Jackson Browne

The Late Show

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The Late Show Lyrics

	


Everyone I've ever known has wished me well
Anyway that's how it seems, it's hard to tell
Maybe people only ask you how you're doing
'Cause that's easier than letting on how little they could care
But when you know that you've got a real friend somewhere
Suddenly all the others are so much easier to bear

Now to see things clear it's hard enough I know
While you're waiting for reality to show
Without dreaming of the perfect love
And holding it so far above
That if you stumbled onto someone real, you'd never know
(You'd never know)
You could be with somebody who is lonely too
(Sometimes it doesn't show)
He might be trying to get across to you
(Words can be so slow)
When your own emptiness is all that's getting through
There comes a point when you're not sure why you're still talking
I passed that point long ago
(Long ago)
Now I'm so tired of all this circling
And all these glimpses of the end
(You know it's useless to pretend)
That's all the voices say:
"You'll go right on circling
Until you've found some kind of friend"

I saw you through the laughter and the noise
You were talking with the soldiers and the boys
While they scuffled for your weary smiles
I thought of all the empty miles
And the years that I've spent looking for your eyes
(Looking for your eyes)
And now I'm sitting here wondering what to say
(That you might recognize)
Afraid that all these words might scare you away
(And break through the disguise)
No one ever talks about their feelings anyway
Without dressing them in dreams and laughter
I guess it's just too painful otherwise

Look--
It's like you're standing in the window
Of a house nobody lives in
And I'm sitting in a car across the way
(Let's just say)
It's an early model Chevrolet
(Let's just say)
It's a warm and windy day
You go and pack your sorrow
The trash man comes tomorrow
Leave it at the curb and we'll just roll away

	

Submitted by

mikepauer On Apr 12, 2006

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by dainapoo

11y ago

If I may... I've listened to this song a thousand times, and I agree with what's been written here so far. I also believe what he is referring to in that last part when he writes:

It's like you're standing in the window Of a house nobody lives in And I'm sitting in a car across the way... etc..

Is that, knowing all that we know about how far from truth life and people can be, which, therefore, makes it even easier to be cynical, we can still have the real thing. That seems pretty straightforward. But if you substitute "LIFE" for "HOUSE", you can see he is saying "your life can be empty", (a house nobody lives in) "but here I am, right across the way. Leave your sorrows behind and we can just roll away and 'build a new life' (a new "house") together."

Maybe you all have already thought of that, but I only recently really saw that connection, and I think I'm right, and it's made the song even more meaningful to me.

My Interpretation

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by jack83

16y ago

Great song! Searching for someone special and, at last, finding that it was near to you all the time, and taking a chance to be honest and let your feelings out. The whole "early model Chevrolet" ending (I think it's the one on the cover, isn't it?) is damn beautiful and hopeful. "You go and pack your sorrow Trashman comes tomorrow Leave it at the curb and we'll just roll away" The very final with David Lindley soloing and the engine roaring in the back is somewhat cathartic.

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by sherbear2345

16y ago

epic song. cliché, but, more people need this song. it is so important!

It's about acquaintances, facsimile relationships...

"Rather than love, than money, than fame, give me truth. I sat at a table where were rich food and wine in abundance, an obsequious attendance, but sincerity and truth were not; and I went away hungry from the inhospitable board. The hospitality was as cold as the ices."

~Henry David Thoreau Walden, or Life in the Woods

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by ajslamka

17y ago

I know people say this all the time, but I really can't believe no one has commented on this song! It is so painfully honest at times, "No one ever talks about their feelings anyway Without dressing them in dreams and laughter I guess it's just too painful otherwise," but still tries to be positive. It's such a romantic song.

I used to think the end was kind of lame, but it really grows on you. It fits. I wonder if it is a real experience that he had at one time (because the subtle details sort of suggest it so) or if it is just him imagining?

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by Deref

15y ago

Love that last tag:

It's like you're standing in the window Of a house nobody lives in And I'm sitting in a car across the way (Let's just say) It's an early model Chevrolet (Let's just say) It's a warm and windy day You go and pack your sorrow The trash man comes tomorrow Leave it at the curb and we'll just roll away

Love it.

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