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A Voice in the Wilderness

As nightfall does not come at once, neither does oppression. In both instances, there's a twilight where everything remains seemingly unchanged, and it is in such twilight that we must be aware of change in the air, however slight, lest we become unwitting victims of the darkness. -- William O. Douglas

Friday, July 29, 2005

The Pretender - Jackson Browne

THE PRETENDER
Jackson Browne (1976)

I'm going to rent myself a house
In the shade of the freeway
I'm going to 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
And 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 laughter of the lovers
As they run through the night
Leaving nothing for the others
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 going to 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 out 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 going to 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
Thought 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

(c) 1976 SWALLOW TURN MUSIC


5 Comments:

At Fri Jul 29, 06:11:00 AM MDT, Blogger iamnasra said...

This is poem is so amazing..Im speechless..

Since you left me a comment on cancer, I have you in my prayers and I pray for your dad..Please be storng for him....

I want to leave you with this poem that I worte in 2004:

Under the fate of God

This life was given to me
I took an oath to share it with you
A gift of God sent to us
We trust no other than God
Whether its sadness or happiness
silence or rage
All colors of life are mine and yours
Togather we wish to go through it all
The changes of our destiney
We are ready to recieve the unexpected
We are forever togather under the fate of God

copyright nasra al adawi 2004

Published in Within Myself: The Willpower to Live-Beyond Cancer

 
At Fri Jul 29, 09:35:00 AM MDT, Blogger The Voice said...

iamnasra,

Jackson Browne is a pop singer whose career started in the mid-seventies.

I particularly appreciate this song because it was a rallying song for me when I was a young man. I am now in my mid forties - thirty years removed from the time when I first heard this song and last night I heard it gain for the first time in many, many years.

Having the luxury to reflect on Jackson Browne's words, I can honestly say that I haven't 'sold my soul' for fame, fortune or money. I have adhered to my core principals and I am proud for it. Who I am is Ho I was so long ago. The 'What' in my life has changed 'Who' I am.

I am glad to be the age that I am and I am mostly glad simply to be alive. I haven't skated through life and my troubles have been many. Nevertheless, I am just happy to be alive and I see every day as a gift.

Thank you for the beautiful poem - it touched me and reinforces what I believe to be good and right. It is times when we are faced with the prospect of death that we find our core beliefs challenged. What amazes me is that even though death was such a menacing entity in my life - for a decade of my life - I have often put aside the lessons most important from that time when I escaped its grasp.

It reminds me of something I read in a book once in which the writer was discussing a conversation he had with a woman who was stage four Cancer. He asked her what it was like knowing she was going to die. Her response was, 'How does it feel thinking you are not?'

A sobering thought I need to remind myself of that thought more often.

I suppose this is why I post so much - I want to leave my mark. That's all.

Be safe,
J

 
At Fri Jul 29, 09:59:00 AM MDT, Blogger Danny Cabeza de Calabazo said...

Great Blog! Thanks.
Take a look at
http://fatbillandme.blogspot.com/
if you get a chance. Danny

 
At Fri Jul 29, 08:04:00 PM MDT, Blogger Tazeen Mohsin said...

Well I never actually heard the song but it sounds good. Let's see if i can get a hold of it :)

 
At Sat Jul 30, 12:51:00 PM MDT, Blogger iamnasra said...

Im glad you liked the poem..and I hope it will give you a reason to smile...

Should you have time..Please visit my latest post..your name was mentioned over there as your blog was great inspiration at least to me...

 

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