and psychedelia. There is always a constant shift from past to present going on, but usually they slide into each other quietly… I wonder if there was ever a time when the contrast was so stark? It was, said the songs, because …

When the moon is in the Seventh House
And Jupiter aligns with Mars
Then peace will guide the planets
And love will steer the stars
This is the dawning of the age of Aquarius

I had to…