Overall about difficult moments of disappointment and vulnerability. Having hope and longing, while remaining optimistic for the future. Encourages the belief that with each new morning there is a chance for things to improve.
The chorus offers a glimmer of optimism and a chance at a resolution and redemption in the future.
Captures the rollercoaster of emotions of feeling lost while loving someone who is not there for you, feeling let down and abandoned while waiting for a lover. Lost with no direction, "Now I'm up in the air with the rain in my hair, Nowhere to go, I can go anywhere"
The bridge shows signs of longing and a plea for companionship. The Lyrics express a desire for authentic connection and the importance of Loving someone just as they are. "Just in passing, I'm not asking. That you be anyone but you”
Just take off your clothes and I'll drive you home I said
Knowing she never could pass on a dare
And knowing it sounded more desperate than reckless or bold
I just put it out there cold, too far gone to care
My eyes on the road, she slid herself down in the seat
And a vision of paradise swung into view
Across those five lanes not one driver glanced over to see
The beauty known only to me, and a big rig or two
On that freeway the light was receding
Her beauty, a sight so misleading
I failed to hear the heart that was beating alone
On the naked ride home
With the trace of a smile and that defiant look in her eye
She hurtled through space in a world of her own
And turning aside my caress spoke of all that she'd not yet done
As if I was the doubting one who would have to be shown
On that freeway the light was receding
Her beauty, a sight so misleading
I failed to hear the heart that was beating alone
On the naked ride home
She gathered her clothes
And ran through the yard in the dark
Up onto the porch like a flash, and inside
Then one room at a time
I watched every light in our house come on
Like the truth that would eventually dawn
Forcing me to decide
But on that freeway the light was receding
Her beauty, a sight so misleading
I failed to hear the heart that was beating alone
On the naked ride home
Knowing she never could pass on a dare
And knowing it sounded more desperate than reckless or bold
I just put it out there cold, too far gone to care
My eyes on the road, she slid herself down in the seat
And a vision of paradise swung into view
Across those five lanes not one driver glanced over to see
The beauty known only to me, and a big rig or two
On that freeway the light was receding
Her beauty, a sight so misleading
I failed to hear the heart that was beating alone
On the naked ride home
With the trace of a smile and that defiant look in her eye
She hurtled through space in a world of her own
And turning aside my caress spoke of all that she'd not yet done
As if I was the doubting one who would have to be shown
On that freeway the light was receding
Her beauty, a sight so misleading
I failed to hear the heart that was beating alone
On the naked ride home
She gathered her clothes
And ran through the yard in the dark
Up onto the porch like a flash, and inside
Then one room at a time
I watched every light in our house come on
Like the truth that would eventually dawn
Forcing me to decide
But on that freeway the light was receding
Her beauty, a sight so misleading
I failed to hear the heart that was beating alone
On the naked ride home
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There are three questions to answer regarding this song. They all come in its last two lines:
"Like the truth that would eventually dawn" (what truth?) "Forcing me to decide" (between what? and what do we think he will decide?)
Using what we know of both characters from the earlier lyrics gets us at an answer.
The truth is this: "I need to break up with this girl." He's already living with her, so we know they're already in a relationship (notice they share a house). But it's just not working. This truth is bitter; he's reluctant to break up with her, but deep down, he knows its the only way.
Why is he reluctant? He's strongly attracted to her beauty (and possibly her happiness and carefree attitude). But he is also aware that the relationship cannot succeed, for at least two reasons. One is that she has some flaw in her character. Her beauty is "so misleading," suggesting that her external beauty is not reflective of her inner self.
The second reason is that she is not attracted to him as he is to her. She turns aside his caress, his heart beats alone, and she seems to doubt his potential ("as if I was the doubting one who would have to be shown").
The profoundness of his struggle is evidenced by the song's construction. It leaves on a point of tension, rather than resolution--he hasn't made a decision, but he is being pressed into one. It's also shown by the verse's construction. It starts with a "but," as if it contrasts from the rest of what the song presents. You can almost hear the struggle in his head when he starts to reflect on how he needs to break up with her...but then he remembers the night on the freeway. It's also significant that the song's final words are from this conflicted chorus, even when the last we hear of him is his being forced into a decision because of a truth that's dawning on him.
The last point I'd like to make is that Browne does an awesome job illustrating these characters by keeping her focus on the present and the physical (naked beauty, running, etc) and his on the past and future and mental (metaphors, images, ideas of paradise).
Lovely job, OldSouth. Methinks you know of word-smithing. Don't you find deconstructing Jackson's lyrics a pleasure and an education? <br /> <br /> Along with examining the language, I have included musical construction in some of my comments. If interested persons were to undertake a study of Jackson 101 from both aspects, we would birth some new songwriters. It's all there. To borrow from an old medical school reference (God, no. I am classical musician by act of Fate and Indoctrination), See one. Write one. Teach one
I think the love thing is doomed not because of any flaw but just because they are at different stations in life and she has a lot of things to do that don't involve him -- to me they are like 20 years apart in age.