Joni Mitchell identified Ray Noble’s 1934 standard ‘The Very Thought of You’ as a song she could listen to indefinitely, saying its effect on her made her swoon. The article highlights how the singer-songwriter’s musical sensibility was shaped not only by contemporary folk and jazz but also by earlier romantic popular music.

Mitchell recalled first hearing the song in a Kirk Douglas film and being deeply moved by its melody and harmony. Written by English bandleader Ray Noble, ‘The Very Thought of You’ became a widely recorded standard, with its lush, wistful style reflecting the complex and emotional music Mitchell has long admired.