| Mike Oldfield – Moonlight Shadow Lyrics | 16 years ago |
| I haven't heard the Mike Oldfield version yet, but the version by Aselin Debison goes "Will you come to TERMS with me this night?" I always figured it was an early morning robbery where the man was killed and his wife was raped which she couldn't figure out how to get past (or push through) and she had a child from the rape that she couldn't figure out how to love. Thus, the child asking will you come to terms with me this night? Just a theory. | |
| Jackson Browne – Farther On Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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A bit more detailed interpretation: Browne recognizes reality (instead of refusing to see life as it is) and he still refuses to let it get him down. Unlike the Pretender he has not grown disillusioned with this world; unlike the Everyman he is not looking for a way out of his problems and disappointments; and unlike the Hold Out he recognizes reality and is not watching it through rose colored glasses. No matter how many times his "dreams have come up torn and empty," no matter that "heaven's no closer than it was yesterday" this guy will not quit. He continues to allow beauty to be his guiding star. More than that, he understands as well that he may not have all the answers and indeed remarks that he could maybe have lost his way and in a parallel of reality even the angels have grown older. By the end of the song Browne has lost all of the reasons he once had for pursuing hope and trusting to faith to bring him home but he stubbornly refuses to lie down. He realizes that the next dawn could bring him a fresh start and new meaning for his life. He has come so far and puts his "faith in the distance" accepting that he just has to keep pushing forward in life until he comes across something to restore his passion for living as something undoubtedly will. Perhaps what impressed me most with this song was the absolute truth behind the message. No one will get up every day and be perfectly excited in a can't-wait-to-face-the-day sort of way. We all have our moments of the blues. But this song reminds us that we can't let our depression and damp spirits convince us to do something that should not be done. We have to get out of bed and live our lives recognizing some days will be better and some will be not so great. So even if you live from happy moment to moment any kind of life is better than no life at all and we should all remember this when the world seems dark and lonely and bleak. We have to place our trust in the distance. |
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| Bob Dylan – Forever Young Lyrics | 17 years ago |
| Ironically, this song is not a contradiction to The Times They Are A Changing because the times are always changing according to that song. Meaning that the times had changed between the writing of the two songs. I also don't think that there was a great relationship between Bob and Jakob. I have never heard of any of Bob's other sons being musicians and I think that played a part in the tension between him and Jakob. Although Jakob always said Bob was a good father in interviews, I always got the impression there was no love lost between them. | |
| Jackson Browne – For Everyman Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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Understanding that this song was not written for the following reason I have nonetheless considered an alternate meaning for the song which fits surprisingly well. Everyman = Jesus Everybody I talk to is ready to leave With the light of the morning They've seen the end coming down long enough to believe That they've heard their last warning Standing alone Each has his own ticket in his hand And as the evening descends I sit thinking 'bout Everyman Everybody is waiting for the end to come (Judgment Day) and this guy is waiting for Jesus. Seems like I've always been looking for some other place To get it together Where with a few of my friends I could give up the race And maybe find something better But all my fine dreams Well thought out schemes to gain the motherland Have all eventually come down to waiting for Everyman He knows he's made mistakes in his life by living only for himself and he realizes that each mistake has only drawn him further toward Jesus. Waiting here for Everyman-- Make it on your own if you think you can If you see somewhere to go I understand Waiting here for Everyman-- Don't ask me if he'll show -- baby I don't know Everyone is looking to do everything on their own thinking they can do it good enough and the speaker, while not totally positive that Jesus exists, still waits for him faithfully and with hope. Make it on your own if you think you can Somewhere later on you'll have to take a stand Then you're going to need a hand People will try to do things themselves but the speaker knows that when Judgment Day does come only the intercession of Jesus on behalf of the faithful will save anyone. Everybody's just waiting to hear from the one Who can give them the answers And lead them back to that place in the warmth of the sun Where sweet childhood still dances Who'll come along And hold out that strong and gentle father's hand? Long ago I heard someone say something 'bout Everyman People want answers that cannot come in this life even though they've been offered the hand of the Father by the Son in an ancient book that is rarely read or believed anymore though a few faithful do still accept it. I'm not trying to tell you that I've seen the plan Turn and walk away if you think I am-- But don't think too badly of one who's left holding sand He's just another dreamer, dreaming 'bout Everyman The speaker knows he doesn't know everthing and is okay with people not believing him, even allows them to walk away, but also understands that the faithful will be made fun of and wants people to understand that they're just trying to find some way to go on in life even if their waiting never turns into anything substantial. Like I said, not the original intent of the song but an interesting perspective to consider. |
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| Jackson Browne – My Opening Farewell Lyrics | 17 years ago |
| Another great song. A couple are on the verge of a break up. The man holds on for a long time hoping to convince the woman to stay with him, even going so far as to give her reasons to stay, "I'm offering these to her as if to be kind." He eventually realizes that while he may feel strongly for her, all he's really doing is keeping her in an unwanted and depressing relationship, or as he puts it, "lock her safe behind this open door." He also comes to understand that his vision of their future did not fit hers and he had in essence, "asked her to see what she may never see." So he gives her his opening farewell as he prepares to leave their relationship behind. | |
| Jackson Browne – I Thought I Was a Child Lyrics | 17 years ago |
| This song is one of my favorites off the album For Everyman. This guy, kid really, meets this woman who is just perfectly in tune with him. He has always been, maybe, afraid of love or perhaps more accurately afraid of being burned in love and has chased down dream after dream in an attempt to keep moving and stay out of reach of love. But one glance from this woman and he realizes that with the right woman he could see himself and find out where he truly belongs. | |
| Jackson Browne – For Taking the Trouble Lyrics | 17 years ago |
| Another great song about love from a true musical artist. I've always seen this song as a testament to those guys who have been looking for love and found love in a woman who smiled at them, though they eventually realized that all they felt was a temporary kind of physical attraction lust, rather than the love they were hoping for. Consequently, they were forced to begin their search all over again and realizing that they are strong enough to live without that special someone for a while. | |
| Jackson Browne – Call It a Loan Lyrics | 17 years ago |
| Love the music to this song. To me this song has always been about a man who has been with a woman and truly loves her. However, he has always assumed that she loved him back and has taken her love for granted. Finally, he wakes up one day and sees how much her love really cost and how much it will cost him to get it back. | |
| Jackson Browne – For A Dancer Lyrics | 18 years ago |
| This song was actually written for the same Adam the song "Song for Adam" is about on Browne's first album. | |
| Jackson Browne – Farther On Lyrics | 18 years ago |
| This is one of Browne's most underrated songs off of his most brilliantly written album. The song illustrates a man's journey through his trials. This guy has put his heart on his sleeve time after time and it is continuously trampled and beaten. But he knows that the angels are with him and he continues on in his pursuit of happiness with his heart full of hope. A very uplifting song. | |
| Sister Hazel – The World Inside My Head Lyrics | 18 years ago |
| This song is talking about a man/woman who has found something (religion, perhaps) to believe in. All of his old friends and people he meets for the first time continually try to change him to their way of thinking "they're tryin to shoot down my plane of grace." Meanwhile, he's beginning to get weary of the trappings of "the one less traveled" and is starting to feel pressure to be like them. But he believes that people should be allowed to be who they are: "strange is just a different point of view." | |
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