Chelsea Morning

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"Chelsea Morning" is a 1969 Joni Mitchell single, which also appears on her album Clouds, from the same year. Perhaps more famous is the cover version by Judy Collins (also 1969). Neil Diamond also covered the song, as did the Sergio Mendes' group, Brasil '66, British folk-rock group Fairport Convention, and others. The song is also part of the the soundtrack for the movie After Hours.

"Chelsea Morning "was actually written before the release of her first album, but was not recorded by Mitchell until Clouds, partly because it had already been released by other artists.

The song was inspired by her room in Chelsea, New York City. The inspiration for the first verse comes partly from the distinct décor of her apartment. While in Philadelphia, Mitchell and friends had made a mobile from shards of coloured glass they had found in the street and wire coat hangers, which filtered the light coming into her room through the window and created the "rainbow on the wall". [1]

During coffeehouse performances of this song in the late 1960s, Mitchell explained that the famous stained glass was rescued from the salvaged windows of a demolished home for unwed mothers.

The lyrics of this song demonstrate Mitchell's talent with imagery, and her strong use of visual inspiration which come from her background in visual art. "The sun poured in like butterscotch and stuck to all my senses."

Bill and Hillary Clinton have stated that their daughter Chelsea is named for the Judy Collins version of the song.