Heresy Records Dublin Will Release Irish Version Of 'Both Sides Now' Celebrating Joni Mitchell's 76 Birthday

On Friday 24th January 2020 Dublin record label, Heresy Records (www.heresyrecords.com) will release a digital single version of Joni Mitchell's iconic song, Both Sides Now, in an Irish language translation sung by Caitríona O'Leary, accompanied on the recording by guitarist, Dick Farrelly.

Both Sides Now (Ón Dá Thaobh) was translated into Irish by the renowned Dublin-based poet, Gabriel Rosenstock. The song was first performed by Caitríona O'Leary and Dick Farrelly in May 2016 in a production - starring O'Leary - entitled Sweet Fire: The Joni Mitchell Project as part of IMRAM Irish Language Literature Festival and the International Dublin Literature Festival, Sweet Fire later toured throughout Ireland.

Both Sides Now is one of the best-known songs by Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell. First recorded by Judy Collins, it appeared on the U.S. singles chart during the fall of 1968. The next year it was included on Mitchell's album Clouds (which was named after a lyric from the song). It has since been recorded by dozens of artists, including Frank Sinatra, Willie Nelson, Gang of Youths, and Herbie Hancock. Mitchell herself re-recorded the song, with an orchestral arrangement, on her 2000 album Both Sides Now.

Mitchell is said to have written Both Sides Now in March 1967, inspired by a passage in Henderson the Rain King, a 1959 novel by Saul Bellow. The following quote by Mitchell describes her inspiration for writing the song.

"I was reading Saul Bellow's Henderson the Rain King on a plane and early in the book Henderson the Rain King is also up in a plane. He's on his way to Africa and he looks down and sees these clouds. I put down the book, looked out the window and saw clouds too, and I immediately started writing the song. I had no idea that the song would become as popular as it did."

Both Sides Now (Ón Dá Thaobh) marks Heresy Records' first recording released exclusively for digital streaming and download services. The song will be available on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon, Deezer and numerous other digital service providers.