I had never really questioned my interpretation of this song, because I thought it was clearly about divorce, and more specifically about the effect of divorce on children. Then I read the comments here and elsewhere and everybody seems to think it's about Sputnik or God knows what. Well, I still think it's about divorce, from the point of view of a father that is spending an afternoon with his child before having to leave her; the innocence being lost is that of the child. Yes, there is clearly some confusing stuff about Reagan in there, but look at the lines
"Didn't have a care in the world
With mommy and daddy standin' by
But "happily ever after" fails
And we've been poisoned by these fairy tales
The lawyers dwell on small details
Since daddy had to fly"
This could be the whole song right there: we don't all get to live "happily ever after" as we've been led to believe that we will as children, and at some moment in our lives we figure this sad truth out. The "lawyers" lines make perfect sense to anyone who has been involved in child custody negotiations.
I guess I could be wrong. I always assumed that this song was about Henley's divorce, but wikipedia doesn't say anything about him being divorced, so hey, maybe it is about the Cold War in some weird way. But it REALLY sounds like divorce to me.
When I read the lyrics of this song, I think of a young boy remembering the innocence of growing up in a small town with parents who once loved each other. It seems as though this boy is setting the expectation for his girlfriend that, at some point, he will fall prey to his father's selfish (and maybe adulterous) ways and will leave the ones who love him behind.
When I read the lyrics of this song, I think of a young boy remembering the innocence of growing up in a small town with parents who once loved each other. It seems as though this boy is setting the expectation for his girlfriend that, at some point, he will fall prey to his father's selfish (and maybe adulterous) ways and will leave the ones who love him behind.
When I envision this "place" where they can go untouched by men, I think of an open rural hill where they can still enjoy the innocence of their youth, knowing that...
When I envision this "place" where they can go untouched by men, I think of an open rural hill where they can still enjoy the innocence of their youth, knowing that the clouds are coming to disrupt the relationships in his life.
"This tired old man that we elected king" seems to be the ideological view of the husband/father of the household. The lawyers cleaning up the mess, the plowshares into swords and the daddy's lies could be this man's way of trying to make a clean and heartless break from the family he left behind without showing any accountability or accepting any responsibility.
Near the end when the boy asks for one last kiss, I get the feeling that he is caving into this self-proclaimed inevitability of stepping into his father's footsteps of broken promises. He wants to remember this scene, but even if she offers up her best defense, this is his fate. He's telling her that this moment is the end of the innocence.
I have no idea if that is Don Henley's meaning, but that is how I interpreted it, which is what I love about music...different meanings to different people.
I had never really questioned my interpretation of this song, because I thought it was clearly about divorce, and more specifically about the effect of divorce on children. Then I read the comments here and elsewhere and everybody seems to think it's about Sputnik or God knows what. Well, I still think it's about divorce, from the point of view of a father that is spending an afternoon with his child before having to leave her; the innocence being lost is that of the child. Yes, there is clearly some confusing stuff about Reagan in there, but look at the lines
"Didn't have a care in the world With mommy and daddy standin' by But "happily ever after" fails And we've been poisoned by these fairy tales The lawyers dwell on small details Since daddy had to fly"
This could be the whole song right there: we don't all get to live "happily ever after" as we've been led to believe that we will as children, and at some moment in our lives we figure this sad truth out. The "lawyers" lines make perfect sense to anyone who has been involved in child custody negotiations.
I guess I could be wrong. I always assumed that this song was about Henley's divorce, but wikipedia doesn't say anything about him being divorced, so hey, maybe it is about the Cold War in some weird way. But it REALLY sounds like divorce to me.
When I read the lyrics of this song, I think of a young boy remembering the innocence of growing up in a small town with parents who once loved each other. It seems as though this boy is setting the expectation for his girlfriend that, at some point, he will fall prey to his father's selfish (and maybe adulterous) ways and will leave the ones who love him behind.
When I read the lyrics of this song, I think of a young boy remembering the innocence of growing up in a small town with parents who once loved each other. It seems as though this boy is setting the expectation for his girlfriend that, at some point, he will fall prey to his father's selfish (and maybe adulterous) ways and will leave the ones who love him behind.
When I envision this "place" where they can go untouched by men, I think of an open rural hill where they can still enjoy the innocence of their youth, knowing that...
When I envision this "place" where they can go untouched by men, I think of an open rural hill where they can still enjoy the innocence of their youth, knowing that the clouds are coming to disrupt the relationships in his life.
"This tired old man that we elected king" seems to be the ideological view of the husband/father of the household. The lawyers cleaning up the mess, the plowshares into swords and the daddy's lies could be this man's way of trying to make a clean and heartless break from the family he left behind without showing any accountability or accepting any responsibility.
Near the end when the boy asks for one last kiss, I get the feeling that he is caving into this self-proclaimed inevitability of stepping into his father's footsteps of broken promises. He wants to remember this scene, but even if she offers up her best defense, this is his fate. He's telling her that this moment is the end of the innocence.
I have no idea if that is Don Henley's meaning, but that is how I interpreted it, which is what I love about music...different meanings to different people.