First Day Of Christmas: "Both Sides Now" Joni Mitchel 1969

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his song was performed as part of the opening ceremony of the Vancouver Canada Winter Olympics in 2010. God has always fallen in love from up and down, with us human beings and most of all He entered the mystery that is human life. For it is the crowning glory of His own masterpiece. One of the most famous quotes attributed to St Irenaeus is “the glory of God is man fully alive.” He said this to asseverate that it is the vision of God which gives life.

God gives life, and He crowns His masterpiece with human life as its steward. For this reason God has accorded human beings with divine qualities and glory, which cannot be fully grasped just as God is beyond human grasp. But it does not mean we cannot see Him or understand what He is communicating. God reveals Himself in human mortal experience, in the clouds, in the rain, and in all of His creation for He is the author and source from which all life is born. Joni Mitchel's song is one of deep reverence towards life. Fast-track to point 2:01:00 of the following recording.

Explorer George Vancouver is quoted as saying "a lifetime is not enough to explore this country, a man is too small to fill its size, the poet hasn't been born to sing its song and the painter to picture it."

"I would walk to the end of the street and over the prairie with the clickety grasshoppers bunging in arcs ahead of me, and I could hear the hum and twang of wind in the great prairie harp of telephone wires. Standing there with the total thrust of prairie sun on my vulnerable head, I guess I learned—at a very young age—that I was mortal." WO Mitchell

You can watch at exactly 2:01:00 for the production number of Joni Mitchell's masterpiece.

Both Sides, Now
Joni Mitchell

Rows and floes of angel hair
And ice cream castles in the air
And feather canyons every where
I've looked at clouds that way

But now they only block the sun
They rain and snow on everyone
So many things I would have done
But clouds got in my way

I've looked at clouds from both sides now
From up and down and still somehow
It's cloud illusions I recall
I really don't know clouds at all

Moons and Junes and ferris wheels
The dizzy dancing way you feel
As every fairy tale comes real
I've looked at love that way

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

I've looked at love from both sides now
From give and take and still somehow
It's love's illusions I recall
I really don't know love at all

Tears and fears and feeling proud
To say, "I love you" right out loud
Dreams and schemes and circus crowds
I've looked at life that way

But now old friends are acting strange
They shake their heads, they say I've changed
Well something's lost, but something's gained
In living every day

I've looked at life from both sides now
From win and lose and still somehow
It's life's illusions I recall
I really don't know life at all

I've looked at life from both sides now
From up and down and still somehow
It's life's illusions I recall
I really don't know life at all

"I  don’t know if I’ve learned anything yet! I did learn how to have a happy home, but I consider myself fortunate in that regard because I could’ve rolled right by it. Everybody has a superficial side and a deep side, but this culture doesn’t place much value on depth—we don’t have shamans or soothsayers, and depth isn’t encouraged or understood. Surrounded by this shallow, glossy society we develop a shallow side, too, and we become attracted to fluff. That’s reflected in the fact that this culture sets up an addiction to romance based on insecurity—the uncertainty of whether or not you’re truly united with the object of your obsession is the rush people get hooked on. I’ve seen this pattern so much in myself and my friends and some people never get off that line.

But along with developing my superficial side, I always nurtured a deeper longing, so even when I was falling into the trap of that other kind of love, I was hip to what I was doing. I recently read an article in Esquire magazine called ‘The End of Sex,’ that said something that struck me as very true. It said: “If you want endless repetition, see a lot of different people. If you want infinite variety, stay with one.” What happens when you date is you run all your best moves and tell all your best stories—and in a way, that routine is a method for falling in love with yourself over and over.

You can’t do that with a longtime mate because he knows all that old material. With a long relationship, things die then are rekindled, and that shared process of rebirth deepens the love. It’s hard work, though, and a lot of people run at the first sign of trouble. You’re with this person, and suddenly you look like an asshole to them or they look like an asshole to you—it’s unpleasant, but if you can get through it you get closer and you learn a way of loving that’s different from the neurotic love enshrined in movies. It’s warmer and has more padding to it.”―Joni Mitchell