Late for the Sky Lyrics
This is Jackson's masterpiece. It is one of the most beautifully and touchingly heartbroken songs ever written by anyone. This is an exquisitely crafted song.
I love the juxtapositions of
- night / morning
- awake / sleeping
- closed eyes / dreaming
- drifting / running
- spoken words / whispered promises
- steps from the beginning / close to the end
- hard into your eyes / some words come easy
- whispered promises / where we both lie
- still wasn't right / changing light
- continued through the night / running for that morning flight
- bed / sky
- vanished into the air / late for the sky
and I love the function of this progression:
And still we continued on . . . Awake again . . . How long have I been sleeping? How long have I been drifting . . . How long have I been dreaming . . . How long have I been running . . .
For all of its literary technique, it remains eternally fresh. I'll add an additional nod to David's slide guitar which is glorious.
Well put. I so admire JB's ability to structure his language. What a gift: lucky us! It is fun to deconstruct his lyrics. If one likes to craft lyrics, there is no better teacher than Jackson.
Well put. I so admire JB's ability to structure his language. What a gift: lucky us! It is fun to deconstruct his lyrics. If one likes to craft lyrics, there is no better teacher than Jackson.
I have always loved the line "Of the bed where we both lie" where the word "lie", of course, has two meanings. That line reminds me of Dylan at his best.
For an interesting comparison, listen to the song by Jackson's good friend, the late great Warren Zevon, Hasten Down the Wind. Warren was a little more concise than Jackson was, but no less eloquent a songwriter, and Hasten Down the Wind is a great companion piece about the painful end of a relationship where the parties just drift apart and can't recapture what they had, but can't figure out why it isn't working any more. And if you really want to get the emotion in the song, go to archive.org and go to the Zevon archive and listen to the version in the 1976 WMMR radio show interview where he sits at a piano and plays solo.
I first heard Late for the Sky in 1974. 33 years and at least 6000 listenings later this piece still kicks my ass. However, despite hours and hours of disection and interpretation and consideration, I still have not gotten my head around the phrase, "Late for the Sky" What the heck? Sky Blue Sky Black Jesus in the Sky.... But Late for the Sky? Any ideas?
For me "Sky" seems to be a metaphor for heaven (the place where we allow the dead to go). In this song, the narrator suddenly realizes that his relationship with his lover died some time ago. The time is past due to accept that it is over and to let it go. The time is also overdue to leave the coop and find another gig "farther on". This is such a beautifully touching song and an example of why Jackson Browne's music still remains on my most frequently played list.
For me "Sky" seems to be a metaphor for heaven (the place where we allow the dead to go). In this song, the narrator suddenly realizes that his relationship with his lover died some time ago. The time is past due to accept that it is over and to let it go. The time is also overdue to leave the coop and find another gig "farther on". This is such a beautifully touching song and an example of why Jackson Browne's music still remains on my most frequently played list.
For me "Sky" seems to be a metaphor for heaven (the place where we allow the dead to go). In this song, the narrator suddenly realizes that his relationship with his lover died some time ago. The time is past due to accept that it is over and to let it go. The time is also overdue to leave the coop and find another gig "farther on". This is such a beautifully touching song and an example of why Jackson Browne's music still remains on my most frequently played list.
For me "Sky" seems to be a metaphor for heaven (the place where we allow the dead to go). In this song, the narrator suddenly realizes that his relationship with his lover died some time ago. The time is past due to accept that it is over and to let it go. The time is also overdue to leave the coop and find another gig "farther on". This is such a beautifully touching song and an example of why Jackson Browne's music still remains on my most frequently played list.
Kicks my ass, too. Kills me. It's got a simple chord structure in C that works on down the scale, and then the tag at the end from C to Bb, back and forth to the tonic.
Kicks my ass, too. Kills me. It's got a simple chord structure in C that works on down the scale, and then the tag at the end from C to Bb, back and forth to the tonic.
Re: the "sky" references, I heard him say, in concert, that his family/friends had put a ban on some of these words of which JB is so fond. Sky, angels, light-dark-night with their suffixes. LOL. Clearly I have too much time on my hands, but one day I took a couple of these words and made a tic sheet. Oh boy....
Re: the "sky" references, I heard him say, in concert, that his family/friends had put a ban on some of these words of which JB is so fond. Sky, angels, light-dark-night with their suffixes. LOL. Clearly I have too much time on my hands, but one day I took a couple of these words and made a tic sheet. Oh boy.
It's hard when you have accessible words which are so versatile and are so nicely given to metaphor.
I really love the title Late For The Sky.
To me it has two meanings:
1) Late to take off to the sky (i.e. "for"= destination as in the plane for Rio)
2) Late FOR the sky- as in, the sky is late in its changing
Both ways fit for the song. Pure brilliance.
This is such an incredible song, that I agree with the above poster who can't believe nobody else has placed a comment. Staying too long in a relationship, knowing it's essentially over, not knowing why when in your head you have the answers, but just can't bring yourself to leave. The song literally aches with the relaization that it's OVER and all that's left is to admit it out loud and get on with it. Sometimes the pain of ending a relationship is harder that staying in one that isn't working and feeling you failed at something you really tried at and wanted to work. You ask yourself, "how did this happen and how did it come to this" (How long have I been sleeping? - that i didn't notice the disintergration of my relationship...) That's what this song has always meant to me. It's a haunting tune as well. Fantastic. Jackson at his best.
"Looking hard into your eyes There was nobody I'd ever known Such an empty suprise To feel so alone."
"Awake again, I can't pretend That I know I'm alone, And close to the end"
This is amazing song writing! This song is awe inspiring.
I too have loved this song since the 70's along with all of the other Jackson Browne offerings from that period, yes even "Lawyers in Love". The title has always conjured up an image of an airplane leaving, so I guess I have to agree with makebusy7 in this.
What amazes me most is that although I savor Browne's double meanings, I never tumbled the double meaning of "in the bed where we both lie". What a great website this is for introspection.
This song was one of my best friend's favorite songs. Taxi Driver was also one of his favorite movies.
He decided to take his own life on march 6th 2008.
So what does this song mean to me?......Him, my best friend.
I created an account, just to reply to this. Just wanted you to know that the combination of this song, plus your comment, really put me in a mood. I'm very sorry about your friend and hope that all has been good for you in the last five or so years.
I created an account, just to reply to this. Just wanted you to know that the combination of this song, plus your comment, really put me in a mood. I'm very sorry about your friend and hope that all has been good for you in the last five or so years.
This song is incredibly powerful and I appreciate your comments. Be well and God bless you, friend.
This song is incredibly powerful and I appreciate your comments. Be well and God bless you, friend.
Rolling Stone's original review of the album says it all to me: http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/jacksonbrowne/albums/album/262007/review/6068364/late_for_the_sky