Mitchell, Joni - Song For Sharon Lyrics

'" what IAM feeling is always written on my face" Joni put the words and music for a whole generation,and the world will never see our like again! Thanku Joni,u r in our hearts forever!

Story telling at the highest level. The need for freedom and love in conflict in a young woman.

Sharon Habat. You loved this song. R.I.P. now who will i sit with my eyes closed with while i play the entire album with the summer breeze coming thru the windows? 😢

Joni’s music has been central to my life since I was 17 and first heard ‘Blue.’ We are both old now but the anguish of wanting, of waiting, of loving and those others we so so wanted to know will last for eternity in some form. The ache of longing and the beautiful expectation of love and fulfilment are still as strong in me as the day I first heard her tracks.

It couldn't have been easy wandering American roads in the '70s under a cloud of melancholy and not much access.

The quickest eight minutes and 45 seconds in all of music!

Basically she’s afraid of commitment

Because she's committed to her muse; her burdensome, yet, exquisite gift 💙

Still love this after all these years. Great song from a wonderfully cinematic journey of an album.

Beyond merely haunting.

lginpdx -
Another way of looking at it - Everybody *Talks about Bob* but they all *Listen to Joni!*

I've recently discovered Joni, i knew of her for a long time but i never listened to her music, this was the first album i heard and i fell in love with it, this song stood out, and it's become a new favorite of mine. Brilliant stuff

I listened to Hejira more than 40 years ago. Incredible album with Pastorius and many great musicians. Both sides now in 2000 was excellent. Vince Mendoza's arrangements strongly impressed me.

And the lady's voice is still great. https://youtu.be/tKQSlH-LLTQ

"Amelia"........♫ 747's over geometric farms ♫....WOW! I can relate to that living here in So. Central Kansas.

A Masterpiece of songwriting, guitar playing, arrangement (that bass!) and, of course, your inimitable brilliant vocal. I’ve been to Mandolin Brothers on Staten Island, too, Joni. See you there sometime.

Always Truth in Her Words, naive genius <3

Haunted with the memory of this record so many years ago laid out stoned so many times such nice memory the 70's

Jaco was born to play with Joni. Perfect soul mates in music. Wish they both were still making music together. I don't think Jaco ever added an extra note in his life...

I will have to double check but I don’t think Jaco is playing on this track!

Max Bennett is the bassist here.

If you don’t know these lyrics you should!

Joni the lyrical genius and still the queen! Bad to her natural bone!

My all time favorite.. the lyrics blow my mind! There’s a wide wide world of noble causes and lonely landscapes to discover but all I wanna do right now is find another lover! Yes!

Hejira closes a trilogy of consecutive studio albums (the other two being Court and Spark and Hissing of Summer Lawns) that, IMO, are the best three consecutive albums by any artist, ever. They are musically sophisticated and beautifully performed. And the lyrics -- astonishing, poetic, touching, authentic, revelatory, achingly honest, profoundly observant and, above all, sublimely poetic and literary. It's impossible for me to pick a favourite song from these albums, but my favourite moment has to be from Song for Sharon: she first sings, "When we were kids in Maidstone, Sharon, I went to every wedding in that little town/To see the tears and the kisses and the pretty lady in the white lace wedding gown". And then, a few lines later, she tell us that "Reggie" taught her that, in fact, "first you get the kisses and then you get the tears." That is playful poetry, playing with word order. It is also beautiful lyricism, beautifully constructed, and endlessly sad and forlorn. Such underappreciated talent. What gorgeous albums. Okay, I'll stop raving.

I revere women more than men

Chip you are correct. Is that Jaco (RIP) on bass?

No, sam Bennet playing on bass...excusez my approximative english!!

Max Bennett, not Sam Bennett.

"Love stimulated my illusions more than anything..."story of my life!

I lived on Staten Island and worked on Wall St when this album came out. Every morning chugging past Ms Liberty I would play this song on my walkman. This album is such a treasure to humanity.

