"Little Green" Joni Mitchell song analysis

            Mothers have always had their children’s best interests at heart. Some mothers feel capable of giving their children the lives they deserve; however, other mothers believe that another family would be better suited to raise their child. Joni Mitchell was faced with this decision after the birth of her daughter. Mitchell believed that giving her baby girl up for adoption would give the child the best life possible. Living with the bittersweet decision to give her baby up for adoption in “Little Green,” Joni Mitchell uses chromatic imagery, multidimensional characterization, and seasonal personification in order to show that “sometimes there’ll be sorrow” for a young mother.

            Mitchell’s imagery focuses on nature. The colors found in nature depict hope, like “when the spring is born.”  Spring is a hopeful season, and “there’ll be crocuses” within the first few weeks of the season. Crocuses are one of the first flowers to bloom during spring, and “just a little green” sprouting from beneath the soil is a sign that beautiful things are to come. Beauty is what Mitchell hopes will be the life of her daughter, even though there is no denying the fact that “sometimes there’ll be sorrow.” Mitchell wants her daughter to be happy, and do whatever she wants, like being “a gypsy dancer.”

In “Little Green,” there are three characters that Mitchell focuses on: the father, the mother (herself), and the daughter (Mitchell’s baby). The father and Mitchell’s daughter could be considered “flat” characters. The father is characterized as uninterested, selfish, and a “non-conformer,” while Mitchell’s daughter is portrayed as innocent, pure, and a fledgling. Mitchell, the mother, is characterized more than her daughter and the father. She is sad and confused, while at the same time being hopeful and "unashamed.” Mitchell is conflicted with the decision to put her little green up for adoption because she loves her daughter and doesn’t want to lose her; however, she wants her daughter to have a happy life, so, in Mitchell’s mind, she had to let her go. Mitchell was quoted in 1998 saying that she “was dirt poor and that “an unhappy mother does not raise a happy child.” Mitchell said “it was difficult” to give her child up for adoption, but she “had to let her go.”

Mitchell’s seasonal impact also has an immense effect in the telling of the song. “When the Northern lights perform,” there is beauty within the sky; this is what Mitchell wants for her little green. Mitchell hopes that her daughter’s life will be wonderful, like “the color when spring is born.”  Mitchell hopes that her daughter will be strong, so “the winters cannot fade her.” Overall, Mitchell is wishing her daughter the best by utilizing personification.

Mitchell’s use of literary devices such as vibrant imagery, multidimensional characterization, and cyclical personification is used to send a message out to her daughter. Joni Mitchell made a sacrifice so that her baby could grow up happy. Deciding to give up a child to adoption or not is a hard decision, and Mitchell used these feelings in her song “Little Green” so that she could depict how hard this situation was on her, and to show that there is hope no matter what the outcome may be.