Whilst "Still Young" is the penultimate track on Things I Left Behind, it was also the song that kickstarted the process of writing the album.
"I originally wrote this song for my little sister who was going through a rough patch," Joni explains, "but then somewhere down the line she got her life together and things were kind of unraveling for me... I remember being on tour and thinking that the perspective had shifted and I was really just singing the song to myself. I think it’s good to be in touch with younger versions of yourself and to carry them with you as you move through life."
When Joni says that “pain is the price you pay for loving someone” it’s coming from a place of deep experience. Having relocated to London from LA with her long-term partner, and closest musical collaborator, the singer-songwriter suddenly found herself thrust into a deeply unsettling break-up, one that left her isolated in a brand new country, and also one that pulled back the curtain on a host of unhealthy patterns she had become accustomed to within the relationship.