Please tell me who is writing songs like this in 2019?
I'll answer that for you...no one.

I listened to this, and I spontaneously ovulated! And I'm a dude! This song is aural estrogen!

LOL Can you expand on that?

D$seeeddrrr

I love you underneath your cowgirl Jean's Joni. Happy birthday to the greatest xxx

Simply the greatest song ever written... Like an artist with a brush she paints pictures within our minds... Her words so profound so articulate, it's a total masterpiece.

18 bucks went up in smoke...

the woman who killed herself.....Jackson Browns wife

Had no idea, thanks.
I had read that Joni was romantically involved with him for a while, and apparently really hung up on him. He's a good song writer, but his plainative, middling delivery always bored me to tears, personally. Same with Graham Nash.
You just know that Joni, rightly so, KNEW that she was SO much better than both of them put together, LOL

Joni Mitchell ..... a really exceptional singer. ..... Greetings from Bolivia

Iacko Pastorious on Bass yes yes yes!

Max Bennett actually.

simply wonderful in every way!

call me wrong but mothers are the the most respected people. one of my favourite artists story songs

So much for feminism. Beautiful sentiments. End of genetic trace.
Ooops!

it is a short story. a novella. Dylan won the Nobel. Um...could he have written anything this illuminating? and musically? untouchable.

50 people with no taste in music 😑

48 deaf and stupid people

Hejira is a part of my DNA I think

One of the most beautiful songs ever written. The other ones came from Bobby Dylan and possibly Leonard Cohen. But Song for Sharon stole a march. Haunting and so powerful.

Melody and harmony to bring you back off the ledge

Her songs r musical paintings

Never heard this song from Joni before - my loss!! What a great tune.

I can't add anything more to what's already been said here other than class pure class.

Perfect

Song for Sharon went deep into me...the antithesis to Song to a Seagull... I have loved all your moods... the highs and the lows
... without judgement for 40 years. God bless you Joni ... for so much sincerity and beauty

This song has such a mystery to it, a haunting sound almost, as if the Past just jumped up in front of you.

How old was the genius when she penned this? Mid twenties. The girl lived didn't she? So much wisdom in one so young. Poetry of the highest order, a haunting tune, an angel's voice. Incredible.

In her 30's

I used to listen to this on my Walkman, flying a Bell 47 all over the Northern Territory of Australia, over thousands of square miles of empty wilderness, just me and Joni. It… was… incredible.

Grabs me by the throat. Makes my chest hurt. It’s like that. Joni - nobody else really compares.

Joni was a brilliant artist from the very start of her career. Hejira was her first opportunity to collaborate with a cast of equally celebrated musicians like Larry Carlton, Jaco Pastorius, and Tom Scott. Song for Sharon is just one exquisite example of Joni's exceptional talent and art. Hejira represents a ground breaking body of work from a groundbreaking, legendary artist.

Love it , absolutely . love it, listener for atleast 15 years...

This album marks the apex of her career imho, with Don Juan's Reckless Daughter very close. Very few has made such a transition in music as Joni Mitchell, from folk through popular to jazz and developed her own style of music and tuning. And like Miles Davis she keeps moving on exploring new ideas.

I went to Staten Island.
To buy myself a mandolin
And I saw the long white dress of love
On a storefront mannequin
Big boat chuggin' back with a belly full of cars,
All for something lacy
Some girl's going to see that dress
And crave that day like crazy

Little Indian kids on a bridge up in Canada
They can balance and they can climb
Like their fathers before them
They'll walk the girders of the Manhattan skyline
Shine your light on me Miss Liberty
Because as soon as this ferry boat docks
I'm headed to the church
To play Bingo
Fleece me with the gamblers' flocks

I can keep my cool at poker
But I'm a fool when love's at stake
Because I can't conceal emotion
What I'm feeling's always written on my face
There's a gypsy down on Bleecker Street
I went in to see her as a kind of joke
And she lit a candle for my love luck
And eighteen bucks went up in smoke

