This song is about a man who could have enjoyed a life of love, fulfillment and purpose but instead chose to chase every dollar he could. This song was written in 1976 and he predicted the rise of the yuppie. It is one of Jackson's best. Sadly, in his own life, his wife committed suicide a couple of months before this album was released. He became a single dad quick. This album also propelled him to the spotlight as he became a big star with this one. Glad you like it. Jackson has written some very powerful, thoughtful and observant lyrics in throughout his career.
The counter culture kids of the 60s and 70s and the yuppies of the 80s were the same people, I think they call that growing up, the aging process. Do you prefer middle aged adolescents, they had a few of them too...I think those are the ones now over 70 with $0 in their savings account and even less in their IRAs...
"Chasing the dollar" as you say, is only one aspect of the larger meaning of the song. Which is about an idealistic young man having to adopt the ways of the mundane, seemingly meaningless, work-a-day world, setting aside, even denying, the deeper longings of his soul. He has to pretend. (And the person he becomes, living in the shadow of the freeway, is hardly a yuppie.)
@@iamhudsdent2759 That's always the way I took it. The protagonist never INTENDED to be so mundane, but that's just how it went, while all his hopes and dreams were sort of suppressed and lie dormant while he does "what he has to." Dreams deferred, Longings unsatisfied, mostly. I see it as a West-coast-style Bruce Springsteen song.
The record is a concept album (as I see it) with the character in The Fuse going through his first big experience at love and finding it lacking. In his own life his relationship with Joni had not gone well and this song, Pretender, was finished after his first wife died. I think he was in a temp store for rent while finding a place to live so the last verse turns very dark and bitter. He is a Pretender because this is how he is feeling but knows, deeper down, that he can not be happy in such a life so could yet be pulled away from it. That's why he asks us to pray for him.
“In a 1997 interview with Mojo magazine, Browne said of this song: "I'm a big fan of ambiguity and its bountiful rewards, and 'The Pretender' is two things at once. It's that person in all of us that has a higher ideal, and the part that has settled for compromise - like Truffaut says, there's the movie you set out to make, and there's the one you settle for. But in a more serious way, 'The Pretender' is about '60s idealism, the idea of life being about love and brotherhood, justice, social change and enlightenment, those concepts we were flooded with as our generation hit its stride; and how, later, we settled for something quite different. So when I say 'Say a prayer for The Pretender,' I'm talking about those people who are trying to convince themselves that there really was nothing to that idealism."
Agreed, I always assumed it was not meant to be from the point of view of someone planning their life that way, to become a pretender struggling for the legal tender... it's more a commentary on how things turn out for so many of us, the emptiness of the letdown after riding the merry go round of chasing the dollar and material pursuit and suburban utopia... and the lyrics are phrased this way, tongue in cheek, to show how silly it would have sounded to be aspiring to this if we had known beforehand
This song saved my life. It came out when I was a teenager, and I went to see Jackson Browne in concert during his "Running on Empty" tour. In my late 30s and early 40s, I started climbing the corporate ladder... I was surrendering to the search for the legal tender. My daughter told me that her early memories of me are of me bent over a computer doing work from home. I remembered this song, and went back to a blue collar life. I'm still at it, age 61. In great shape and LIVING! Married the girl I took to the prom... because she's always been the one. She doesn't care about money... only having fun. It's more than OK to "have enough" to live, so you can be healthy and live. I've always admired a great poet, and Jackson Browne is one. Prosit! from Texas.
Kenny ---- from one Kenny to another... You, my friend did the right thing. What you wrote was a story of how to live the best way in your situation. You've found the key and used it to unlock the door to contentment. I have a similar story only I haven't found my love or had kids. But, I was caught up in becoming famous in the entertainment business and was in the tabloids, hanging out at the Playboy mansion dating playmates and daughters and ex wives of rock stars, and I turned 30 (1995) and realized that I needed to change the course of my life and two days after a huge star filled 30th birthday party I packed my things and left my home and birthplace, L.A. and moved to a smaller city in CA. and went back to work as an electrician in the Union and was anonymous, except that I ran into a couple people I knew from LA. But, I didn't tell anyone I met about who I was and who I knew etc... eventually a couple people who became close friends found out by seeing photos in my house with celebrities and lived that way for 17 years and then moved back to LA to start my own electrical contracting business, and as life works, I'm doing electrical work as a subcontractor for film and tv production on locations for about half of my business and the other half is service electrical for residential and small commercial work. I love what I do, I make morenthan enough money for a single man. I could make a lot more but I choose to not work every day, pick and choose which jobs I want to do and I'm relatively stress free. I don't have the love of a woman but I also don't have the hassle and stress of a woman in my life other than dating. I consider my business my child since I started from nothing, no business plan or any clients and built it up to being the #1 electrical subcontractor for all the major film and tv studios and production companies working on films for Terantino and Spielberg and many other big films, award winning, Oscars and Emmys and every other award, #1 shows multiple times. But my business is still just me and a helper once in a while and it's been 10 years. Like I said before, I make plenty to pay my bills and buy my toys and have fun without stress. Sometimes I'll work everyday for two or three months and make $40k and then I'll only work a couple days a week for six months make another $40k and then work hard or semi hard or take a couple months off and do some traveling or enjoy my hobbies. Hug your wife and kids every day. You all stay safe and happy.
Brad & Lex, you’ll love his "Doctor, My Eyes", “The Pretender” and “The Load Out”/”Stay”!!! “The Load Out”/”Stay” must be done together! Singer/songwriter who plays guitar and piano! edit- This song is about a man who gives up his dreams and lives a life of routine monotony in order to accumulate money. He is the pretender.
the song is about many things, i think, at least some of it, is about his first wife that commited suicide at the age of thirty. this was his first album after that.
