OVER ON Hannaford st. near Kingston rd., on the top floor of a three-storey machine shop-warehouse, Joni Mitchell is singing her heart out.

The 7 Of Clubs, where she is performing until Saturday, so far isn't making much of a dent in folk music circles.

But she is with her own songs that rustle with the frank, proud air of being Canadian.

It's almost impudent to admit such an attachment to this country as she does and not be associated with either the Canadian Centennial Commission or Expo '67.

Can you imagine a wistful, free-swinging number called Carnival in Kenora? Joni can, and does it stylishly, though she confesses that the town "probably isn't large enough to support a carnival."

Why write a song about Kenora?

She's only traveled through it on a train, never stopped at it for longer than 20 minutes.

"It's such a groovy town with the lake and all those rocks," she tells her audience. "I can feel it." Born in Fort McLeod, of all places, and now living in Detroit, the flaxen-haired Joni is no flag-waving patriot, no sentimental chauvinist.

Her songs have no real geographical boundaries but she introduces them as being a part of Canada. They do share a mid-western, Prairie texture although she has lived in the east for two years.

They are autobiographical and ring with tight lyrics and a crystal clear voice.

One is Lazy Summer where "the pipers pipe the people outside into the sunshine." Another is Night in The City, sparked by the thrashing sounds and neon color of Yorkville, the area not the avenue.

One is Play, Little David, Play, an exhorting tribute to the city's leading guitar accompanist David Rea ("The song he was playing was nothing less than praying.").

After her recent success at the Mariposa Folk Festival, she returned to Alberta for a special CBC-TV color variety show being telecast as part of the Centennial celebrations.

Five of her songs will be recorded by other artists and will be for sale within two months on new albums by Ian and Sylvia, Tom Rush, Buffy Ste. Marie and George Hamilton IV.

No doubt she will be better set off when she opens for a week at the Riverboat on Yorkville ave. Nov. 8.