“The first three times I performed it in public, I burst into tears – because it brought back the intensity of the experience”: How Joni Mitchell wrote Woodstock – an era-defining song that spoke to a generation

Joni Mitchell.

It’s been hailed as a defining anthem for the late-’60s counterculture, a song that celebrates peace, hope, utopian ideals and a desire to “get ourselves back to the garden”. All set against the backdrop of anti-Vietnam War protests, political turmoil, race riots and deep social disaffection.

The song is Woodstock, written by Joni Mitchell.