Blue is the fourth studio album by Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell. Exploring the various facets of relationships from infatuation on "A Case of You" to insecurity on "This Flight Tonight", the songs feature simple accompaniments on pian o, guitar and Appalachian dulcimer. The album peaked at number 3 on the UK Albums Chart and number 15 on the Blllboard 200.

Today, Blue is generally regarded by music critics as one of the greatest albums of all time; Mitchell's songwriting and compositions are frequent areas of praise. In January 2000, The New York Times chose Blue as one of the 25 albums that represented "turning points and pinnacles in 20th-century popular music". In 2012, Blue was rated the 30th best album ever made in Rolling Stone's list of the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time", the highest entry by a female artist. In July 2017, Blue was chosen by NPR as the greatest album of all time made by a woman.

Despite the success of her first three albums and songs like "", January 1970 saw Mitchell make a decision to break from performing. In early spring 1970, she set off on a vacation around Europe. While on the island of Formentera, she wrote some of the songs that appear on Blue. This journey was the backdrop for the songs "Carey" and "California." Some of the songs on Blue were inspired by Mitchell's 1968-1970 relationship with Graham Nash. Their relationship was already troubled when she left for Europe, and it was while she was on Formentera that she sent Nash the telegram that let him know that their relationship was over. The songs "My Old Man" and "River" are thought to be inspired by their relationship.

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