The Last Time I Saw Richard
1971 song by Joni Mitchell
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"The Last Time I Saw Richard" is a song by Joni Mitchell from her 1971 album Blue. It is the last track on the album.
| "The Last Time I Saw Richard" | |
|---|---|
| Song by Joni Mitchell | |
| from the album Blue | |
| Released | 1971 |
| Recorded | 1971 |
| Genre | Folk |
| Length | 4:13 |
| Label | Reprise |
| Songwriter | Joni Mitchell |
| Producer | Joni Mitchell |
Contrary to rumours regarding the song being about Mitchell's first husband Charles Scott "Chuck" Mitchell, she has said it was inspired by a conversation with fellow folk singer Patrick Sky, in which he told her "Oh, Joni, you're a hopeless romantic. There's only one way for you to go. Hopeless cynicism."[1][2]
In October 2015 the song was included in "Joni Mitchell: 20 essential songs" by The Daily Telegraph which said "One of the two greatest songs on Blue and most enduring and beloved songs of Mitchell’s entire canon, "The Last Time I Saw Richard" is surely among the most poignant songs about romantic disillusionment ever written, in which a former lover’s fate is delineated with a devastating precision. "Richard got married to a figure skater/ And he bought her a dishwasher and a coffee percolator /And he drinks at home now most nights with the TV on /And all the house lights left up bright."[3]