Sharon, I left my man
At a North Dakota junction
And I came out to the "Big Apple" here
To face the dream's malfunction
Love's a repetitious danger
You'd think I'd be accustomed to
Well, I do accept the changes
At least better than I used to do

A woman I knew just drowned herself
The well was deep and muddy
She was just shaking off futility
Or punishing somebody
My friends were calling up all day yesterday
All emotions and abstractions
It seems we all live so close to that line
And so far from satisfaction

Dora says, "Have children!"
Mama and Betsy say-"Find yourself a charity."
Help the needy and the crippled or put some time into Ecology."
Well, there's a wide wide world of noble causes
And lovely landscapes to discover
But all I really want right now
Is, find another lover

When we were kids in Maidstone, Sharon
I went to every wedding in that little town
To see the tears and the kisses
And the pretty lady in the white lace wedding gown
And walking home on the railroad tracks
Or swinging on the playground swing
Love stimulated my illusions
More than anything

And when I went skating after Golden Reggie
You know it was white lace I was chasing
Chasing dreams
Mama's nylons underneath my cowgirl jeans
He showed me first you get the kisses
And then you get the tears
But the ceremony of the bells and lace
Still veils this reckless fool here

Now there are 29 skaters on Wolmann rink
Circling in singles and in pairs
In this vigorous anonymity
A blank face at the window stares and stares and stares and stares
And the power of reason
And the flowers of deep feeling
Seem to serve me
Only to deceive me

Sharon you've got a husband
And a family and a farm
I've got the apple of temptation
And a diamond snake around my arm
But you still have your music
And I've still got my eyes on the land and the sky
You sing for your friends and your family
I'll walk green pastures by and by

Just read all the lyrics man unbelievable

I'm not a native speaker in english, I had to read the lyrics while listening. That was 40 years ago.

My favorite song, for the vocal arrangement, the subtle drumming of John Guerin, the rythm parts between verses, and of course this magnificent voice.

:-) Such a shame you recorded this at such a low level, so it's not playable with other tracks. Maybe you could redo it, but get your levels right please. Thanks.

one of my all time favorite song

The Road Mix playlist by the War on Drugs brought me here. So glad, as I now have a new artist to discover x

she s a very special person - one of those people who can make you re feeling in love while you listen - how many people can do that - there s a depth that is timele ss - and that s why she s loved so much - but what s frightening to me

Beckons a woman to follow her path .... a song for a woman of uniquity.. Melody which evokes one to listen intently...A masterpiece of music!!!!

Joni's masterpiece

"Big boat chugging back with a belly full of cars." Delicious lyric. Vivid. Rhythmic. Brilliant. Brilliant. Brilliant.

I never get tired of listening to this magic song. It reminds me of my boyhood when life was a wonderful game. Let me stop here or I'll shed rivers of tears...

For people who at very young age hit the road alone trying to find their way, themselves and their own home that song has a special meaning. Combined with the great melody, Joni's voice and Jac's bass this is one of the best songs I ever heard.

love this..

Loved this album growing up in mid-seventies.

Perfect example of how her songs can slip under your skin and just inhabit you. One is tempted to call Hejira her "masterpiece album" but then there are so many... It's not simply outrageous talent but a relentless commitment to excellence that has driven her career.

41 yrs later this is still one of my all time favorite vinyls. I can never get enough ofJoni's voice,the lyrics , chorus and endless instrumental. a classic for the ages.

And, yet you've kept up with the times enough to call an album "vinyl"! I had a turntable behind the counter of my natural food store in the 90's, in a college town, and the college students were like "You have a TURNTABLE', like it was a Model T Ford or something. I could only reply that I'm from the "album" era.

"And when I went skating after Golden Reggie, you know it was white lace I was chasin', chasin' dreeeeaams, mama's nylons underneath my cowgirl jeans" such badass song writing. Veiled, yet vivid and revealing

The only thing my father ever gave me was Joni Mitchell. Bittersweet, isn't it?

beautifully beautiful xxx

her voice is beautiful and sounds a lot like Ann Wilson from HEART.

