Joni Mitchell’s Woodstock is really pretty melancholy when you think about it. There’s an element of hope but it’s wrapped in that refrain that we “have to get ourselves back to the garden.” I think she might have sensed that in many ways Woodstock was the beginning of the end of the dream.

By the way Joni didn’t go to Woodstock. Her manager talked her out of it because he thought she would miss her big break on the Dick Cavett Show on the Monday after Woodstock. Watching the even on TV inspired her to write her amazing song.

But the truth is the song can be interpreted in many ways. Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young’s version is upbeat and energetic. But Joni’s version is much more sombre (see video below) with a sense that maybe we were losing the Garden as the 60’s ended. But her later versions are even darker and more ominous. Maybe we all could submit versions that speak to our particular take on the festival and the times.

Here’s my version of Joni Mitchell’s Woodstock. Let me know what you think.

If you’re a musician why not create your own version and add it to the site. Maybe we’ll even have a contest and let folks choose their favorite.

By the way, here’s a video of Joni performing her song only a couple of weeks after Woodstock. It’s probably the first recorded version of the song.