"Little Green"

crocuses

           

           People need to make decisions in life, and some are harder than others. Many are life changing, and might not have worked out in the end. Some decisions are made that are terrifying and sad, but ultimately was the right decision; and this is exactly what Joni Mitchell went through. Moving from the characterization of the father to that of the mother in “Little Green,” Joni Mitchell portrays naturalistic imagery, melancholy tone, and uplifting personification to tell her daughter why she ended up where she is today, and that life can be enjoyable but “there’ll” also “be sorrow”.

            Illustrating fresh imagery, Mitchell shows the reader the insight of the troubles with the soon to be father leaving, “He went to California”, and Mitchell giving her daughter up, “you sign all the papers in the family name”, for adoption to happy and warm images about her daughter “Green”. Mitchell talks about the beginning of “little Green”, describing how the father was never there. He wasn’t there to see her face or to name her. He fled to “California” to get away from “the children who’ve made her”. He is getting away from the road block in his life. Mitchell writes him to tell him her daughters “eyes are blue”, and he reacts to this by showing no love towards his daughter or remorse for why he is in “California”.

            Mitchell pictures what life would be like with “Green”:

                        Like the color when the spring is born

There’ll be crocuses to bring to school tomorrow

Just a little green

Like the nights when the Northern lights perform

There’ll be icicles and birthday clothes

She thinks of the years to come, with her daughter picking flowers for school, the seasons such as winder, and her birthdays with clothes as presents. She talks about spring, the beginning of spring, which is beautiful and starting to take life like her daughter is. Mitchell portrays what life would be like with “Green” and she sets images of her with how beautiful she is. She shows the image of what she things her daughter is like through other images.

            Mitchell conveys a very depressing tone throughout the song to explain to her daughter why she did what she did, and although she is said about this event she is not “ashamed”. She uses a lullaby tune, which implies that the song was written for “Little Green”. It is serious, calming, and very melancholy. Mitchell talks about why she did what she did, “child with a child pretending”. She felt unfit to raise her daughter, and although she loved her, she was still just a child herself. She was wise and mature enough to decide to give her child up, but cannot help and look back on what could have been:

                        Just a little green

Like the color when the spring is born

There’ll be crocuses to bring to school tomorrow

Just a little green

Like the nights when the Northern lights perform

There’ll be icicles and birthday clothes

And sometimes there’ll be sorrow

She is singing to her, letting her know why things occurred the way they did; and although she is sorry she is “not ashamed”.

            Although “Little Green” is a serious and sorrowful song, Mitchell puts in uplifting personification about her daughter that has to do with things that are growing and beautiful. This contrasts to the tone of the song, but makes it successful because it shows two opposite feelings. When she is talking about her daughter she describes her as a beautiful and playful girl. She describes her daughter like when “spring is born,” which gives the reader a connotation that she is a breath of fresh air. Spring cannot be born because it is not a physical living thing, but “Little Green” is and that is how Mitchell feels about her daughter. She wants her daughter to “be a gypsy dancer” and live free and enjoy everything that comes her way; because as Mitchell knows, life can be unexpecting. She gives the “Northern lights” human characteristics to “perform” to show how she feels what her daughter does to her and everyone else.

            When an event comes one’s way that is much unexpected, people have to make choices on what to do. Mitchell made her choice, and she feels and knows that it was the right one. Through the imagery, tone, and personification the reader can understand and picture what Mitchell went through and can feel her sadness through her lyrics.