Warren wanted a Beach Boys thing for this one, and Carl Wilson and Billy Hinsche came in, with Carl arranging the vocal parts. The other harmony vocalists (credited as the "Gentlemen Boys") were Jackson Browne, J.D. Souther, Zevon's longtime backers Waddy Wachtel and Jorge Calderon, and Linda Rondstadt/Stone Poneys guitarist Kenny Edwards.
Love is a thing
that breaks your heart, tears you apart
Yes, this is love
Love is a force
Mangles your mind, makes you stone blind
Yes, this is love
And to think that you know about love
And to think that you’re talkin’ bout love
But you still don’t know why you’d die
For anyone that you love
For anyone that you love
Love is a touch
Tender and pure, there is no cure
For real love
Love is quite simple
Easy to tell, any fool can spell
the word of love
And to think that you know about love
And to think that you’re talkin’ bout love
But you still don’t know why you’d die
For anyone that you love
For anyone that you love
Oh how my heart falls to the sky
When TVs and radios say
St. Sebastian was murdered today
St. Steven was stoned yesterday
Oh love is the thing
that you desire, get forced into fire
and burn for love
Love is the reason
that your heart got broke, till you rise like smoke
to a higher love
And to think that you know about love
And to think that you talk about love
But you still don’t know why you’d die
For anyone that you love
For anyone that you love
that breaks your heart, tears you apart
Yes, this is love
Love is a force
Mangles your mind, makes you stone blind
Yes, this is love
And to think that you know about love
And to think that you’re talkin’ bout love
But you still don’t know why you’d die
For anyone that you love
For anyone that you love
Love is a touch
Tender and pure, there is no cure
For real love
Love is quite simple
Easy to tell, any fool can spell
the word of love
And to think that you know about love
And to think that you’re talkin’ bout love
But you still don’t know why you’d die
For anyone that you love
For anyone that you love
Oh how my heart falls to the sky
When TVs and radios say
St. Sebastian was murdered today
St. Steven was stoned yesterday
Oh love is the thing
that you desire, get forced into fire
and burn for love
Love is the reason
that your heart got broke, till you rise like smoke
to a higher love
And to think that you know about love
And to think that you talk about love
But you still don’t know why you’d die
For anyone that you love
For anyone that you love
Lyrics submitted by NathanWestwood
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And, of course, the fact that she sees in him a fellow "idealist" and "dreamer" (terms commonly given to people with the INFP personality on the Myers–Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)) portends that she'll always be left wondering if they would've been perfect together.
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There is still an amazing amount of hope and will in the lyrics; and the lyrics themselve rank and easy five. If only music was stronger it would be one of those great radio songs that you hear once a week 20 years after it was released. The imagery is almost tear-jerking ("City lights lay out before us", "Speeds so fast felt like I was drunk"), and the idea of starting from nothing and just driving and working and denigrating yourself for a chance at being just above poverty, then losing in the end is just painful and inspiring at the same time.
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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”