{{Infobox song | name = My Secret Place | cover = My Secret Place.jpg | alt = | type = single | artist = [[Joni Mitchell]] | album = [[Chalk Mark in a Rain Storm]] | B-side ="Number One" (Europe and Australia) / "Lakota" (North America) | released = May 23, 1988<ref name="Release">{{Cite magazine |date=21 May 1988 |title=New Singles |url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-Week/1988/MW-1988-05-21.pdf |access-date=4 November 2025 |magazine=[[Music Week]] |page=25}}</ref> | recorded = 1986 | studio = [[Ashcombe House, Somerset]] | genre = | length = 5:01 | label = [[Geffen Records|Geffen]] | writer = Joni Mitchell | producer = Joni Mitchell | prev_title = Shiny Toys | prev_year = 1986 | next_title = [[Cool Water (song)|Cool Water]] | next_year = 1988 | misc = }}
"'''My Secret Place'''" is a song written by [[Joni Mitchell]] that first appeared on her 1988 album ''[[Chalk Mark in a Rain Storm]]''. Recorded as a duet with [[Peter Gabriel]], the song was released as the first single from the album and reached number 41 on the Canadian singles chart, becoming her first song to reach the Canadian Top 100 since "[[Coyote (song)|Coyote]]" eleven years prior.
==Recording== "My Secret Place" and "Number One" were the first two songs Mitchell wrote for ''Chalk Mark in A Rainstorm''. When Mitchell was working on new material in Britain, [[Robert Plant]] visited the house she was staying at with the intention of finding potential songs to record. During his stay, Mitchell sang him stripped–down renditions of "My Secret Place" and "Number One" with an acoustic guitar. Plant was impressed with both songs, but was particularly interested in recording "Number One". Mitchell ultimately opted not to collaborate with Plant and instead elected to record "My Secret Place" with [[Peter Gabriel]].<ref name=Musician>{{cite magazine |last=Flanagan |first=Bill |date=May 1988 |title=Secret Places|magazine=Musician Magazine |pages=65–69, 72 |url=https://jonimitchell.com/library/originals/jmOriginal_200.pdf|access-date=May 12, 2024}}</ref>
Mitchell's husband, [[Larry Klein]], had played on Gabriel's ''[[So (album)|So]]'' album in 1986, which prompted Gabriel to invite Mitchell and Klein to his [[Ashcombe House, Somerset|Ashcombe House]] studio, where the duet between Gabriel and Mitchell on "My Secret Place" was recorded.<ref name=Essential>{{Cite web |last1=Browne |first1=David |last2=Dolan |first2=Jon |last3=Erlewine |first3=Stephen Thomas |last4=Martoccio |first4=Angie |last5=Shteamer |first5=Hank |last6=Vozick-Levinson |first6=Simon |last7=Wolk |first7=Douglas |date=June 22, 2021|title=Joni Mitchell: 50 Essential Songs |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/best-joni-mitchell-songs-1187064/ |access-date=May 12, 2024|website=Rolling Stone |language=en-US}}</ref> Mitchell recalled that she originally intended for Gabriel to record background vocals on "My Secret Place", but later decided to give him a more prominent role on the song after experimenting with some vocal ideas.<ref name="Gett">{{Cite magazine |last=Gett |first=Steve |date=May 7, 1988 |title=Mitchell Returns To Court & Spark; Gabriel, Idol Nelson Guest On Album |url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/80s/1988/BB-1988-05-07.pdf |access-date=November 4, 2025 |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |pages=26, 30}}</ref>
{{blockquote|When we started messing around with the vocals, it came to me that rather than doing a traditional duet, it would be interesting to let our voices keep dissolving into each other, where the gender keeps changing. Instead of singing at each other, it's like people thinking the same thing – a kind of one-mindedness.<ref name="Gett"/> |Joni Mitchell}}
[[Manu Katché]], who drums and percussion on "My Secret Place", said in a 1987 interview with ''[[Modern Drummer]]'' that he became involved with the recording sessions for "My Secret Place" around the time of the [[A Conspiracy of Hope|Amnesty International tour]]. Mitchell had been looking for a drummer for her ''Chalk Mark in a Rainstorm'' album and selected him after listening to his playing on Gabriel's ''So'' album.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Fisher |first=Connie |date=December 1987 |title=Manu Katché |magazine=[[Modern Drummer]] |page=56 |issue=98}}</ref>
On "My Secret Place", Mitchell expended an entire reel of tape by layering the same guitar part 24 times. She thought that these guitar overdubs would render her guitar more prominent in the mix and "beef up" certain sections, thus making the chord changes more noticeable.<ref name=Bego>{{Cite book |last=Bego |first=Mark |title=Joni Mitchell |publisher=Taylor Trade Publishing |year=2005 |isbn=978-1-58979-134-3 |location=United States |pages=223}}</ref> Mitchell executed these guitar parts on a [[Martin D-28]] acoustic guitar<ref name=Musician/> and utilized a [[guitar tuning]] of C# G# D# F# G# C#.<ref>{{Cite web |date=April 14, 2023|title=The Guitar-Tuning Odyssey of Joni Mitchell |url=https://acousticguitar.com/the-guitar-tuning-odyssey-of-joni-mitchell/ |access-date=May 8, 2024|website=Acoustic Guitar |language=en-US}}</ref>
==Lyrics and release== Lyrically, the song details a story about moving from New York City to the Colorado mountains with a loved one.<ref name=Bego/> Mitchell described "My Secret Place" as the only love song on ''Chalk Mark in a Rain Storm'' and said that she wanted it to resemble "''[[Song of Solomon (novel)|Song of Solomon]]'', where you can't tell what gender it is." She said that the song was about "the threshold of intimacy" and "the uniting spirit of two people at the beginning of a relationship."<ref name=Musician/>
