River - Joni Mitchell - MP3 instrumental karaoke

Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell defined the confessional folk song for an entire generation with her seminal 1971 album Blue. Defined by Joni Mitchell’s legendarily expressive voice, stark and direct lyrics about love and loss, and unadorned instrumental accompaniment, the album contains many songs that would go on to become standards; “River,” a sort of wistful Christmas song in its own way, is one of those iconic songs. Joni Mitchell’s lyrics observe the coming of the holiday season, with the protagonist lamenting a recent breakup, wishing to have a frozen river she could skate away on. “River” was written and produced by Joni Mitchell. Though the original version would only go on to chart in Scotland, the song gained much popularity over the following decades. It would go on to become the second most-covered song in the singer’s catalog (behind only “Both Sides Now”). It’s been performed by Barry Manilow, Ellie Goulding, Sarah McLachlan, the cast of Glee, and countless other performers.