Help Me (Joni Mitchell song)
| "Help Me" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Jazz pop[1] | ||||
| Length | 3:22 | |||
| Label | Asylum | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Joni Mitchell | |||
| Producer(s) | Joni Mitchell | |||
| Joni Mitchell singles chronology | ||||
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| Official Audio | ||||
| "Help Me" on YouTube | ||||
"Help Me" is a love song written, produced, and performed by Joni Mitchell and released on her 1974 album Court and Spark. The song was recorded with jazz band Tom Scott's L.A. Express as the backing band.[2]
"Help Me" was Mitchell's biggest hit single, her only Top 10 hit. It peaked at #7 in June 1974 on the
Lyrics and music
Billboard described the lyrics as Mitchell singing of "needing help to feel good."[5]
In the lyrics, the singer makes a plea for help that, in later lines, seems a bit of a dichotomy. She knows she's falling in love with "a rambler and a gambler and a sweet-talking ladies' man." But apparently, she has no intention to break things off, even though the last line of each chorus cynically says "We love our loving, but not like we love our freedom." This can be applied to both the singer and her object of affection, a reflection on 1970s outlooks on the challenges of a relationship without boundaries.
Personnel
Source:[6]
- Joni Mitchell – vocals, acoustic guitar, piano; producer
- reeds
- Joe Sample – electric piano
- Larry Carlton – electric guitar
- Max Bennett – bass guitar
- John Guerin – drums, percussion
- Henry Lewy and Ellis Sorkin – engineers
Critical reception
The song is ranked #288 on
Covers
Artists who have recorded cover versions of the song include:
- Wynonna (on the 2000 album New Day Dawning)
- Mandy Moore (on her 2003 covers album Coverage)
- Karrin Allyson on her 2004 album Wild For You.[8]
- Divine Brown (on her 2005 self-titled album)
- tribute album A Tribute to Joni Mitchell)
- Katharine McPhee (on the iTunes deluxe edition of her 2010 album Unbroken)
- Will Young (recorded live in London as the B-side to his 2009 single Let It Go)
- Judy Kuhn (on her 2013 album All This Happiness)
- Chaka Khan (on the 2019 live tribute album Joni 75: A Birthday Celebration)
In popular culture
The
In the show
Charts
Weekly charts
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Year-end charts
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See also
- List of number-one adult contemporary singles of 1974 (U.S.)
References
- ISBN 0-7432-0169-8. Archived from the originalon July 31, 2011.
- ^ "Help Me by Joni Mitchell Songfacts". Songfacts.com. Retrieved 2016-10-09.
- ^ a b Whitburn, Joel (2002). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961-2001. Record Research. p. 172.
- ^ "'The Ballad of Dorothy Parker': The Prince song that references Joni Mitchell". faroutmagazine.co.uk. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
- ^ "Top Single Picks" (PDF). Billboard. March 2, 1974. p. 60. Retrieved 2020-07-22.
- ^ "Joni Mitchell - Court and Spark". jonimitchell.com. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
- ^ "The RS 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". RollingStone.com. Archived from the original on November 27, 2009. Retrieved 2008-09-16.
- ^ "Karrin Allyson thinks jazz singing deserves attention".
- ISBN 0-89820-089-X
- ^ "Cash Box Top 100 6/15/74". Tropicalglen.com. 1974-06-15. Archived from the original on 2016-10-03. Retrieved 2016-10-09.
- ^ "Image : RPM Weekly - Library and Archives Canada". Bac-lac.gc.ca. 17 July 2013. Retrieved 2016-10-09.
- ^ "Top 100 Hits of 1974/Top 100 Songs of 1974". Musicoutfitters.com. Retrieved 2016-10-09.
- ^ "Cash Box YE Pop Singles - 1974". Tropicalglen.com. 1974-12-28. Archived from the original on 2019-07-22. Retrieved 2016-10-09.
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