Joni Mitchell - Little Green Lyrics






Born with the moon in Cancer
Choose her a name she'll answer too
Call her green and the winters can not fade her
Call her green for the children who have made her
Little, green, be a gypsy dancer

He went to California
Hearing that everything's warmer there
So you write him a letter, say, "her eyes are blue"
He sends you a poem and she's lost to you
Little, green, he's a non-comformer

Just a little green
Like the color when the spring is born
There'll be crocuses to bring to school tomorrow
Just a little green
Like the night's when the Northern lights perform
There'll be icicles and birthday clothes
And sometimes there'll be sorrow

Child with a child pretending
Weary of lies you're sending home
So you sign all the papers in the family name
You're sad and you're sorry but you're not ashamed
Little green, have a happy ending

Just a little green
Like the color when the spring is born
There'll be crocuses to bring to school tomorrow
Just a little green
Like the night's when the Northern lights perform
There'll be icicles and birthday clothes
And sometimes there'll be sorrow





Other Lyrics by Artist

Rand Lyrics

Last Posts

Joni Mitchell Little Green Comments
  1. A.... G....

    Typical Joni loveliness

  2. d.... r....

    LOTTA GRREN
    THANK YOU
    LIGHT 💡 SHADE
    LIL CROOKED

  3. M.... G....

    My favorite Joni song.

  4. N.... J....

    I love this song so much but definitely starts the same way as circle game. :)

  5. A.... W....

    I refuse to cry...

  6. F.... D....

    Another beautiful song from the"Blue" album - "River" the perfect song to play during the Christmas season..
    Listen to how beautifully and perfectly Joni Mitchell wove the tune "Jingle Bells" into the Intro of this song on the piano, beautifully played by Joni Mitchell, and again at the end of this song, she plays "Jingle Bells" again, but uses more different subtle tunes of it.. It is amazing !!
    She plays the music of "Jingle Bells" to the words "" Jingle Bells,, Jingle Bells, Jingle All the Way""...
    And as only -ONLY- Joni Mitchell could do, she weaves in words about this Christmas season, and how she lost a loved one..
    Merry Christmas, Joni Mitchell, Happy New Year !!!

  7. S.... B....

    Thanks so much for putting this album up. 💟💙💗

  8. P.... R....

    Little Green had a happy ending. Here is a story of the 1997 reunion of mother and child. https://jonimitchell.com/library/view.cfm?id=82

  9. J.... R....

    "The Body Remembers When the World Broke Open" brought me here...and I'm glad it did, awesome song

    J.... R....

    Love the scene this was played in. It's so moving :(

    J.... R....

    I’m crying right now. I love this song and the movie was spectacular.

  10. M.... M....

    How our lives intertwine and as if marked by some destiny that is bound for a destination we seem like trains passing and brief windows of action pass by! We seem powerless to change out comes that are bound for other destinations! So it is with Joni as if I have known her in my childhood and we made snowmen together, encouraging each other with what new part to add to make him unique! In the summer ate watermelon on the back porch spitting seeds as far as we could laughing till we fell back! Her laughter is infectious and you don't want to stop listening to her carrying on about what she sees in clouds and water poodles in the rain!

  11. p.... ....

    I read that Joni sought her daughter out in later life and they reunited.

  12. l.... ....

    "Call her Green and the winters cannot change her" ... this line always brings me to tears.

  13. O.... G....

    Great song. Happy Birthday today(November 7) to Joni Mitchell. Cheers!

  14. m.... c....

    Im 71 now and I have been crying now for 40 plus years.

    m.... c....

    what happened Michael?

  15. P.... K....

    the best!!

  16. M.... ....

    Brandi Carlile said it perfectly when she performed this entire album to a full concert hall which included Elton John, Bernie Taupin, Kevin Bacon, and others. Though her intended audience was one person seated in the fourth row. Yes Brandi Carlile performed this album in its entirety in front of Mitchell herself. "I don’t think anybody ever tapped themselves on the shoulder and said, ‘Holy shit, we’re alive at the same time as Shakespeare!’ Right? I am not exaggerating when I say that Joni Mitchell will be remembered that way, and we should all pinch ourselves”
    https://variety.com/2019/music/news/brandi-carlile-tribute-concert-blue-joni-mitchell-disney-hall-1203371867/
    Edit: No cameras or smartphones were allowed in the show, so beyond a few official photos of Carlile onstage and Mitchell in the audience, there are likely no photos or video from the event.

  17. r.... s....

    Thank You Joni!

