But now it's just another show, you leave em laughing when you go. And if you care, don't let them know, don't give yourself away.
Interpretation
The quote reflects on the performative nature of life and the importance of keeping one's true feelings concealed.
In this quote, Joni Mitchell captures the essence of life's performances, suggesting that even in moments of joy and laughter, there exists a deeper struggle or complexity that remains hidden. The idea of leaving an audience with laughter while concealing one's true self illustrates the duality of human experience, where personal authenticity often clashes with social expectations.
In practice
This quote can be shared during a speech about the importance of authenticity in the arts.
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.
Art is two things: a search for a road and a search for freedom.
People try to pigeonhole comics by saying they're just for kids. So is The Odyssey. So is the Labors of Hercules, the story of Fa Mulan. The advantage of those stories over the contemporary ones is that they've had 2,000 years of editing. All the crap has been weeded out over time.
What is the point of singing wonderful lyrics if the audience can't understand what is being said or heard?
I love that because that's what I'm supposed to be doing - whether it's accepted b everybody or not. I'm supposed to be pushing that envelope and trying new things. And people are supposed to say, Hov, you might have went too far.
The main rule of writing is that if you do it with enough assurance and confidence, youβre allowed to do whatever you like. (That may be a rule for life as well as for writing. But itβs definitely true for writing.) So write your story as it needs to be written. Write it honestly, and tell it as best you can. Iβm not sure that there are any other rules. Not ones that matter.
In my career as a director, there's always been some point where you get halfway through it, or three-quarters, and you go: 'What is this thing all about, and why am I telling the story? Does anybody really care about seeing this?' At that time you have to say: 'OK, forget that and just go ahead.'
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