Mitchell interpreted Galadriel’s gift as a metaphor for “a memory of a beautiful time” which would help them brave the “hoary monsters” of the Wilderland. And when the travelers came to her kingdom before they had to venture off into very dangerous places and everything, she gave them a vial of light and she said ‘Take this vial and whenever you're in a dark place take it out.'”

It’s an obscure enough term to make Mitchell’s mention seem coincidental, but she confirmed its origin while introducing the track at the 1969 Mississippi River Festival: “My favorite character, of course, was a lady wizard by the name of Galadriel. Joni Mitchell’s 1969 song “I Think I Understand” features the line “Fear is like a wilderland”-a reference to Tolkien’s Wilderland, a northern swath of Middle-earth that houses the forest of Mirkwood.