The songwriting was almost like something I did while I was waiting for my daughter to come back.
Interpretation
The quote reflects the act of songwriting as a way to cope with waiting and longing, particularly connected to the speaker's daughter.
In this quote, Joni Mitchell describes songwriting as a meaningful activity that occupied her time during moments of anticipation for her daughter's return. It highlights the emotional connection between creativity and personal relationships, emphasizing how art can serve as a refuge and a means of expressing longing and familial bonds.
In practice
A mother sharing her experiences at a parenting workshop.
There's a man who's been out sailing In a decade full of dreams And he takes her to a schooner And he treats her like a queen Bearing beads from California With their amber stones and green He has called her from the harbor He has kissed her with his freedom He has heard her off to starboard In the breaking and the breathing Of the water weeds While she was busy being free
Unlike some of my peers, I haven't really hit a writer's block. When I hit a block I just paint, which is an old crop rotation trick.
This is a nation that has lost the ability to be self-critical, and that makes a lie out of the freedoms.
You wake up one day and suddenly realize that your youth is behind you, even though you're still young at heart.
I have an aversion to being mislabeled. Here's a label I'd accept: I'm an 'individual.' I'm someone who can't follow, and doesn't want to lead.
What I do is unusual: chordal movements that have never been used before, changing keys and modalities mid-song.
Everything I thought I'd hate about having children - the crying, the screaming - nothing fazes me. I love it all and it's relaxed me.
That's the nature of being a parent, Sabine has discovered. You'll love your children far more than you ever loved your parents, and -- in the recognition that your own children cannot fathom the depth of your love -- you come to understand the tragic, unrequited love of your own parents.
She had given birth to me and nursed me and brought me up. She had known me before I knew myself and now she had no say in the matter. Life started out one thing and then suddenly turned a corner and became something else.
My mother... she is beautiful, softened at the edges and tempered with a spine of steel. I want to grow old and be like her.
One thing I know for sure about raising children is that every single day a kid needs discipline.... But also every single day a kid needs a break.
There is a mighty power in a mother's hand. There's more power in a woman's hand than there is in a king's scepter. And there is a mighty power in a mother's kiss β inspiration, courage, hope, ambition, in a mother's kiss.
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