Sunday Sounds: May 3, 2020, “Cactus Tree”
Samantha Colleran, May 2020
Over the past few days I’ve fallen down a Joni Mitchell hole, and it’s one I don’t plan on trying to find my way out of any time soon. One of the most incredible and under appreciated women of the late 60s and early 70s music scene, Joni has a discography on Spotify composed of 21 albums. I finished listening to every single one over the span of five days. I’m completely in love with everything about her sound and style of writing, so I figured she would be the perfect start to a new weekly series I call “Sunday Sounds,” where every Sunday I’ll share a song that I love with you, my lovely readers, and hopefully you will come to love and appreciate the songs as well.
This week, my song I want to share with you all is a song by Joni called “Cactus Tree”. From her first album titled Song to a Seagull (1968), Joni documents the story of a woman (assumed to be Joni, the self proclaimed “serial monogamist”) who is constantly torn between her strong desire to find love and the need for freedom, freedom always finding a way to become victorious in every case. The people she falls in love with throughout the song are not identified by name, but rather described as characters, such as “a man who had been out sailing”, “a man who sent a letter”, and many other lovers listed throughout the song. She doesn’t write about these loves through her own point of view, she instead focuses on the male perspective, viewing herself through their eyes.
The song is a folk acoustic number (typical Joni), with a few moments of layered vocals, most notably during the last two verses. She was inspired by Bob Dylan after seeing the movie Don’t Look Back, which she explained to a crowd in Philadelphia when introducing the newly penned song. “Her heart is full and hollow/ Like a cactus tree/ While she’s so busy being free,” Joni sings in the final verse of the song, telling her audience that although she means well when in these relationships, she simply cannot love them because she “fears that one will ask her/ For eternity,” signifying her desire for freedom. It’s an excellent song and one that I’m so glad to have discovered. Listen to the track below, and feel free to leave your own thoughts of the song in the comments!
Sammy, now I have to listen to Joni Mitchell. Made me urios.
Love your perspective of Joni although I have to admit I only know a couple of songs of hers you review has me intrigued to listen to more. Can’t wait until the next time I am making dinner or just relaxing so I can put on a block of songs to go through.
While I love Joni’s music, I must make an effort to investigate more. What a voice! Just love that….”busy being free”. Look forward to more Sunday Sounds and your interesting insights.
Enjoyed listening to this. Totally a lazy Sunday vibe. You hear so much about how influential Joni Mitchell was to music but oddly enough ,when I think about it, I really couldn’t name any of her songs, other than Big Yellow Taxi. Also, there was a Joni Mitchell song in a recent episode of This Is Us, that I know is popular but I can’t seem to remember the title. I guess that reinforces what you were saying in your post. I can totally identify her sound and style but don’t really know a lot f her songs or albums individually or by name. When you said she was under appreciated I didn’t really agree with you, I mean everyone knows Joni Mitchell right? I thought about it for a minute and realized that although I “know” her I couldn’t even name more than one of her songs and didn’t know one album name. This post has piqued my interest and I intend to add some Joni Mitchell to my next playlist!