Explore Quotes by Joni Mitchell

I'm a night owl.

In New York, the street adventures are incredible. There are a thousand stories in a single block. You see the stories in the people's faces. You hear the songs immediately. Here in Los Angeles, there are less characters because they're all inside automobiles.

Augustine, Anne Sexton and Sylvia Plath are confessional writers and all three make me sick. I have nothing in common with them.

The God of the Old Testament is the depiction of evil.

I know my generation - a lot of them, they're getting old now, and they want to think back fondly, they want to kid themselves. A lot of them think, 'Yeah, we were the best.' That's the kiss of death. That's non-growth. And also that's very bad for the world.

This is a nation that has lost the ability to be self-critical, and that makes a lie out of the freedoms.

In terms of fiction, I'd rather go out and have a good time than read a book about someone having a good or bad time.

I loved Debussy, Stravinsky, Chopin, Tchaikovsky, anything with romantic melodies, especially the nocturnes. Nietzsche was a hero, especially with 'Thus Spoke Zarathustra.' He gets a bad rap; he's very misunderstood. He's a maker of individuals, and he was a teacher of teachers.

My family could only afford to get me the box of eight Crayola crayons, but I craved the one with all 24 colours. I wanted magenta and turquoise and silver and gold.

It's in my stars to invent; I was born on Madame Curie's birthday. I have this need for originals, for innovation. That's why I like Charlie Parker.

Drag wasn't always counterculture.

I sing my sorrow, and I paint my joy.

People used to say nobody can sing my songs but me - they're too personal.

My life came down to being a granny and watching a lot of television.

But I have a tremendous will to live and a tremendous 'joie de vivre,' alternating with irritability.

Will you take me as I am? Strung out on another man...California, I'm comin' home.

people will tell you were they have gone, they'll tell you where to go, but until you get there for yourself you never really know.

We love our lovin'....but not like we love our freedom.

To enjoy my music, you need depth and emotionality.

I heard someone from the music business saying they are no longer looking for talent, they want people with a certain look and a willingness to cooperate. I thought, that's interesting, because I believe a total unwillingness to cooperate is what is necessary to be an artist — not for perverse reasons, but to protect your vision. The considerations of a corporation, especially now, have nothing to do with art or music. That's why I spend my time now painting.

I see bodies as individual things.