“Both Sides, Now” is a song by Joni Mitchell. Her recording first appeared on the album Clouds, released in 1969. She re-recorded the song in a more lush, orchestrated version for the album of the same name, released in 2000.

It is one of Joni Mitchell’s best-known songs (along with “Big Yellow Taxi”, “Woodstock”, and “A Case of You”). It was written in March 1967, inspired by a passage in Henderson the Rain King by Saul Bellow.

I was reading Saul Bellow's "Henderson the Rain King" on a plane and early in the book Henderson the Rain King is also up in a plane. He's on his way to Africa and he looks down and sees these clouds. I put down the book, looked out the window and saw clouds too, and I immediately started writing the song. I had no idea that the song would become as popular as it did.[1][2]

Judy Collins made the first commercially released recording of the song, shortly after Mitchell wrote it, first including it on her 1967 Wildflowers album. In October 1968 she released it as a single. In December it reached #8 on the U.S. pop singles charts, and in early 1969 won a Grammy Award for Best Folk Performance.[3] The record peaked at #3 on Billboard’s Easy Listening survey and has become one of Collins' signature songs.

Fairport Convention recorded the song as a demo in 1967. The band’s recording did not become available until 2000, however, when it appeared on The Guv'nor Vol 4 by Ashley Hutchings. (A live recording featuring Judy Dyble from 1981 is included on Fairport’s Moat on the Ledge album.)

Both Joni Mitchell’s album Both Sides Now and a 2003 Mitchell re-recording of the song are featured in the 2003 movie Love Actually.

Rolling Stone ranked “Both Sides, Now” #171 on its list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.[4]

The song was published by Scholastic as a picture book, Both Sides Now, illustrated by Alan Baker, in 1992.[5]

A piano arrangement by Meredith White of the song was chosen as an examination piece in the 2011 & 2012 Piano Grade 3 Syllabus (List C, No. 3) by the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music,[6] in an effort to incorporate more beginner-level pieces that appeal to adults.[7]

The Judy Collins recording of the song was featured in the closing moments of the Season 6 finale of the American television series Mad Men, an episode titled “In Care Of,” which originally aired on AMC on June 23, 2013.[8]

Contents

1 Cover versions
1.1 1960s
1.2 1970s
1.3 1980s
1.4 1990s
1.5 2000s
1.6 2010s
2 References
3 External links

Cover versions
1960s

Judy Collins recorded the song in 1967, won the 1968 Grammy Award for the Best Folk Performance
Dave Van Ronk recorded the song on his 1967 album Dave Van Ronk and the Hudson Dusters, titling the song “Clouds”.
Anne Murray included the song on her 1968 debut album What About Me.
Bing Crosby sang two renditions of this song, one on the TV variety show The Hollywood Palace and the other on his 1968 album, Hey, Jude/Hey, Bing.
Catherine McKinnon (1968)
Claudine Longet released a French version of the song in September 1968 on her LP “Colours” for release in the United States.
Frank Sinatra recorded the song under the title “From Both Sides, Now” on his 1968 album Cycles.
Harpers Bizarre released a version in the fall of 1968 on its third album, Secret Life of Harpers Bizarre.
Leonard Nimoy (1968)
Marie Laforêt released a French version of the song with adapted lyrics by Eddy Marnay in 1968 under the title “Je n'ai rien appris”.
Robert Goulet (1968)
Christine Charbonneau recorded her own version of the song under the title “Je n'avais pas compris” released in Quebec in 1969 on Gamma Records.
Ed Bruce recorded a Country version on his 1969 album, Shades of Ed Bruce.
Davy Graham recorded a version on his 1969 album, Large as Life But Twice as Natural. His version included a long Middle Eastern-style introduction.
Dion recorded a version in 1969.
Jimmie Rodgers (1969)
Nana Mouskouri recorded “Je n'ai rien appris” on her album of 1969, Dans le soleil et dans le vent.
Neil Diamond (1969)
Oliver released a version on his 1969 album, Good Morning Starshine.[9]
Pete Seeger included the song on his 1969 LP of songs for children and elderly called Young vs. Old. Seeger added a more optimistic fourth verse to the song. The new lyrics are in Seeger’s book Where Have All the Flowers Gone in the chapter “New Words?”
Tirso Cruz III covered this song in his self-titled album “Tirso Cruz III”(1969).
The Johnstons (1969)

1970s

Andy Williams sings the song on his 1970 album, Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head.
Cilla Black recorded the song for her 1970 album Sweet Inspiration which was produced by George Martin.
Engelbert Humperdinck (1970)
Larry Santos recorded his pop version of the song for his 1970 album Mornin' Sun which was produced by Artie Fields.
Euson released the song as a single in 1970. His version made it to #7 on the Dutch Charts.[citation needed]
Glen Campbell (1970)
Willie Nelson included this song on his 1970 album, Both sides now.
Hugh Masekela recorded an instrumental version on his 1970 album Reconstruction.
Brazilian guitarist Bola Sete recorded an instrumental version on his 1971 album Workin' on a Groovy Thing.
Roger Whittaker recorded a version of the song for his 1971 album, New World in the Morning. He changed the title to “From Both Sides Now”.
The Tokens (1971)
Randy Scruggs performed an instrumental version of the song on Nitty Gritty Dirt Band’s 1972 album, Will the Circle Be Unbroken.
Pat Martino released a version on his 1974 album, Consciousness.

1980s

Paradox (夢劇院), a Hong Kong singing group, released a Cantonese version "The Color Theory of Relativity" (Chinese: 彩色相對論) in 1988 based on this song. They also recorded the same song in original lyrics. Both versions were released on their first two albums.

