Joni Mitchell needs no introduction to Americana fans - or indeed fans of the greatest songwriters of the last 60 years. She has over 250 recorded songs, 19 studio albums, and some 50 albums in total including live albums, compilations and archive recordings. One measure of a song's resonance is the number of known recordings - and my choice for this feature is 'The Circle Game', according to Mitchell's own website covered 332 times, ranking it sixth of the 173 Mitchell songs known to be covered, with perhaps unsurprisingly "Both Sides Now" at the top (covered 1796 times).

My own personal introduction to the song was through one of these covers - Tom Rush recorded the song in 1968, for his album of the same name. Mitchell composed the song in 1966, and apparently performed it at a Detroit nightclub where Rush was appearing. Mitchell and her songs made a strong impression on Rush, and 'The Circle Game' was one of three songs to feature on his album, the others being 'Urge For Going', and 'Tin Angel'.

By the time Rush's album appeared in 1968, the song had already been released by Ian and Sylvia in 1967, and Buffy Sainte-Marie the same year. It was not until 1970 that Mitchell recorded the song herself, appearing on her "Ladies of the Canyon" album.

'The Circle Game' is a beautiful example of the great maturity evident in Mitchell's writing from her early era. Taking a fairground carousel ride as a metaphor for the passage of life, her lyrics are a touching reflection of how, as youngsters, we all wish to be older, and experience those thrills and joys tantalisingly out of reach, only to find "Take your time it won't be long now/ till you drag your feet to slow the circles down".

Vibrant and poetic imagery has always been a strength of Mitchell's lyrics, and the opening verse is a classic example " Yesterday a child came out to wonder/ caught a dragonfly inside a jar /fearful when the sky was full of thunder and tearful at the falling of a star". Mitchell's own website records several quotes from her on the writing of the song, notably its provenance as a song written for fellow Canadian Neil Young. Speaking at Gerdes Folk City in 1968 she said "This is a song that's been recorded by a couple of friends of mine, so maybe you know it a little better than the other ones. And if you do - if you know the chorus, wow - just sing along, cause it's a chorus about people and growing old and growing young and carousels and painted ponies and the weather and the Buffalo Springfield. I wrote it for a friend of mine named Neil Young who, at the time that I knew him was a Canadian ex-rock 'n' roll type turned folkie from Winnipeg, Manitoba, which is just about as bad as Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, I guess.

Anyway he'd just turned 20 years old and was very, very depressed, because he said "You know, all my life I've been looking forward to being an adult. You know everything - everything that I wanted to do they kept saying "Well look it, wait kid. You know, wait till you're older." And suddenly here I am and I'm older and I can do just about all those things except I can't go into the pubs 'til next year. But I can do just about anything I want to and you know what? I wanna go out and play skipping rope and play jacks and all that stuff that I missed and left behind." He was really depressed, so I wrote a song for him".

Fittingly, then, the song's final verse is optimistic as it looks forward "there''ll be new dreams maybe better dreams and plenty before the last revolving year is through".

So whose version best represents 'The Circle Game'? Other artists covering the song have included George Hamilton IV, Harry Belafonte, Ian McCulloch, and Tori Amos; I love Mitchell's own version (chosen by my brother-in-law's widow, to be played at his funeral by the way), and that first version I heard by Tom Rush remains a firm favourite. However, my personal choice is a recent cover, which demonstrates, I feel, how a great song can thrive in many different genres.

Mitchell herself made a significant move into jazz influences with her albums "Court and Spark", "The Hissing of Summer Lawns", and "Hejira". Redtenbacher's Funkestra, the music project headed by bassist and producer Stefan Redtenbacher, has released two albums, "Both Sides Now - Joni reimagined" and "The Colours of Joni", with jazz and funk imaginations of Joni Mitchell's songs. Featured vocalists have included Rumer, Jo Harman, and, on the cover of 'The Circle Game', Hamish Stuart, best known for his work with the Average White Band. Recorded more than 50 years after the song was written, maybe this demonstrates how the best songs reflect Mitchell's own words "that new dreams may be better dreams and plenty / before the last revolving year is through".