All inducted songs
"It moves me endlessly and is the perfect portrait of what it means to understand love when you are young and hopeful and naïve" – Nicole Nordeman
Both Sides Now
  • Year Inducted: 2007
  • Written In: 1967
Songwriters
Artists
Frank Sinatra
Anne Murray
Neil Diamond
Judy Collins
Willie Nelson
Paul Young and Clannad
Pete Seeger
Dizzy Gillespy
Both Sides Now, also known as Clouds, is a classic, recorded by countless artists looking to share a piece of Mitchell’s songwriting genius.

Written in 1967 and inspired by a passage from the book Henderson The Rain King by Saul Bellow, Both Sides Now was an international hit for Judy Collins, who recorded the song in 1968 and won a Grammy Award later the same year for ‘Best Female Folk Performance.’

With its soul-searching, Zen-like lyricism and gentle melody, Both Sides Now is a meditation on fantasy and reality, each verse being divided into both a naive and an experienced way of looking at clouds, love and life.

The song is about childhood’s end. It’s about shedding the fairytales of Disney and facing the world as a realist. It isn’t the voice of hope nor is it the voice of resignation. It is an attempt to find a way of conducting oneself in a world becoming increasingly violent and perverse.

Judy Collins has said, “Joni came down from Canada to add the poetic lustre of her songs to our musical lives. Joni’s songs are delicate and feminine and strong…like she is.” Collins told Mitchell, “You can break my heart anytime you like. Just open your mouth and sing.”

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Both Sides Now (by Joni Mitchell) - Performed by Measha Brueggergosman
"Both Sides Now", also known as "Clouds," was written and composed by Joni Mitchell. The song and Mitchell were inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame (CSHF) in 2007. "Both Sides Now" was performed by Canadian soprano, Measha Brueggergosman, at the 2007 CSHF Induction Ceremony.
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