Song Lyric Sunday: Pretending At Sunset

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For this week’s Song Lyric Sunday Jim is inviting us to play something recorded at the Sunset Sound Recorders studio in Hollywood. You can read about it in his post, Famous And Historic Recordings. I looked up on both Wikipedia and the studio’s own website, and found many names that appealed to me.

Two in particular stood out, and I am going with one of those. The one I didn’t choose was the Led Zeppelin IV album, which the studio is claiming, and to which there is reference on Wikipedia (separate page, though, not their main one for Sunset). However, if you dig deeper you’ll find that the tracks for this were recorded in the UK and then taken across to Sunset by Jimmy Page for remixing. On his return, the rest of the band hated the mixes, so the album was shelved until Jimmy could have another try, in a UK studio, after their scheduled touring dates (one of which I went to). It was eventually released seven months later than originally planned: to my mind, that doesn’t really count as something the studio should claim as their achievement. They were just ‘pretending,’ really.

Which leads me on to what I’m playing today (straight out of the bumper book of crappy links and segues). The whole album was definitely recorded at Sunset Sound, and is for me a classic from one of my favourite artists. This is the title track, in a performance when he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. They eventually managed to get the sound levels to his liking:

And its lyrics – it is a long song, so bear with me:

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?

Source: Musixmatch

Songwriter: Jackson Browne

The Pretender lyrics © Abood Music Limited, Swallow Turn Music

The Pretender was Jackson Browne’s fourth album, and was released in November 1976, reaching #5 in the US and giving him his first UK Albums Chart entry, peaking at #26. The song was also a single, getting to #58 in the US but not charting in the UK. The album was recorded shortly after the suicide of Jackson’s first wife, Phyllis Major, in March 1976, and one of its songs – Here Come Those Tears Again – (co-written by Phyllis’ mother, Nancy Farnsworth) is dedicated to her. That was the other single taken from it, so I thought I’d play it today too. This is a live performance from 1978, with Rosemary Butler on harmony vocals and Jackson’s long time friend and collaborator David Lindley on guitar:

A really heartfelt song, which I’m sure was cathartic both for Jackson and Nancy as they worked through their grief. As a single, this song reached #23 in the US but again wasn’t a UK hit. I’ve always thought that both of these songs, and the album as a whole, deserved to do better here. But he has a loyal UK following and his concerts are well attended – I saw him in 2010 and it was a fabulous evening.

That’s it for today, and I hope you’ve enjoyed my choices. See you again for Tuesday Tunes? Hope so 😊

24 thoughts on “Song Lyric Sunday: Pretending At Sunset”

  1. Pingback: The First Day After August | Take It Easy

  2. Clive, you made an excellent decision. I really like Jackson Browne’s music, and this is one of my favorites. I’ve always admired the phrase “caught between the longing for love and the struggle for legal tender.

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  3. Two classics from a fabulous performer. What a talent! I particularly like Here Comes Those Tears though The Pretender is great too. Now, I’m off to listen to Somebody’s Baby because you put me in a Jackson Browne kind of mood.

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  4. Great choice Clive. I love Jackson Browne’s stuff, and this is one of my favourites. I’ve always loved the line ‘caught between the longing for love, and the struggle for the legal tender’. And the coming lines about ads taking aim for the heart and the soul of the spender, never more relevant than today with our world of algorithms.

    And it was, if I’m not mistaken, co-produced by Springsteen’s long-term collaborator Jon Landau. Superb album.

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    • Thanks, Paul, glad you liked it. I love his music too, always have, and I think he is a great songwriter, with some great lines. That one about ads is still extremely relevant! This is indeed a superb album, like everything he has done.

      Yes, Jon Landau is credited as producing this album – I think it is the only one of Jackson’s he has worked on, but don’t quote me on that, just in case 😊

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  7. A terrific album, coming right after his masterwork “Late For The Sky!” I am seeing him in concert in New York win two weeks and this is one of the songs not he set list…oh, and knowing that “IV” is a masterpiece, how could Jimmy Page have screwed up the mix on it? Would be great to hear!

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    • He has always made great albums, some of those early ones still rank among his best for me. I hope you enjoy his concert: I’ve seen him, and it was fabulous.

      I guess Jimmy wasn’t on the same wavelength as the rest of the band. It’s an interesting story, though. I saw them in March 1971, the month before it had been scheduled for release, but no mention was made of it, apart from Robert Plant introducing ‘Stairway to Heaven’ with the throwaway line “here’s a track off our new album!”

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