So much to draw upon in the decades of thoughtful and profound ballads from Jackson Browne

Many ideas and human struggles, captured so well.

A personal favorite lyric which has influenced me until this day, IMHO, capturing the importance of personal choices: "I'm going to be a happy idiot and struggle for the legal tender". Or not. Now Jackson Browne is concerned about the planet itself, and still, humans.

The Pretender

I'm going to rent myself a house
In the shade of the freeway
Gonna pack my lunch in the morning
And go to work each day
And when the evening rolls around
I'll go on home and lay my body down
And when the morning light comes streaming in
I'll get up and do it again, Amen
Say it again, Amen
I want to know what became of the changes
We waited for love to bring
Were they only the fitful dreams
Of some greater awakening?
I've been aware of the time going by
They say, in the end, it's the wink of an eye
When the morning light comes streaming in
You'll get up and do it again, Amen
Caught between the longing for love
And the struggle for the legal tender
Where the sirens sing and the church bells ring
And the junk man pounds his fender
Where the veterans dream of the fight
Fast asleep at the traffic light
And the children solemnly wait
For the ice cream vendor
Out into the cool of the evening
Strolls the pretender
He knows that all his hopes and dreams
Begin and end there
ah, the lovers as they run through the night
(Leaving nothing) leaving nothing but to choose off and fight
And tear at the world with all their might
While the ships bearing their dreams
Sail out of sight
I'm gonna find myself a girl
Who can show me what laughter means
And we'll fill in the missing colors
In each other's paint-by-number dreams
And then we'll put our dark glasses on
And we'll make love until our strength is gone
And when the morning light comes streaming in
We'll get up and do it again
Get it up again
I'm gonna be a happy idiot
And struggle for the legal tender
Where the ads take aim and lay their claim
To the heart and the soul of the spender
And believe in whatever may lie
In those things that money can buy
Where true love could have been a contender
Are you there? Say a prayer for the pretender
Who started out so young and strong only to surrender
Say a prayer for the pretender
Are you there for the pretender?
Say a prayer for the pretender
Are you there for the pretender?
Are you prepared for the pretender?

--

PBS NewsHour tribute: https://www.pbs.org/video/jackson-browne-we-could-have-society-where-justice-is-real-1627234405/

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