“If you see me in my music, I haven’t done my job, but if you see yourself, my job is done”: Brandi Carlile reveals the songwriting maxim that Joni Mitchell lives by

They say you should never meet your heroes, but singer-songwriter Brandi Carlile seems to be making it a habit to go one step further and actually work with them.

Most recently it was Elton John - the pair released their collaborative album, Who Believes In Angels?, earlier this year - but prior to that, Carlile played a key role in getting Joni Mitchell back on stage after a lengthy absence due to ill health.

It was Carlile who, several years ago, began organising the ‘Joni Jams’ at Mitchell’s house in Laurel Canyon, where musicians would meet up to play and sing. This eventually resulted in Mitchell’s live return at the Newport Folk Festival in 2022, where Carlile was by her side.

Further performances followed, and in a recent interview with The Times, Carlile reflected on how she came to have an even greater appreciation of Mitchell’s lyric-writing mastery once she’d started working with her.

Citing a line from Mitchell’s A Case of You, from 1971’s Blue album, as the one she wishes she’d written - “I’m frightened by the Devil and I’m drawn to those ones that ain’t afraid” - Carlile said: “I’ve been fortunate enough to sit beside Joni as she relearnt her own lyrics. Something about seeing them in written form makes them even more brilliant.”

Joni Mitchell – A Case of You (Live at the Newport Folk Festival 2022) [Official Video] - YouTube

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Carlile also revealed a songwriting maxim that Mitchell adheres to: “She once said, ‘If you see me in my music, I haven’t done my job, but if you see yourself, my job is done.’” she reports. “Joni has a knack for speaking the unspeakable and for making us all feel seen and uniquely understood.”

Elsewhere in the interview, Carlile also had some kind words for Elton John, naming his song Sixty Years On (“arranged by the great Paul Buckmaster”) as her favourite piece of music. “Utterly incomparable. Totally realised,” she said.

Asked which instrument she wishes she could play, meanwhile, Carlile said: “Lead guitar and slide. I wanna be Bonnie Raitt so bad.”