Joni Mitchell’s version was released with a comma in the title: Both Sides, Now. Judy Collins ommitted the comma: Both Sides Now. Most covers do as well.
Single:
Both Sides Now by Judy Collins entered the Australian singles chart* on 14 December 1968 and peaked at #37.
Albums:
Joni Mitchell’s original version of Both Sides, Now is on her 1969 album Clouds. She re-recorded the song with a lush, orchestrated arrangement for her 2000 album Both Sides Now.
Judy Collins’ version is on her 1967 album Wildflowers.
None of these albums charted in Australia.
Songwriter:
Joni Mitchell
Producers:
Joni Mitchell – Joni Mitchell, Paul A. Rothchild
Judy Collins – Mark Abramson
Record label of Judy Collins’ Australian single release:
Astor
*Kent Music Report / Australian Chart Book. See About.
Joni Mitchell – from the Clouds album:
Joni Mitchell – from the Both Sides Now album:
Judy Collins:
BONUS VIDEO BELOW – Joni Mitchell performing the song at the Newport Folk Festival in 2022
Wikipedia:
Both Sides, Now was written by Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell. One of the first recordings is by Judy Collins, whose version appeared in 1968. The next year it was included on Mitchell’s album Clouds and became one of her best-known songs. It has since been recorded by dozens of artists. Joni Mitchell re-recorded the song with an orchestral arrangement on her 2000 album Both Sides Now.
Read more: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Both_Sides,_Now
Songfacts:
The song is all about perspectives – clouds look very different depending on your vantage point. Mitchell got the idea when he was on a flight, reading the 1959 novel Henderson the Rain King by Saul Bellow. In the book, there’s a part where Henderson is on a plane and looks down to see the clouds. When she got to that section, Mitchell put the book down and looked out her window to do the same. Right away the song started coming to her.
Read more: www.songfacts.com/facts/joni-mitchell/both-sides-now
Lyrics:
Rows and flows of angel hair
And ice cream castles in the air
And feather canyons everywhere
I’ve looked at clouds that way
Click for full lyrics
The Joni Mitchell version is on our Spotify playlist Bang a Gong – the 60s
Find more songs to enjoy: Bang a Gong song finder
BONUS VIDEO
Joni Mitchell performing the song in 2022 at the Newport Folk Festival (Fort Adams State Park, Newport, Rhode Island)
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