  18. A.... M....

    What is the 46 thumbs down for this is music perfection should have zero thumbs down

    A.... M....

    There are trolls all over the net that do this negative for fun. The 46 didn't listen,they just voted their way.

  19. P.... K....

    You gotta give them a name they will answer to

  20. L.... ....

    So moving, when you consider the back story. Lives are changed forever on moments...

  21. t.... ....

    This album always brings me to tears, in a good way...

  22. L.... S....

    I was not born in this country and I do not have all of her cultural references but I really enjoy listening to her voice and rhythmical ability

  23. M.... M....

    Born with the moon in Cancer
    Choose her a name she'll answer too
    Call her green and the winters can not fade her
    Call her green for the children who have made her little, green
    Be a gypsy dancer
    He went to California
    Hearing that everything's warmer there
    So you write him a letter, say, "her eyes are blue"
    He sends you a poem and she's lost to you
    Little, green, he's a non-comformer
    Just a little green
    Like the color when the spring is born
    There'll be crocuses to bring to school tomorrow
    Just a little green
    Like the night's when the Northern lights perform
    There'll be icicles and birthday clothes and sometimes
    There'll be sorrow
    Child with a child pretending
    Weary of lies you're sending home
    So you sign all the papers in the family name
    You're sad and you're sorry but you're not ashamed, little green
    Have a happy ending
    Just a little green
    Like the color when the spring is born
    There'll be crocuses to bring to school tomorrow
    Just a little green
    Like the night's when the Northern lights perform
    There'll be icicles and birthday clothes
    And sometimes there'll be sorrow
    Songwriters: Joni Mitchell
    Little Green lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Crazy Crow Music / Siquomb Music Publishing

  24. N.... D....

    Although I have listened to Joni Mitchell since I was 13 and I am 60 now, I only found out this morning, watching an interview on You Tube, that she gave her daughter the ultimate gift, a happy family life with adoptive parents. I have always loved this song, but today, it makes so much sense. What a beautiful gift this song is to her daughter.

  25. F.... E....

    Quel état de grâce!merci pour TOUTes ces pures merveilleuses chansons joni Mitchell 🙏❤

  26. k.... s....

    This women has owned my hart for so long
    If there was a god i would thank him
    But he wouldn’t measure up

  27. s.... s....

    First time I heard this song we were waiting for our eldest.....
    so many thoughts about relinquishment, choices, decisions..
    and love....
    the adoption circle.... ... never ending circle of love...
    embracing all... for always

  28. p.... ....

    I remember when kids would bring flowers from their yards in to give to the teacher, and crocuses were usually the first flowers up in the spring, only blooming for a week or so. And when the days grew warm enough to melt the snow, but the nights still dropped below freezing, icicles would form and we would throw snowballs to knock down, often to eat them like popsicles. These were magic, fleeting events to me as a child. They still are.
    When I hear this song all that comes back to me and I marvel at Joni's ability to capture such enormous things, both wonderous and poignant, and weave them through a beautiful melody with her lovely voice.

  29. E.... L....

    The power of this song is insane. What a blinding talent, it's like staring at the sun.

  30. R.... C....

    A masterpiece!!!!!

  31. M.... B....

    Nació con la Luna en Cáncer
    Elige un nombre al que ella pueda responder a
    Llamala verde y los inviernos no podran hacerla desaparecer
    Llámala verde para los niños que la han hecho
    Pequeña verde, se una bailarina gitana

    Él fue a California
    Al enterarse de que todo es más cálido allí
    Así que le escribiste una carta diciendo: "Sus ojos son azules"
    Él te envía un poema y ella te ha perdido
    Pequeña verde él es un inconformista

    Sólo un poco verde
    Como el color cuando la primavera ha nacido
    Habrá azafrán para llevar a la escuela mañana
    Sólo un poco de verde
    Al igual que las noches cuando las luces del norte aparecen
    Habrá carámbanos y ropa de cumpleaños
    Y a veces habrá dolor

    Niño con un niño fingiendo
    Cansado de las mentiras que envias a casa
    Así que firmas todos los papeles en nombre de la familia
    Estás triste y lo sientes pero no estás avergonzada
    Pequeña verde tiene un final feliz

    Sólo un poco de verde
    Como el color cuando la primavera ha nacido
    Habrá azafranes para llevar a la escuela mañana
    Sólo un poco de verde
    Al igual que las noches cuando las luces del norte aparecen
    Habrá carámbanos y ropa de cumpleaños
    Y a veces habrá dolor

  32. L.... A....

    There are so very few songs who express the loss of a child... I sometimes need them to channel my feelings. My story is different, but the sense of loss this song expresses I can identify with.

