{"id":35140,"date":"2020-12-11T20:00:20","date_gmt":"2020-12-11T20:00:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/traklife.com\/featured\/why-we-should-all-be-listening-to-river-right-now\/"},"modified":"2020-12-11T20:00:20","modified_gmt":"2020-12-11T20:00:20","slug":"why-we-should-all-be-listening-to-river-right-now","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/traklife.com\/culture\/why-we-should-all-be-listening-to-river-right-now\/","title":{"rendered":"Why We Should All Be Listening to “River” Right Now"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row css_animation=”” row_type=”row” use_row_as_full_screen_section=”no” type=”full_width” angled_section=”no” text_align=”left” background_image_as_pattern=”without_pattern”][vc_column][vc_column_text]In the immortal words of Joni Mitchell<\/a>, \u201cIt\u2019s coming on Christmas, they\u2019re cutting down trees \/\/ they\u2019re putting up reindeer and singing songs of joy and peace,\u201d which means it\u2019s that time of year where I am constantly playing \u201cRiver.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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The song has been covered hundreds of times, by everyone from James Taylor<\/a> (who some speculate is the person Mitchell wrote the song about) to the cast of Glee<\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cRiver\u201d is the greatest \u201cChristmas\/not Christmas\u201d song in that category (although \u201cGod Only Knows<\/a>\u201d by the Beach Boys is a close second). \u201cChristmas\/not Christmas\u201d songs are just that: songs that aren\u2019t really about Christmas, but have somehow become integral to a holiday playlist. \u201cMy Favorite Things<\/a>\u201d from <\/span>The Sound of Music<\/span><\/i> is a good example of this phenomenon.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cRiver\u201d does have a certain yuletide air to it. The \u201cJingle Bells\u201d melody is worked into the intro piano part, and Mitchell does mention Christmas. However, \u201cRiver\u201d is a song about lost love and loneliness. It\u2019s about feeling regret about how you might have ended things, especially now that it\u2019s Christmas and you\u2019re feeling alone. It\u2019s also about culture shock: \u201cBut it don\u2019t snow here \/\/ it stays pretty green,\u201d Mitchell sings sadly, surely thinking about white Christmases in her native Canada.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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In addition to being part of the \u201cChristmas\/not Christmas\u201d set, \u201cRiver\u201d is also a sad Christmas song. Some people don\u2019t believe that holiday songs should be anything but cheerful, but I love a good emo Christmas song. Holidays aren\u2019t always fun for everyone, so it\u2019s nice to hear songs that let us know we\u2019re not alone in feeling that way.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Christmas is a time when we hang out with our loved ones. 2020 has made that difficult and sometimes impossible for many. After the year from hell, I\u2019m sure many of us agree with Joni: \u201cOh, I wish I had a river I could skate away on.\u201d Here\u2019s hoping next Christmas looks a little brighter.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Check out \u201cRiver\u201d here!<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row css_animation=”” row_type=”row” use_row_as_full_screen_section=”no” type=”full_width” angled_section=”no” text_align=”left” background_image_as_pattern=”without_pattern”][vc_column][vc_empty_space][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row css_animation=”” row_type=”row” use_row_as_full_screen_section=”no” type=”full_width” angled_section=”no” text_align=”left” background_image_as_pattern=”without_pattern”][vc_column][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n