Analysis of Joni Mitchell - River Essay - 1227 Words

Joni Mitchell - River Released in 1971 and produced by Reprise records, river is an intensely emotional contemporary folk song about heartbreak. Written solely by Joni Mitchell for her album ‘Blue’ the song is reminiscent of Christmas time although lyrically it has little relationship to Christmas. (Hopper, 2012) Instead of using a typical verse/chorus style this song is written using different sections – A/B/C etc. The line ‘I wish I had a river’ is the overlying focus point throughout the song and is used throughout. Employing an easily recognizable common time, the song although played at a slow to medium tempo sounds as though it is moving faster due to the ornate piano part. Using the key of C major allows a free flowing melody†¦show more content†¦This creates a beautiful blending of the two parts together and shows that this song was written to showcase the vocals. Throughout section A there is a consistent IV-I chord progression. These are aligned with each phrase and through the use of plagal cadence it makes each phrase seem resolved before moving onto the next. Section B follows a more erratic chord structure when the vocal melody is peaking on the vi-ii progression. This use of the minor second creates tension over two bars before eventually resolving to the C major. The plagal cadence (IV-I) followed by the vi chord is evidently a consistent theme used by Joni as we can then see in section C. Chord Chart: Section | Chord Progression | A1, A2 | |: Fmaj(c bass) / Cmaj / | Fmaj(c bass) / Cmaj / | Fmaj(c bass) / Cmaj / | F(c bass) / Cmaj / | Amin /// | //// | Gmaj /// | //// :|| | B1 | | Fmaj /// | Gmaj / Gsus / | Cmaj /// | Fmaj / Amin(F bass) / | Dmin /// | //// | Cmaj / Fmaj(c bass) / | //// | Fmaj7 /// | //// | | B2 | | Fmaj /// | Gmaj / Fmaj(g bass) / | Cmaj /// | Fmaj / Amin(F bass) / | Dmin / Emin(d bass) / | Dmin / Emin(d bass) / | //// | Dmin7 /// | Cmaj /// | Gmaj /// | Fmaj7(c bass)Show MoreRelatedThe Evolution Of The 1960s Protest Song1151 Words   |  5 Pages1960s â€Å"protest song† has typically been associated with Joni Mitchell, but the expanding range of protest songs in the 1970s defines her continued presence as a leader in terms of environmental activism. More than just a vestige of the late 1960s, Mitchell continued to write protest songs long after many other artists from the 1960s had changed their lyrical content. In the â€Å"mellow turn† of early 1970s country rock and folk music, Mitchell represented a new environmental shift that moved away fromRead MoreStephen P. Robbins Timothy A. Judge (2011) Organizational Behaviour 15th Edition New Jersey: Prentice Hall393164 Words   |  1573 Pagespage intentionally left blank Organizational Behavior EDITION 15 Stephen P. Robbins —San Diego State University Timothy A. Judge —University of Notre Dame i3iEi35Bj! Boston Columbus Indianapolis New York San Francisco Upper Saddle River Amsterdam Cape Town Dubai London Madrid Milan Munich Paris Montreal Toronto Delhi Mexico City Sao Paulo Sydney Hong Kong Seoul Singapore Taipei Tokyo Editorial Director: Sally Yagan Director of Editorial Services: Ashley Santora Acquisitions Editor: