Mitchell wrote "A Case of You" in or before 1970. As with many of the songs on her album "Blue", her breakup with Graham Nash is often cited as the inspiration for it. It is also claimed that it is about Leonard Cohen. She performed the song at the Amchitka Greenpeace benefit concert in October 1970. She recorded the song in 1971, and it was released on the 1971 album "Blue" with Mitchell playing Appalachian dulcimer, accompanied by James Taylor on acoustic guitar, which was tuned to standard tuning, (EADGBE), although there are cover versions played in an open G tuning (DGDGBD).