I saw Jackson Browne at the Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium last night, and he closed with this song as the second encore. First, I agree with the comment that what a song means is whatever it means to you. That being said, here's what this song means to me. I'm the same age as Jackson Browne, and I've followed his music since I was in my twenties. When he says, "Some of them were dreamers, some of them were fools...," "Some of them knew pleasure, some of them knew pain...," and "Some of them were angry at the way the earth was abused..." he is talking about the generation who came of age in the '60s. We thought we could make big changes by embracing the natural world and protecting the earth from the corporate abusers who learned "..to forge her beauty into power." But our wings became tarnished by live-for-moment hedonism (shallow sexuality and drug use), and we either burned out or gave in to the need to compromise our ideals to survive in the material world. And though we may have continued to struggle to protect the fragile environment, in his chilling pre-apocalyptic vision, the artist realized that it was too late--the tipping point had been reached. We were "..confused by the magnitude of her fury in the final hour." This song is more relevant today than ever, as we begin to understand that it is the abuse of the earth rather than nuclear Armageddon that is likely to seal our fate. As it says in Ecclesiastes, "Men go and come, but the earth abides." those of us with children can only hope that they might be among the ones who are spared in the "naked dawn" when "only a few survived." We are blessed by the beauty and artistry we are capable of creating; cursed by the greed and short-sightedness that have lead us to the brink of the seemingly inevitable massive die-off of our species. "Let creation reveal its secrets by and by."
Bortin,
Your comment was so very well stated. I agree completely. Like you I also believe that the interpretation of the lyric's to a song are/should be from one's personal perspective and I also believe this is the goal of most songwriters....personal interpretation, for which, there is no right or wrong.
While I believe I may be a few years younger than you (born in '60), I do recall the attitudes of that period of time. When I hear the lyrics, I get the same impression as you. The line "Confused by the magnitude of her fury in...
Bortin,
Your comment was so very well stated. I agree completely. Like you I also believe that the interpretation of the lyric's to a song are/should be from one's personal perspective and I also believe this is the goal of most songwriters....personal interpretation, for which, there is no right or wrong.
While I believe I may be a few years younger than you (born in '60), I do recall the attitudes of that period of time. When I hear the lyrics, I get the same impression as you. The line "Confused by the magnitude of her fury in the final hour" speaks volumes. The destruction of the planet and our own demise, is at our own hand. But it's cause is not from a nuclear holocaust, but from thoughtless disregard and abuse of this place we call home. Man is so arrogant to believe because he walks upright, that he controls the planet and may do as he chooses, no matter the consequences.. He/she fail to remember that we share this planet with one of this worlds greatest treasures.....Animals. We are doing a grand job at destroying their natural habitats and we have effectively caused the extinction of more than a few species of animals by a variety of means including slaughter for profit. Even worse yet, consideration of what we leave for our children and our children's children, doesn't appear to be of high priority. I can't begin to imagine the condition of the place THEY will be calling home.
We start with the best of intentions, but fail in maintaining the integrity of our youthful, untarnished beliefs.
In the end, nature will certainly remind us who is in charge and it certainly isn't us. We will see her wrath. We are wise to realize it and act accordingly, while we have the chance to do so, on the outside chance that it isn't already to late to reverse that which we have already so thoughtlessly and carelessly done.
@Bortin
They would need to make their journey back to nature....
And for some of them it was only the moment that mattered...
By the men who learned how to forge her beauty into power
And they struggled to protect her from them......
By the magnitude of her fury in the final hour
In the naked dawn only a few survived...........
@Bortin
They would need to make their journey back to nature....
And for some of them it was only the moment that mattered...
By the men who learned how to forge her beauty into power
And they struggled to protect her from them......
By the magnitude of her fury in the final hour
In the naked dawn only a few survived...........
So many great lines and it's clearly a warning that the direction the world and the people with power are taking will eventually lead to it's destruction unless we change our course to simpler times.
So many great lines and it's clearly a warning that the direction the world and the people with power are taking will eventually lead to it's destruction unless we change our course to simpler times.
@Bortin Thank you for your heartfelt response to this song. What you said makes total sense to me. I'm 2 years younger than you, but we lived through the 60s together. We have one son and I feel the same way that you do about his (and our) future.
@Bortin Thank you for your heartfelt response to this song. What you said makes total sense to me. I'm 2 years younger than you, but we lived through the 60s together. We have one son and I feel the same way that you do about his (and our) future.
@Bortin Love your take on BTD, your words make me reflect on an idea that’s been floating around my brain for a week or two (but which also connect back to my thoughts after the Drumpf was elected in November 2016)…
@Bortin Love your take on BTD, your words make me reflect on an idea that’s been floating around my brain for a week or two (but which also connect back to my thoughts after the Drumpf was elected in November 2016)…
This is NOT to say that we should stop trying to make improvements afa emissions, methane, etc etc, (anybody caught “fiddling while Rome burns” should be immediately put into the stocks and rotten tomatoes thrown at their empty heads until people are tired of Throwing them), but I digress…
This is NOT to say that we should stop trying to make improvements afa emissions, methane, etc etc, (anybody caught “fiddling while Rome burns” should be immediately put into the stocks and rotten tomatoes thrown at their empty heads until people are tired of Throwing them), but I digress…
But as soon as Hillary conceded, the thought “The Earth...
But as soon as Hillary conceded, the thought “The Earth is now absolutely doomed to drown” went thru my head…and I feel even more strongly about that now, sadly:
It’s OVER. We will suffer BADLY and die for “letting it go” until it was TOO LATE, which I truly believe it is. It’s OVER.
