Even though she wrote some of the most beloved and critically acclaimed songs of all time, Joni Mitchell only had a few tunes that were successful on the charts. Technically, her biggest hit ever was “Help Me,” which went all the way to #1 on the Easy Listening chart and peaked at #7 on the Billboard Hot 100 in June 1974. But as far as Mitchell herself was concerned, the classic track was just a “throwaway” song.
The lyrics to the song, released as a single from the album Court and Spark, are from the point of view of someone who can’t help falling for someone (even though they know they probably shouldn’t get involved):
“Help me, I think I’m fallin’ in love again / When I get that crazy feelin’ I know I’m in trouble again / I’m in trouble ’cause you’re a rambler and a gambler / And a sweet talkin’ ladies man / And you love your lovin’ (lovin’) / Not like you love your freedom”
In a 1988 interview with Timothy White, Mitchell called “Help Me” a “throwaway song” (though she acknowledged it was a “good radio record”).
“My record companies always had a tendency to take my fastest songs on albums for singles, thinking they’d stand out because they did on the LPs. Meantime, I’d feel that the radio is crying for one of my ballads,” Mitchell said.
As the Grammy winner explained, she has “nothing to do with the choosing of tracks for singles.”
“Generally speaking, I don’t agree with the selections, and there are tracks that never get played on the radio that I regret won’t get that exposure,” she continued. “So I like the idea of well-received singles and am sorry when they don’t get a chance to happen.”
Mitchell thought “Car on the Hill” “would have been a good single.”
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“I wish that was circulating in the golden oldies department because it has a vitality today, it would work,” she said. “‘Troubled Child’ too, and ‘Just Like This Train,’ which I’d rather hear on the radio than ‘Raised on Robbery.'”
Even if “Help Me” wasn’t one of Mitchell’s favorite songs, it’s still considered one of her best. The track was ranked #404 on Rolling Stone‘s list of “500 Greatest Songs of All Time,” with the publication calling it “one of Mitchell’s sultriest vocals and most brocaded arrangements.”
Prince, a huge fan of Mitchell’s work, even paid tribute to “Help Me” in the lyrics of his own song, “Ballad of Dorothy Parker.” And over 50 years after it was released, “Help Me” is still a hit: At the time of this writing, it’s been streamed over 28 million times on Spotify alone.
Related: 1968 Career-Defining Classic Album Released 58 Years Ago Today