  33. L.... V....

    que lindo, que lindo 💓💓

  34. L.... K....

    What a beautiful song I am crying

  35. z.... ....

    It's like Mozart and Hammerstein had a baby and she grew up to write the greatest pop album of all time.

  36. D.... O....

    okay officially the saddest most likely to reduce you to tears song ever, sometimes there will be sorrow

  37. W.... s....

    I love Joni Mitchell Music

  38. B.... ....

    Emotions over-flowing........That's what good songs are for.......Thanks Joni

  39. n.... b....

    I just heard this on a old t.v. show. It was nice to hear again.It,s a chill giver isn,t it? I always liked some of Joanie,s stuff.

  40. E.... R....

    David Bowie said it best, "Poor little Greenie..."

  41. A.... H....

    Imagine finding out your mother is Joni Mitchell!😍

  42. C.... L....

    I was adopted, and only recently, through DNA testing, have learned the identity of my biological mother. To my dismay, she died just a couple of years ago, never knowing what happened to me nor will I ever get to meet her. From what I have learned about the way unwed mothers were treated in "maternity homes" back then (1960s), they were usually pretty horrible, impersonal, full of judgment and coercion to relinquish babies, and everybody pretended that their life would just pick right up again where it was 9 months earlier as if nothing as different--but most of these women say nothing was ever the same afterwards and they wondered about their baby every single day.

    Although I grew up in the 1970s, I never knew this song until I saw it mentioned in an article about Joni Mitchell today. Now I wonder whether my birthmother ever heard this and thought of me, but I'll never get to ask her :(

    C.... L....

    I'm so sorry you weren't able to meet your birth mother before she left for the sweet hereafter. I imagine going through that would be much like mourning any significant loss (family member, etc), this one causing you to have an ongoing feeling of unfinished business. I don't know if that's been your experience, I just wanted you to know I really feel for you. I left a response to someone above, who posted the lyrics, sharing that I looked up this song today and heard it for the first time because of an article I read in The Atlantic. Strangely, it's about abortion and politics, but the author made a mysterious reference to 'Little Green' so I had to check it out and I'm glad I did.

    Take care of yourself.

    C.... L....

    My heart pours out for you ... I hope you are ok emotionally-

    C.... L....

    I wonder too. I was born in 1971 i hope she listened to this and maybe cried for me a little like i have cried for her. I was raised with a wonderful family. I just always wanted her to know that i always loved her. Peace and love to you. Thank you for sharing your comment. You are not alone with your feelings.

    C.... L....

    Charles Latner - I know this is 2 years later, but I wanted to tell you that you will indeed meet your dear Mother and Father again when you eventually cross over to the Spirit World.. They are there, they have the same memories, feelings, everything, they had when they lived on this earth as you, and you will have the most beautiful experience and so many more there..
    Our Father in Heaven and His Son, Jesus the Christ, would not have so, any other way..
    My prayers of Faith are there for you and your family.

  43. B.... ....

    Hat off

  44. S.... S....

    My grandmother and my mother have sang this to me since I was born.
    And everytime I hear this song now, I cry.
    My mother and her mother are sick.
    I now singing this to my daughter and my son, to pass it on to them. And my daughter has green eyes, and we call her greenie .

  45. L.... K....

    I was adopted as a child so were all my siblings. My mamma couldn't have kids of her own, but she has the four of us now. This song really hits home for me. Because for us at least, it really was a happy ending. ❤️

    L.... K....

    We were a family of adoptees and foster children also. Our parents were selfless. Grateful evermore

    L.... K....

    Great story.😍

    L.... K....

    Your family out of love...your mom sounds very loving.

  46. E.... L....

    I've had this album for over two decades but it fell into neglect here in my house. Then Gideon Coe of BBC6 played this a few days ago and I can't stop thinking about it, the lyrics. There are precious few better things to have stuck in one's head.

  47. S.... C....

    my song to my sister. miss her.

  48. S.... J....

    You very seldom feel that the singer is really feeling the very contents of her lyrics, but here it`s true feelings. (And when we know the story about the song, we understand the intensity....)

  49. M.... B....

    11/02/2017,show!!

  50. A.... S....

    I feel like River is also about her daughter too "now i've gone and lost the best baby, that I ever had." Blue is one big story.

    A.... S....

