We all have that moment when we look at someone and say to ourselves and realize that this is love. But we rarely remember the moment that we realize it is probably over. That just seems to happen as a slow painful process.
To me this a song about a man who finds an old photo and realizes that what he had with a person is gone and has been for some time. I picture a woman laughing with friends and someone calling out "smile" and points behind her and when she turns around she drops her guard for a moment and expresses being let down that it was just him. The expression of sorrow.
Browne tends to go on in this song and place the cause of the sorrow upon himself, which is probably the way he felt at the time. There are hints of an affair "so you go running off in search of a perfect stranger". And the entire song gets very intricately reflective and apologetic to the end with upbeat lyrics and music thrown in at the end of each verse "but now your alright, and it's good to see your smiling face tonight". These almost seem out of place in this song.
I believe it was a very personal song written for a particular person. I've heard that he later said it was more credit than the person deserved. But what makes this song so special is that just as the photograph encapsulated that moment of discovery, this song encapsulated that moment in his life and he is a VERY talented artist to put pen to paper and take this snapshot of his life as it was on the day he wrote it.
@CalebTaylor This is pretty much my take on the song. When I was 21 I met and fell in love with a terrific woman of 25. But I was too young, and inexperienced to know what i had in front of me. So, I "went looking for a perfect stranger." Aftee we separated we stayed in touch for awhile and even maintained an off/on intimate relationship. But I had to move away. The line "I'm just one or two years and a couple of changes behind you" always gets me. But the years and the changes have come and gone...
@CalebTaylor This is pretty much my take on the song. When I was 21 I met and fell in love with a terrific woman of 25. But I was too young, and inexperienced to know what i had in front of me. So, I "went looking for a perfect stranger." Aftee we separated we stayed in touch for awhile and even maintained an off/on intimate relationship. But I had to move away. The line "I'm just one or two years and a couple of changes behind you" always gets me. But the years and the changes have come and gone but now "you're (she's) alright" I don't have a picture of her, but I see her clearly the way she looked the last time I saw her. Very personal song for me. Too personal to be reflecting in a public forum.
We all have that moment when we look at someone and say to ourselves and realize that this is love. But we rarely remember the moment that we realize it is probably over. That just seems to happen as a slow painful process.
To me this a song about a man who finds an old photo and realizes that what he had with a person is gone and has been for some time. I picture a woman laughing with friends and someone calling out "smile" and points behind her and when she turns around she drops her guard for a moment and expresses being let down that it was just him. The expression of sorrow.
Browne tends to go on in this song and place the cause of the sorrow upon himself, which is probably the way he felt at the time. There are hints of an affair "so you go running off in search of a perfect stranger". And the entire song gets very intricately reflective and apologetic to the end with upbeat lyrics and music thrown in at the end of each verse "but now your alright, and it's good to see your smiling face tonight". These almost seem out of place in this song.
I believe it was a very personal song written for a particular person. I've heard that he later said it was more credit than the person deserved. But what makes this song so special is that just as the photograph encapsulated that moment of discovery, this song encapsulated that moment in his life and he is a VERY talented artist to put pen to paper and take this snapshot of his life as it was on the day he wrote it.
@CalebTaylor This is pretty much my take on the song. When I was 21 I met and fell in love with a terrific woman of 25. But I was too young, and inexperienced to know what i had in front of me. So, I "went looking for a perfect stranger." Aftee we separated we stayed in touch for awhile and even maintained an off/on intimate relationship. But I had to move away. The line "I'm just one or two years and a couple of changes behind you" always gets me. But the years and the changes have come and gone...
@CalebTaylor This is pretty much my take on the song. When I was 21 I met and fell in love with a terrific woman of 25. But I was too young, and inexperienced to know what i had in front of me. So, I "went looking for a perfect stranger." Aftee we separated we stayed in touch for awhile and even maintained an off/on intimate relationship. But I had to move away. The line "I'm just one or two years and a couple of changes behind you" always gets me. But the years and the changes have come and gone but now "you're (she's) alright" I don't have a picture of her, but I see her clearly the way she looked the last time I saw her. Very personal song for me. Too personal to be reflecting in a public forum.