I saw Jackson Browne at the Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium last night, and he closed with this song as the second encore. First, I agree with the comment that what a song means is whatever it means to you. That being said, here's what this song means to me. I'm the same age as Jackson Browne, and I've followed his music since I was in my twenties. When he says, "Some of them were dreamers, some of them were fools...," "Some of them knew pleasure, some of them knew pain...," and "Some of them were angry at the way the earth was abused..." he is talking about the generation who came of age in the '60s. We thought we could make big changes by embracing the natural world and protecting the earth from the corporate abusers who learned "..to forge her beauty into power." But our wings became tarnished by live-for-moment hedonism (shallow sexuality and drug use), and we either burned out or gave in to the need to compromise our ideals to survive in the material world. And though we may have continued to struggle to protect the fragile environment, in his chilling pre-apocalyptic vision, the artist realized that it was too late--the tipping point had been reached. We were "..confused by the magnitude of her fury in the final hour." This song is more relevant today than ever, as we begin to understand that it is the abuse of the earth rather than nuclear Armageddon that is likely to seal our fate. As it says in Ecclesiastes, "Men go and come, but the earth abides." those of us with children can only hope that they might be among the ones who are spared in the "naked dawn" when "only a few survived." We are blessed by the beauty and artistry we are capable of creating; cursed by the greed and short-sightedness that have lead us to the brink of the seemingly inevitable massive die-off of our species. "Let creation reveal its secrets by and by."
Bortin, Your comment was so very well stated. I agree completely. Like you I also believe that the interpretation of the lyric's to a song are/should be from one's personal perspective and I also believe this is the goal of most songwriters....personal interpretation, for which, there is no right or wrong. While I believe I may be a few years younger than you (born in '60), I do recall the attitudes of that period of time. When I hear the lyrics, I get the same impression as you. The line "Confused by the magnitude of her fury in...
Bortin, Your comment was so very well stated. I agree completely. Like you I also believe that the interpretation of the lyric's to a song are/should be from one's personal perspective and I also believe this is the goal of most songwriters....personal interpretation, for which, there is no right or wrong. While I believe I may be a few years younger than you (born in '60), I do recall the attitudes of that period of time. When I hear the lyrics, I get the same impression as you. The line "Confused by the magnitude of her fury in the final hour" speaks volumes. The destruction of the planet and our own demise, is at our own hand. But it's cause is not from a nuclear holocaust, but from thoughtless disregard and abuse of this place we call home. Man is so arrogant to believe because he walks upright, that he controls the planet and may do as he chooses, no matter the consequences.. He/she fail to remember that we share this planet with one of this worlds greatest treasures.....Animals. We are doing a grand job at destroying their natural habitats and we have effectively caused the extinction of more than a few species of animals by a variety of means including slaughter for profit. Even worse yet, consideration of what we leave for our children and our children's children, doesn't appear to be of high priority. I can't begin to imagine the condition of the place THEY will be calling home.
We start with the best of intentions, but fail in maintaining the integrity of our youthful, untarnished beliefs. In the end, nature will certainly remind us who is in charge and it certainly isn't us. We will see her wrath. We are wise to realize it and act accordingly, while we have the chance to do so, on the outside chance that it isn't already to late to reverse that which we have already so thoughtlessly and carelessly done.
Love your interpretation Bortin. I, too, grew up on Jackson Browne and follow him now, via acoustic tours, etc. Prophetic voice to be reckoned with.
Love your interpretation Bortin. I, too, grew up on Jackson Browne and follow him now, via acoustic tours, etc. Prophetic voice to be reckoned with.
@Bortin They would need to make their journey back to nature.... And for some of them it was only the moment that mattered... By the men who learned how to forge her beauty into power And they struggled to protect her from them...... By the magnitude of her fury in the final hour In the naked dawn only a few survived...........
@Bortin They would need to make their journey back to nature.... And for some of them it was only the moment that mattered... By the men who learned how to forge her beauty into power And they struggled to protect her from them...... By the magnitude of her fury in the final hour In the naked dawn only a few survived...........
So many great lines and it's clearly a warning that the direction the world and the people with power are taking will eventually lead to it's destruction unless we change our course to simpler times.
So many great lines and it's clearly a warning that the direction the world and the people with power are taking will eventually lead to it's destruction unless we change our course to simpler times.
@Bortin Thank you for your heartfelt response to this song. What you said makes total sense to me. I'm 2 years younger than you, but we lived through the 60s together. We have one son and I feel the same way that you do about his (and our) future.
@Bortin Thank you for your heartfelt response to this song. What you said makes total sense to me. I'm 2 years younger than you, but we lived through the 60s together. We have one son and I feel the same way that you do about his (and our) future.
@Bortin Love your take on BTD, your words make me reflect on an idea that’s been floating around my brain for a week or two (but which also connect back to my thoughts after the Drumpf was elected in November 2016)…
@Bortin Love your take on BTD, your words make me reflect on an idea that’s been floating around my brain for a week or two (but which also connect back to my thoughts after the Drumpf was elected in November 2016)…
This is NOT to say that we should stop trying to make improvements afa emissions, methane, etc etc, (anybody caught “fiddling while Rome burns” should be immediately put into the stocks and rotten tomatoes thrown at their empty heads until people are tired of Throwing them), but I digress…
This is NOT to say that we should stop trying to make improvements afa emissions, methane, etc etc, (anybody caught “fiddling while Rome burns” should be immediately put into the stocks and rotten tomatoes thrown at their empty heads until people are tired of Throwing them), but I digress…
But as soon as Hillary conceded, the thought “The Earth...
But as soon as Hillary conceded, the thought “The Earth is now absolutely doomed to drown” went thru my head…and I feel even more strongly about that now, sadly:
It’s OVER. We will suffer BADLY and die for “letting it go” until it was TOO LATE, which I truly believe it is. It’s OVER.