On May 23, 1988, "My Secret Place" was issued as a single in the UK by [[Geffen Records]] with the song "Number One" included as the [[A-side and B-side|B-side]].<ref name="Release"/> That same month, the song was serviced to [[adult contemporary music|adult contemporary]] radio stations in the United States; according to ''[[Radio & Records]]'', it was among the most added songs in that format during the week of May 27, 1988.<ref>{{Cite magazine |date=May 27, 1988 |title=R&R National Airplay; Adult Contemporary |url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Archive-RandR/1980s/1988/RR-1988-05-27.pdf |access-date=November 4, 2025 |magazine=[[Radio & Records]] |page=71}}</ref>
==Music video== In the May 7, 1988 edition of ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'', Steve Gett wrote that Mitchell was slated to meet with Peter Gabriel in Britain to film a music video for "My Secret Place".<ref name="Gett"/> Later that month, "My Secret Place" was launched on [[VH1]].<ref>{{Cite magazine |date=May 21, 1988 |title=The Clip List |url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/80s/1988/BB-1988-05-21.pdf |access-date=November 4, 2025 |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |page=56}}</ref> [[Anton Corbijn]] directed the song's music video, which was shot in [[black-and-white]] and includes scenes of Gabriel and Mitchell walking across a desert and chatting at a dinner table.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Willman |first=Chris |date=July 1, 1988 |title=New Videos Offer Variations on a Silly Dream |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-los-angeles-times-new-videos-offer-v/170346554/ |access-date=April 15, 2025 |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |page=59 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>
==Critical reception== "My Secret Place" generally received positive reviews from music critics. Ken Tucker of ''[[The Village Voice]]'' thought that the song's lyrics evoked the "confessional mode that made Mitchell the most admired '70's singer-songwriter" and deemed the song as a strong album opener.<ref>{{cite news |last=Tucker|first=Ken |date=March 29, 1988|title=Public Invited|work=The Village Voice |url=https://jonimitchell.com/library/view.cfm?id=1646 |via=Joni Mitchell: Library of Articles}}</ref> Greg Quill of the ''[[Toronto Star]]'' was more critical, saying that "My Secret Place" was "arguably the least appealing song on the album", although he praised Gabriel's "strong counterpoint" vocals.<ref>{{cite news |last=Quill |first=Greg|date=March 25, 1988 |title=Album is All Joni, Despite Heavyweight Sidemen|work=Toronto Star |url=https://www.jonimitchell.com/library/originals/jmOriginal_1142.pdf|access-date=May 12, 2024}}</ref>
''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' labeled "My Secret Place" as one of the best candidates for radio acceptance" from ''Chalk Mark in a Rainstorm''.<ref>{{Cite magazine |date=April 2, 1988 |title=Album Reviews |url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/80s/1988/BB-1988-04-02.pdf |access-date=November 4, 2025 |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |page=68}}</ref> Writing for ''[[Music Week]]'', Jerry Smith praised "My Secret Place" as a "superb track" with a mesmerising, atmospheric rhythm and a soaring chorus featuring Peter Gabriel that could prove surprisingly successful."<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Smith |first=Jerry |date=May 21, 1988 |title=Singles |url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-Week/1988/MW-1988-05-21.pdf |access-date=November 4, 2025 |magazine=[[Music Week]] |page=21}}</ref>
''[[Uncut (magazine)|Uncut]]'' commended the drumming of [[Manu Katché]] and also praised the song's vocals, saying that "Gabriel and Mitchell's voices tie together to the point of being inseparable. They finish each other's sentences and sing in unison, an aural equivalent of a couple who've accidentally started to dress the same."<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Sodomsky |first=Sam |date=December 7, 2020 |title=Joni Mitchell: The Ultimate Music Guide|magazine=Uncut|pages=86–89|url=https://mta-sts.jonimitchell.com/library/originals/jmOriginal_5051.pdf|access-date=May 9, 2024}}</ref> [[J.D. Considine]] of ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' thought that the song showcased "the similarities between her [Mitchell's] voice and Peter Gabriel's", saying that they "illustrate[d] the shifting confidences of shared intimacy". He highlighted moments in the song where the two swapped lines within a stanza, which he thought was an effective means of demonstrating the fluctuations in balance within a relationship. The publication also listed "My Secret Place" as one of Mitchell's 50 greatest songs.<ref name=Essential/>
==Track listing== * '''UK 7" single''' (Geffen GEF 37) #"My Secret Place" (edit) – 3:17 #"Number One" – 3:46
* '''US 7" single''' (Geffen 7-27887) #"My Secret Place" (edit) – 3:17 #"Lakota" – 6:25
==Personnel== *[[Joni Mitchell]] – lead and backing vocals, guitars, keyboards *[[Peter Gabriel]] – lead and backing vocals *[[Larry Klein]] – bass guitar, keyboards *[[Manu Katché]] – drums, [[talking drum]]
==Chart performance== {|class="wikitable plainrowheaders" !Chart (1988) !Peak<br/>position |- {{single chart|Canadatopsingles|41|chartid=8588|rowheader=true|accessdate=May 8, 2024}} |}
==References== {{reflist}}
{{Joni Mitchell}}
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[[Category:Joni Mitchell songs]] [[Category:1988 songs]] [[Category:1988 singles]] [[Category:Songs written by Joni Mitchell]] [[Category:Song recordings produced by Joni Mitchell]] [[Category:Geffen Records singles]]