Jackson Browne

This morning I heard Fountain of Sorrow on the radio. Got me to thinking about his song writing. Omg.. What a talent. Be still my heart! I have always had a crush on this man. I love his lyrics maybe even more than his music.

(pasting info from the wikipedia page:)
Clyde Jackson Browne (born October 9, 1948) is an American rock singer-songwriter and musician, whose introspective lyrics made him the poster boy for the Southern California confessional singer-songwriter movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s. In 2004, Browne was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame by fellow American musical artist and good friend, Bruce Springsteen. In the same year, Browne received an honorary Doctorate of Music from Los Angeles' Occidental College for "a remarkable musical career that has successfully combined an intensely personal artistry with a broader vision of social change and justice"

There are so many songs/albums (for us old fogies) of his that fit periods of my life. The Pretender was high school. I still love that song. Running on Empty was my freshman year in college album singing in the dorms with my gal pals. We would sing STAY over and over again. Belting out that final wail with our youthful passion. In 1993, I had to break it off with someone I almost married. I listened and played I Am Alive religiously! The combination of lyric and music on the song Sky Blue and Black proves to me that music is a form of therapy bordering on a religious experience. Hauntingly pure, direct and yet it transcends. (embedded tune at the end of this entry)

Somehow music gets you through things, if you know what I mean. It can bring humans closer together. How many of you knew he wrote this song made famous by the Eagles? There are a lot of images in this video that span his career. And there are pictures of him in his youth.






A picture of him with his wife when he was Inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2007. They say he sang Lives in the Balance, written 20 years ago that really can ring out for what is happening now.

And well Doctor My Eyes is an ageless theme of mankind.




There are many fine song writers out there I respect (too many to name here). But there is a special love I have for the simplicity and impact of this mans work. What are your Jackson Browne favorites? Any sightings? I saw him preform only one time in Dallas. I am always thinking I should scoot down to his part of So Cal and see if I cant catch a glimpse of him in real. But I am NOT a stalker. *whistles and puts on her shades*

I leave you with the previously mentioned song that just floors me every time I hear it. Its a Romeo and Juliet kind of a song. These are just some of the lyrics. Sighs... swoons.

Where the touch of the lover ends
And the soul of the friend begins
There's a need to be separate and a need to be one
And a struggle neither wins
Where you gave me the world I was in
And a place I could make a stand
I could never see how you doubted me
When I'd let go of your hand

But I was much younger then
And I must have thought that I would know
If things were going to end

And the heavens were rolling
Like a wheel on a track
And our sky was unfolding
And it'll never fold back
Sky blue and black

And I'd have fought the world for you
If I thought that you wanted me to
Or put aside what was true or untrue
If I'd known that's what you needed
What you needed me to do

But the moment has passed by me now
To have put away my pride
And just come through for you somehow

If you ever need holding
Call my name, I'll be there
If you ever need holding
And no holding back, I'll see you through

You're the color of the sky
Reflected in each store-front window pane
You're the whispering and the sighing
Of my tires in the rain
You're the hidden cost and the thing that's lost
In everything I do
Yeah and I'll never stop looking for you
In the sunlight and the shadows
And the faces on the avenue
That's the way love is
That's the way love is
That's the way love is
Sky blue and black




Thank you Jackson. My life is forever changed by your passion and artistry.

(yes I know he hit darryl hannah. thanks kim. I already knew that and being a "battered woman" I don't condone it. doesn't distract me from his work. just makes him a human.)