I think I was about 16 when I first got into Jackson Browne. I got hooked on the song, These Days, which he wrote when he was the same age. Aside from his great voice and the wonderful musical arrangements of his songs, what really grabbed me was the lyrics. As such, I’d like to share some of my favourite Jackson Browne lines…
I wanna know what became of the changes we waited for love to bring
Were they only the fitful dreams of some greater awakening?
The Pretender
When you see through love’s illusions, there lies the danger
And your perfect lover just looks like a perfect fool
So you go running off in search of a perfect stranger
While the loneliness seems to spring from your life, like a fountain from a pool
Fountain of Sorrow
You never knew what I loved in you, I don’t know what you loved in me
Maybe the picture of somebody you were hoping I might be
Late for the Sky
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEzZ8hSZU0k
There’s a need to be separate and a need to be one
And in the struggle, neither wins
Sky Blue and Black
Hunger in the midnight, hunger at the stroke of noon
Hunger in the mansion, hunger in the rented room
Hunger of the TV, hunger on the printed page
And there’s a God-sized hunger underneath the laughing and the rage
Looking East
The ladies come to see you, if your name still rings a bell
They give you damn near nothing, and they’ll say they knew you well
So you tell ’em you’ll remember, but they know it’s just a game
And along the way their faces all begin to look the same
The Road
Don’t confront me with my failures
I had not forgotten them
These Days
If you’re not a Jackson Browne fan already, I encourage you to check him out – particularly if you’re a songwriter!
Enjoy!
Mali.xxx
Photo courtesy of El Humilde Fotero del Pánico