    Ashley it most certainly is one big thing; and I'm just a tad extatic that you're on to the best record ever made. Absorb and move us all.  You will never tire of pointing out the significance and magnificence of Blue. Cruxade and enjoy your ability to inform.

    A.... S....

    Ashley Smith I kind of think perhaps it could be about James Taylor. I guess only she knows.

  51. A.... ....

    goosebumps...

  52. T.... K....

    My daughter came close to dying a couple of years ago, and it's still so painful to hear this song. Yet it's so beautiful that it gives me comfort. Thank God my girl is OK now. She is going to have a happy ending...

  53. J.... ....

    Keerisst! God knowz what was goin on in her life!! Mine hung on her evry word.....
    Joni taught me to sing....about life then let it all gooooooo.......thanx, Joni! ♥

  54. M.... N....

    Is it true she wrote this about the daughter that she gave up for adoption at birth?

    M.... N....

    yes, that is what this song is about

    M.... N....

    Of course it is, women didn't have any options at this time.

    M.... N....

    @patricia shearouse At least she didn't kill it.

  55. k.... ....

    She really knows how to spill her guts. I wish her the best with her health battles. We all were fortunate to have had her around.

  56. D.... O....

    Surely one of the saddest and most beautiful songs ever written

  57. s.... ....

    Inimitable.

  58. L.... M....

    Born with the moon in Cancer
    Choose her a name she will answer to
    Call her green and the winters cannot fade her
    Call her green for the children who've made her
    Little green, be a gypsy dancer

    He went to California
    Hearing that everything's warmer there
    So you write him a letter and say "Her eyes are blue"
    He sends you a poem and she's lost to you
    Little green he's a non-conformer

    Just a little green
    Like the color when the spring is born
    There'll be crocuses to bring to school tomorrow
    Just a little green
    Like the nights when the Northern lights perform
    There'll be icicles and birthday clothes
    And sometimes there'll be sorrow

    Child with a child pretending
    Weary of lies you are sending home
    So you sign all the papers in the family name
    You're sad and you're sorry but you're not ashamed
    Little green have a happy ending

    Just a little green
    Like the color when the spring is born
    There'll be crocuses to bring to school tomorrow
    Just a little green
    Like the nights when the Northern lights perform
    There'll be icicles and birthday clothes
    And sometimes there'll be sorrow

    © 1970; Joni Mitchell

  59. H.... W....

    Guillermo, I thought I was the only one to cry to this :-).
    this is the deepest of all her songs

    H.... W....

    Little Green. This was to Joni's child, she gave away.

  60. M.... ....

    utterly and breathtakingly beautiful

  61. R.... m....

    Also born with the Moon in Cancer , love this track and album since I first heard it at age 18. That is now 30 circles back in the circle game.

  62. r.... c....

    this drive me to tears, i cant help it, I have a little daughter and cant imagine a world without her

  63. R.... ....

    "Little Green" from the album Blue

    Born with the moon in Cancer
    Choose her a name she'll answer to
    Call her green and the winters can not fade her
    Call her green for the children who have made her
    Little, green, be a gypsy dancer

    He went to California
    Hearing that everything's warmer there
    So you write him a letter, say, "her eyes are blue"
    He sends you a poem and she's lost to you
    Little, green, he's a non-comformer

    Just a little green
    Like the color when the spring is born
    There'll be crocuses to bring to school tomorrow
    Just a little green
    Like the night's when the Northern lights perform
    There'll be icicles and birthday clothes
    And sometimes there'll be sorrow

    Child with a child pretending
    Weary of lies you're sending home
    So you sign all the papers in the family name
    You're sad and you're sorry but you're not ashamed
    Little green, have a happy ending

    Just a little green
    Like the color when the spring is born
    There'll be crocuses to bring to school tomorrow
    Just a little green
    Like the night's when the Northern lights perform
    There'll be icicles and birthday clothes
    And sometimes there'll be sorrow

    R.... ....

    ........like the colors when the Spring is born......
    sometimes ther'll be sorrow.

    R.... ....

    RichardFeynmanRules Thank you for taking the time to provide the lyrics. I've never listened to or even heard about this song prior to 5 minutes ago when I read an article in The Atlantic, wherein I found a cryptic reference to 'Little Green'. After reading the lyrics you posted, the author's point is now clear.

    R.... ....

