As subjective as these things may be, "Song For Sharon", off the same album, is a far better song than "Amelia". At eight minutes and thirty-eight seconds it tells a story as rich and time-bending and real-feeling and heart-breaking as anything by Alice Munro (who, as another prominent canadian artist of the era, shares many of Joni Mitchell's obesessions).
"Amelia" is a good song, granted, but I've never liked it's references to "burning deserts" (a terrible phrase) or Cactus Motels.
"Song For Sharon" feels like it was drawn directly from Joni Mitchell's life--youthful dreams of what marriage was supposed to represent versus her now-adult disillusionment, all triggered by attending the wedding of an old friend. A simple, classic story that reaches its apex when she.adds a new twist to the contrast by recognizing that her friend--Sharon, the one getting married--also had dreams of playing music and still performs for family and friends, while Joni performs for...well, for us.

A.