The visionary Joni Mitchell was born on November 7, 1943 in Alberta, Canada. She is one of the most original and intellectually gifted songwriters of the twentieth century, and today is her 83rd birthday. Her background as a painter profoundly influenced her songwriting. Her lyrics often resemble impressionistic paintings: vivid images, shifting perspectives and emotional ambiguity. Mitchell was not simply a folk singer, she became increasingly interested in jazz harmony and complex musical structures. Her recovery after a brain aneurysm that severely affected her ability to walk, speak and play guitar was remarkable. "I've looked at life from both sides now." "I see music as fluid architecture." "Don't it always seem to go that you don't know what you've got till it's gone."