Self Portrait

Written in 6/8 time, "Self Portrait" was released on the 1975 debut album by Rainbow. Running to around 3 minutes 17 seconds, the dark lyrics are by the late great Ronnie James Dio and music by Ritchie Blackmore. The song uses a painting as a metaphor for the singer's despair and the sense that his life isn't real.

Twenty-four years later, Ritchie Blackmore recorded this (as "Self-Portrait") with his group Blackmore's Night as the final track of their album Under A Violet Moon. This version features vocals by Blackmore's wife, Candice Night, whose acting experience surely helped her pull off the vocal.

Blackmore described this song as "a cross between Bach's 'Jesu, Joy of Man's Desire' and Hendrix' 'Manic Depression.'"