Canuck indie singer-songwriter Allison Crowe pays tribute to one of her great inspirations, Joni Mitchell, in this live performance of River ~ a song from Mitchell's timeless album, "Blue". The song appears on Allison Crowe's "Tidings" album. (Crowe also covers another "Blue" classic - "A Case of You" here on YouTube.)

http://music.allisoncrowe.com/track/river

"An intensely moving rendition of "River," one of my favorite holiday tunes. When the artist sings the crystalline, sorrowful line "I made my baby cry," you can almost feel the tears welling up inside." ~ Carol Swanson, ChristmasReviews & Professor of Law at Hamline University (USA)

"One of my favorites; there is a pinch of Shawn (Colvin) in Allison's voice, except imo Allison has more punch and emotional bite in her vocals. She makes singing this song seem easy, and anyone who's tried it will tell you it's not." ~ Bob Muller, Joni Mitchell Discussion List (USA)

"Allison Crowes solo piano version... may not sound so different from the original at first, but listen again and the subtleties stand out: Crowes majestic tonal read turns the song on its ear." ~ Cover Lay Down (USA)

"truly transcendent" ~ Joseph Blake, The Times Colonist (Canada)

River

Words & Music by Joni Mitchell
As performed by Allison Crowe

Its coming on Christmas
Theyre cutting down trees
Theyre putting up reindeer
And singing songs of joy and peace

I wish I had a river
I could skate away on
But it dont snow here
It stays pretty green
Im going to make a lot of money
Then Im going to quit this crazy scene

I wish I had a river
I could skate away on
I wish I had a river so long
I would teach my feet to fly

I wish I had a river
I could skate away on
I made my baby cry

He tried hard to help me
You know, he put me at ease
And he loved me so naughty
Made me weak in the knees
Oh I wish I had a river
I could skate away on

Im so hard to handle
Im selfish and Im sad
Now Ive gone and lost the best baby
That I ever had

I wish I had a river
I could skate away on
I wish I had a river so long
I would teach my feet to fly

I wish I had a river
I made my baby say goodbye

Its coming on Christmas
Theyre cutting down trees
Theyre putting up reindeer
And singing songs of joy and peace

I wish I had a river
I could skate away on

Audio engineer/producer: Larry Anschell. Filming directed and produced by Alex Postowoi. Cameras: Karen Duthie, Randy Rotheisler. Editor: Shirley Claydon. Interviewer: Steven Rosenberg.