“During the making of ‘Blue’, I was just so thin-skinned and delicate that if anybody looked at me, I’d burst in tears. I was so vulnerable, and I felt so naked in my work. (…) My individual psychological descend coincided, ironically, with my ascent into the public eye. They were putting me on a pedestal and I was wobbling. So, I took it upon myself that, since I was a public voice and was subject to this kind of weird worship, that they should know who they were worshiping.
I was demanding of myself a deeper and greater honesty; more and more revelation in my work, in order to give it back to the people, where it goes into their lives, and nourishes them, and changes their direction, and makes light bulbs go off in their head, and makes them feel. It isn’t vague. It strikes against the very nerves of their life, and in order to do that, you have to strike against the very nerves of your own.” – Joni Mitchell

album: Blue (1971)
artist: Joni Mitchell
writer: Joni Mitchell

• Joni Mitchell: acoustic piano (2,5,8,10) + Appalachian dulcimer (1,4,6,9) + acoustic guitar (3,7)
• James Taylor: acoustic guitar (1,6,9)
• Stephen Stills: double bass (4) + acoustic guitar (4)
• Sneaky Pete Kleinow: pedal steel guitar (6,7)
• (Russ Kunkel: drums + percussion)