    I lived my young flower child anti-establishment days to Ladies of the Canyon
    carried my first child in the tumultuous Nixon days Marching for our boys to return home from Vietnam claiming my children will not embrace capitalism and the soundtrack of my life was Blue
    it went so fast. didn't it?
    I am in the golden years of life with another scandalous president
    My children are grown in high paying jobs, my Green is called Devon and working for Apple bringing Apps to our cellphones-actually our leashes at a ridiculous pace
    yet she still has that something something as she tries to be generous the lesser indulged and travels 3rd world countries bringing technology to young people molding a much different future choosing career over motherhood and financial freedom over quiet solitude and the liquid gold of the canyon ladies as they gathered for the circle game that is no more

  64. m.... f....

    I was such a Joni Mitchell fan at the age of 16, when I began my musical career, and named my daughter Shalimar Green some years later.

    m.... f....

    mi fasola .oh my gosh, beautiful name.

  65. D.... S....

    this beautiful song is dedicated to my special and wonderful on-line friend Ildiko. i hope you read this dedication Ildiko because you are my little green with those beautiful eyes of yours.

  66. M.... S....

    this song is definitely my favorite pooper song. every time i sit at my good ole oval office, i slap my batman earbuds in and really get down on this song. makes every dump that much more soothing and relaxing. truly an inspiration for me butt butters.

    M.... S....

    +Mike Sparks this isn't even funny. Just obscene

    M.... S....

    Your parents really ought to monitor your computer time more closely. You're not old enough to listen to this song. Just sayin', spanky.

  67. R.... R....

    Attempting to play this on guitar but i cant get the fingerpicking/strumming to sound good are there any musicians out there
    with any idea on how i could improve this?

    R.... R....

    https://tabs.ultimate-guitar.com/tab/joni_mitchell/little_green_tabs_76724 there is a very decent tab for it. just listen to the song and work on it with a metronome. it should all be fingerpicked.

    R.... R....

    Actually its played in an inverted "G" tuning. DGDGBD

    R.... R....

    https://youtu.be/zyDW7lslN5Y

    R.... R....

    I play it in open G, DGDGBD.

    R.... R....

    Yes G tuning with the Capo on the Fourth fret. There is a spot on power tab to it that's on the Ultimate Guitar site

  68. G.... P....

    Lately I've been teaching English to my mother, and I usually pick a song and have her translate each verse while I explain the new vocabulary and verbal tenses. This was the latest song we attempted, and beforehand I told her it was about Joni giving up her baby for adoption. When we reached "have a happy ending" she was sobbing. And so did I.

    G.... P....

    That's incredibly sweet.

    G.... P....

    i sing this all the time with my dad - so emotional

    G.... P....

    What a lovely way to teach and a great song to choose.

    G.... P....

    you should do the same with Joni's song Midway.

    G.... P....

    Well...you are teaching from the heart! Cheers

  69. M.... M....

    This song is one of the most sensitive heartbreaking songs I had ever heard. Joni writes with no masks, not holding back. She carefully unveils such a tragic tale without being too sentimental. Every note and every word here are true. This whole record is one of the finest records ever made.

    M.... M....

    its wonderful.

    M.... M....

    Agree :)

    M.... M....

    Dont expect her to appreciate your heartfelt, delicate reply. Every song is a one off. Sad but true.

  70. R.... Y....

    Beautiful beyond words... ~.~

    R.... Y....

    Beautiful beyond words, sort of like you Rose Yoder! lol Do you really know what this song is about? Please EM me for the surprising answer at [email protected] I checked out your playlist. Interesting. Aside from some stuff that's not my cup of tea, i.e., like Cake I rather have it on my plate in my mouth rather than in my ears, lol I was nonetheless intrigued by your eclectic playlist featuring rather unconventional music choices like for instance the song by Traffic about the wind and so on. Have a Wonderful day/night and keep the Love shining from your heart in circulation. Peace to you!

  71. T.... K....

    Have a happy ending...

  72. J.... L....

    Saudades beach times

  73. F.... C....

    Um milagre.

  74. D.... E....

    Kind of amazing to imagine your mother writing this for you.

  75. F.... M....

    great voice happy birthday good luck

  76. H.... ....

    it tears you in half

  77. H.... ....

    I bought the CD but the computer can't play it because of copy protections :( . So took the list of songs on 'Blue' album and started searching for them on Youtube. Record companies are killing their own sales. Will return the CD to the store tomorrow .

  78. s.... ....

    There'll be icicles, and Sunday clothes, and sometimes there'll be sorrow.....................

  79. A.... S....

    This is one of the most beautiful things i've ever heard

  80. s.... ....

    For Killauren.

  81. A.... M....

    Linda canção , da-lhe Joni.