The lyrics in the first verse are a straight slam of all the "advice" friends give you when you're down, whether it's the death of a loved one or the end of a relationship: "Love will abide, take things in stride- sounds like good advice, but there's no one by my side" and "Time washes clean love's wounds unseen- that's what someone told me, but I don't know what it means." Gary White (the songwriter) and Linda Ronstadt (the singer) are basically saying in that first verse that easy bromides or canned advice from third persons are basically worthless and don't help anyone get over a loss. Ask anyone who's lost a loved one to death or had a failed long-term relationship- they'll say, "don't give me your easy advice from some Hallmark card or self-help book. If you want to help, just SHUT UP and listen, and let me vent or grieve." People who've been through know that it really will hurt- for a long, long time, perhaps the rest of their lives.
The lyrics in the first verse are a straight slam of all the "advice" friends give you when you're down, whether it's the death of a loved one or the end of a relationship: "Love will abide, take things in stride- sounds like good advice, but there's no one by my side" and "Time washes clean love's wounds unseen- that's what someone told me, but I don't know what it means." Gary White (the songwriter) and Linda Ronstadt (the singer) are basically saying in that first verse that easy bromides or canned advice from third persons are basically worthless and don't help anyone get over a loss. Ask anyone who's lost a loved one to death or had a failed long-term relationship- they'll say, "don't give me your easy advice from some Hallmark card or self-help book. If you want to help, just SHUT UP and listen, and let me vent or grieve." People who've been through know that it really will hurt- for a long, long time, perhaps the rest of their lives.