Blue Christmas

This post is not about Elvis. I love Elvis and his Christmas album, but it's not about that. I have recently started to listen carefully and with new ears. I have always been a fan of the songs that frankly are easy to like-Both Sides Now, Circle Game, Big Yellow Taxi...you know, the hits. Then I hear the song River from the Blue album. River is frequently mentioned as a Christmas song as it borrows from Jingle Bells, but that's not my read of it. River is a compelling song that plays at the edges of Christmas as the time period of the real story going on here. All is set in time and place, but the song is a story of escape:
Oh I wish I had a river
I could skate away on
and
I'm going to make a lot of money 
Then I'm going to quit this crazy scene
The thought culminates in Mitchell declaring that:
I made my baby cry
There is so much pain in this song. So much regret. So much melancholy.
I haven't solved it yet (using Nick Hornby terminology) but I'm working on it.
I know that many people can empathize with the song's ending:
It's coming on Christmas
They're cutting down trees
They're putting up reindeer
And singing songs of joy and piece
I wish I had a river
I could skate away on
Again, it's time and place, but I suspect that many people feel this way at this time of year.
The song and the album are a high water mark for Joni Mitchell. It's old music relatively speaking. I'm glad I found it.