"Little Green" By Joni Mitchell

Exploring the conflicting emotions of the characteristics of adoption, in the song “Little Green”, Joni Mitchell Utilizes realistic imagery, mellow tone, and significant symbolism in order to show the sacrifices she makes for her daughter and how hard it is to deal with the “sorrow” when putting a child up for adoption.

​The imagery Mitchell uses in the novel stands out to the listeners because of the reality being portrayed throughout the song. She uses real life references to explain the process she went through to put “Little Green” up for adoption. She compares “Little Green” to “the northern lights” and how green is like the color “when spring is born”. The imagery also describes the sacrifices being made when she “signs all the papers in the family name”. These kinds of situations happen in real life and can be very difficult to deal with. While listening to the song, it is easy to picture what Mitchell is going through. “Weary of lies you are sending home” describes how Mitchell feels when during the adoption process. She feels as though she is lying to her child since she is “a child with a child pretending”. She realizes that there will “sometimes be sorrow” but the sacrifice she made is worth it to her and “Little Green”.

​Mitchell sings her song “Little Green” with a mellow tone in order to set the mood of the listeners. The tone flows softly with the lyrics and creates a mellow feeling. Listening to the song helps the listeners feel how Mitchell felt when she dealt with the process of adoption. She uses a lot of description to portray the tone by comparing “Little Green” to “spring”. Spring is known as a mellow season to most people and it helps the listeners get into that bitter sweet feeling. “They’ll be crocuses to bring to school tomorrow” shows that spring is coming because those are the first flowers of spring. It seems as though her tone shows confusion but also confident because she becomes confused about what she is doing but at the same time she feels right about it.

The symbolism that is portrayed in Mitchell's song shows the significance of her life and "Little Green". Spring is a symbol of Little Green because everything turns green when spring comes. The "crocuses" symbolize spring itself because those are the first flowers of spring. These symbols tie together and represent how Little Green is brought into the world. The "papers in the family name" symbolize the adoption. The papers that "you sign" secure the adoption and make it complete. That is a big part of Mitchell's life; it changed her life for good. The "lies"she is "sending home" symbolize her guiltiness for the while situation. Although she feels guilty, she knows it's the right thing to do.

Mitchell's song "Little Green" represents how her life changes when she puts her baby up for adoption. The imagery that is used helps the listeners feel the way she feels. Her tone is mellow and helps set the mood for her listeners. The symbols she chose represent get whole life and her child. The process of the adoption is told through this song with the help of the devices Mitchell uses.