Other way round, time-wise. Joni came first......

I bought "Hejira" when it came out, and listened to this song. Then a good friend of mine tried to commit suicide. Thinking of the lyrics, I played it over and over. To this day, I still adore this song. Thank you, Joni.

For you Prince 💜 💜 💜
I missing you 💜 💜 💜

How's she doing these days? Any information on her health and condition? Is it a big mystery? I'd like to know

Song for Sharon ,brilliant..still slays me after all these years

Cásate conmigo Joni!!!!!!!!!

Fantastic!!!!!! A masterpiece!!! Supports women who are unique! Beckons you to follow your own path. Kudos to Joni!!!!!

Bob Dylan won the Nobel Prize in literature 2016 I liked Joni so much better.

glxr955 cmc in now, Joni is a queen but bob is fucking God. His influence ? Joni would agree with me mate. Still, I listen to Sid g for Sharon as I write. I've been enamored in Hejira almost as loud no as I've been desire or blood on the tracks. But still.

I love them both. Could it be b/c he has a larger volume of popular work? Or, as someone commented, that she's a woman?

Joni is more prolific. I concur. I adore Bob but Joni is Joni.

Every time I listen to this song, I wish it were several verses longer, it's that good!

I'm a coyote hanging

On a bridge up in Canada

Me conecte con la divinidad!!

Bought the album back in 76 when it came out on vinyl and never stopped listening to it for the last 40 years - still sounds fresh today

I used to skate. And Joni in my mind...

Incredible music - haunting and beautiful.

That's what this ladies about total CLASS I bought this album in 1977 and loved it dearly

This whole album is stunning.Always elicits emotion from me.

heard this for the first time when I was 19 in Korea in 78.  Never gets old.  Never.

Genius - been part of my life for so long.

I love that she sang all of the beautiful backup vocals herself !!

Wow! I didn't know that

Neither did I.

Its actually marked on the album, she also used toller cranston for a pic on the album, the album opens with extra photo and info.

Most of her live performances she didn't have backup singers she didn't need them her voice was as good as it gets in the studio her harmonies she put on her vocals were out of this world

amazing, a songstress, chill, I can keep my cool at poker.

She's from my hometown of Maidstone, Saskatchewan. I adore her

@martin byrne Indeed, thanks. It's fortunate, I just have David Yaffe's book before me, what he writes there is pretty consistent. Still not mch to do with Maidstone...

@Hermanovitz This info comes from the comprehensive biography on her official website.

@martin byrne makes a lot of official biographies…

I think that is "You are from her home town", not the other way around. No offence... :)

Thumbs up
To all who comment

Thank you chni1's channel for sharing this 'Song For Sharon' Awesomeness. It is now further shared here: http://Earthpartynow.com at: tinyurl.com/Hiswindinoursails777 All welcome to His infinite love jubilee. Cheers, )

I've always considered this to be the quintessential Joni song to illustrate what her persona is about

Coyote shows another side

The most sophisticated Pop to come along in contemporary American music. An enormously talented singer / composer, Joni Mitchell is great listen ...even to this Jazz fan. I found her from those collaborations she made with the Jazz musicians that are my hero's, she's an original.

"Amelia"

This is a song that I never want to end when I hear it

True that.Joni is so brilliant.

every time I listen to this song I keep thinking one more verse Joni! one more verse!

Yep, it's a long song anyway but gorgeous

joni Mitchell you still got it

+laura martinez she never lost it - like a phoenix, she continues to rise...and now, she glides the open sky

People with her talent are one in a million - understand what she's saying and you're halfway there! :-)

One in seven billion knowone else l know or heard has done better than Joni know one comes anywhere near her the quality of her songwriting her singing her musicianship is as good as it gets

Wonderfully haunting

Say a prayer for Joni and all the wonderful gifts she gave us.

Love the groove. What a bass-players' song!