1990s

Michael Feinstein released a version of the song on the 1990 compilation, Rubáiyát, which celebrated the 40th anniversary of Elektra Records.
Clannad released a version as a duet with British singer Paul Young for the 1991 motion picture Switch. It was the only chart appearance for Clannad in the Canadian RPM 100 Singles Chart.
Hole released a version of the song on their 1991 debut album, Pretty on the Inside, under the title “Clouds”.
b-flower released a version of the song on their 1994 album, Clover Chronicles l.
Dianne Reeves released a version of the song on her 1994 album, Quiet After the Storm.
Parasites released a version of the song on their 1994 album, Pair.
Randy Scruggs performed an instrumental version of the song on his 1998 album, Crown of Jewels.
The Boomtang Boys (1999)
Sharon Cuneta released a version of the song on her 1999 album, When I Love, and it was released as the album’s lead-off single. The song was subsequently used as the theme for her 2001 movie, Magkapatid (Siblings).
Pat Martino released a version of the song with vocals by Cassandra Wilson on his 1997 album, All Sides Now.
On Sesame Street, Telly did a parody of the song called “Three Sides Now” as he sings about the shapes he loves, which are triangles.

2000s

Jason Falkner (2001)
Dengue Fever released a version of the song in Khmer and it appeared on the soundtrack of the 2002 movie City of Ghosts.
Dolly Parton released a version of the song on her 2005 album, Those Were the Days. Parton’s version featured vocals by Judy Collins.
Tori Amos (2005)[10]
Hayley Westenra released a version of the song on her 2005 album, Odyssey.
In 2006, Cathrine Hickland Lindsay from One Life to Live recorded it for an album titled One Life, Many Voices, which featured many stars from the program to raise money for Hurricane Katrina.
Doris Day originally recorded a version in a television special in 1971 and it was incorporated in the 2006 reissue of her album The Love Album.
Håkan Hellström released a version of the song in Swedish in 2006. His version is called “Båda Sidor, Nu”.
Michael Lington released a version of the song on his 2006 album, A Song for You.[11][12]
In the 2006 musical stage adaptation of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, the song is used in the Australian, New Zealand, and London productions, but was replaced in the Broadway production by Cyndi Lauper’s True Colors.
Herbie Hancock released a version of the song on his 2007 album, River: The Joni Letters. Hancock’s version of the song was nominated for a 2008 Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Jazz Solo. The album won the 2008 Grammy for Album of the Year.
Allison Moorer released a version of the song on her 2008 album, Mockingbird.
John Barrowman released a version of the song for his 2008 album, Music Music Music.
Linda Eder released a version of the song on her 2008 album The Other Side of Me.
Rie fu released a version of the song on her 2008 UK album, Who is Rie fu?
Tina Arena released a version of the song on her 2008 album, Songs of Love & Loss 2.
Lara Fabian released a version of the song on her 2009 album, Every Woman In Me.
Rachael Yamagata released a version of the song for her 2009 album, The Village, a tribute album honoring the folk music scene of New York’s Greenwich Village in the 1960s.
Ronan Keating released a version of the song on his 2009 tribute album to his late mother, Songs for My Mother.
The Swingle Singers released an a cappella version of the song on their 2009 album Ferris Wheels

2010s

Roch Voisine released a version of the song on his 2010 cover album Americana III: California.
Yamori (Ryoko Moriyama and Akiko Yano) released a version of the song on their 2010 album, Anata To Utaou.
The Idea of North (2011) released a version on their 2011 album Extraordinary Tale.[13]
Susan Boyle released a version of the song on her 2011 album, Someone To Watch Over Me.
Orla Fallon released a version of the song in her 2011 show My Land.
Carly Rae Jepsen released a version of the song on her 2012 EP, Curiosity.
In 2012 Collaborative project U.S. Elevator (Sarah Lee Guthrie & Johnny Irion and Rondo Brothers) did a beat folk version on single, A Valentine
Melanie C – recorded the song for her musical theatre-inspired album Stages (2012)
Idina Menzel – performed the song during a number of concerts on the second leg of her Barefoot at the Symphony tour (2012-2013)
In 2013, Cilla Kung recorded a version for the TVB drama Slow Boat Home.
Mary Fahl (former lead singer of October Project) released a version of the song as a single in September 2013
In 2013 Michael Ball recorded a version of the song for his album Both Sides Now.

References

Hilburn, Robert (December 8, 1996). “Both Sides, Later”. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2011-06-12.
Bellow, Saul (1985). Henderson the Rain King. Penguin Books. p. 280. ISBN 0-14-007269-1. “We are the first generation to see the clouds from both sides.”
“Wildflowers – Judy Collins : Awards”. Allmusic. Retrieved 23 June 2012.
“The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time: #171 Joni Mitchell, ‘Both Sides,Now’”. Retrieved 2012-06-16.
(ocm24629360)
“ABRSM Piano Syllabus 2011 & 2012”. Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music. Retrieved 8 July 2010.
“ABRSM piano final”. Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music. Retrieved 1 July 2010.
Stevenson, Seth. “Next season? Peggy in pantsuits, please”. Slate.com. Retrieved 25 June 2013.
Oliver, Good Morning Starshine Retrieved March 10, 2012.
“Tori Amos Song Summary”. Toriset.org. Retrieved 2012-01-04.
“Michael Lington – A Song for You”. SmoothViews.com.
“A Song for You overview”. Allmusic.com.
Arno Billard (July 13, 2011). “ARIA Award winners The Idea of North announce new album and national tour”. The AU Review. Retrieved 2011-09-17.