Jackson is in both the rock and roll hall of fame and the songwriter hall of fame. And this song exemplifies both. A true talent who's humanitarian side outdoes his music. Great reaction.
Guys, this may be the best reaction you've done yet. The stars lined up with a great song and you guys being in a thoughtful mood. great stuff! keep it up.
Jackson Browne's lyrics are beautiful in their simplicity. His songs often reflect on his own life, either as a musician on the road, or life's lessons.
A tune from my favorite JB album. "For Everyman" is my favorite album, so many great songs. I am fond of " Our Lady of the Well", not sure why, but it may be my favorite.
Jackson Browne has been a prolific singer/songwriter for decades. His "Late For The Sky" album is my favorite, because I found it at a rough period in my life. You finally reacted to my second favorite artist. I'm still waiting for someone to check out my favorite, the legendary John Prine.
@@landenchantment It's cool that some reactors have done some Prine, but none are songs that I would choose as the best examples of his artistry. I love Paradise, but the absolute best version is from the album "German Afternoons". The other two songs are very poetic, but also profoundly sad. I'm still hoping to see reactions to songs from his Emmy winning album "The Missing Years". "Picture Show" and "All The Best" would be great choices. His duet with Bonnie Raitt on John Prine Live is classic.
This song is about giving up your dreams to live a life of mediocrity and earn a living. One of the saddest songs ever -- brings me to tears every time.
@@Eowyn187 -- Me too and I'm 74 so I've had a lot more years than most to think about it. But, I don't want to get too maudlin -- it may be sad but it's life. Not everyone gets to be the superstar -- and I'm sure even they have regrets.
@@Eowyn187 I did not give up my dreams. I pursued them, a life of meditation, writing, travel, and dedication to the soul. But there are two sides to this choice kj. It comes with a price. Not many people will walk with you on that path. I've learned to be alone. I don't regret that. But it's hard at times. It's not for everybody. So count your blessings, and understand your soul, who you actually are, no matter the circumstance. That soul is always you. Circumstance is not.
I always thought the pretender was someone just going through the motions. He once had a dream when he was young, but life buckled him under and his dreams "sailed out of sight." Most people end up this way, which is why this song is so relateable.
This is a reminder of my college days. "Jackson Browne - Running On Empty" was one of my favorites. It was played on the radio all through the day. I remember a woman, Jewel, dancing to it.
Amen Paul. Men are so simple compared to women. Men need respect and to feel loved by the woman he desires. When we are young, we want to conquer the world and will do stupid shit like fist fight and sleep around. This song is that point in time when you figure out.. "I'm going to find myself a girl who can show me what laughter means (love means). And we will fill in the missing colors of our paint by numbers dreams" (meaning I don't need the cheers of the crowd, just the laughter and love of this woman who can show me how to be intimate)
I always laughed when a woman asked what I was thinking. Nothing, or what should I eat next, is usually it. Sometimes I think about something for fifteen minutes (unless someone makes it last longer).
“While the ships bearing their dreams sail out of sight.” Might be the most heartbreaking lyric ever though. It’s a little about how sad it is to give up on dreams and also how it’s ok.
@@pulsarlights2825 But if you start the record over, again, he picks up the torch of his earlier dreams and tries again. Jackson pointed this out to Alan Ladd (who asked about the depressing end of Pretender).
@@rainmanjr2007 You think he tried again? "He started out so young and strong, only to surrender" My vote is that he lost the battle and the war, as we all do being mortal beings that age and die....
@@pulsarlights2825 He believes, at that moment, that he will never allow such pain to happen again. If one starts the record over, with The Fuse, we see that he can not fight his real nature and does try again. Sadly, he ends up at the same place and asks us, once again, to say a prayer for him. This is much like the many phases of any person's life. At moments we make vows that are not to be.
I once heard Jackson in an interview say that after his career took off it wasn't just about the music anymore; it was about the promotion of his music and concert dates and paying the band and crew and all the other stuff that comes with being a success, and that he had this little fantasy about being just a session player, pretty anonymous, no one knows who you are and you can just rent a house, pack your lunch and guitar and go to work and just play music which is what it's all about anyway. It was an eye-opener for me to realize that the artists we love have their "get away from it all" fantasies, too. Hail The Pretender!
Brad is always looking for meaning in song lyrics that often don't have any. But Jackson Browne writes deep meaningful lyrics in practically all his songs, so he'd be a good person to listen to some more of his material.
I grew up in the 70's and 80's, yet I have never listened to this song. I'm glad I did. It is beautiful. The banter from the two of you about men's thoughts vs women's thoughts were hilarious!! Y'all are a bright spot in my day, everyday! 💙
Jackson Browne is a gift to all. What an eye opener this song is. Everything is a pretence.”Nothing is real.” It is your time , waste it at your own leisure , not at someone else’s.
I saw behind the music about him on VH1, He said this was written about a simple man going through the daily life of a studio musician, and his simple life of going through the motions every day for whomever the person, or band may have been and never quite getting the fame, and recognition he deserved!
Guys, this is one of the greatest American singer-songwriters ever. He has been writing songs since he was 15. He just released a new album last year at age 72. He is presently on an extensive tour of America, Canada and Australia. His best album is 1974’s “Late For The Sky” which is one of the best albums ever written. Listen to “Late For The Sky” and “For A Dancer” from that 1974 album.
I found this song while going through a divorce and trying to sort thru life. I did find the girl that showed me what laughter means and after many many years even through her Dementia when she laughs my heart will soar and I can only hope that for others.
Guys you have to understand one thing about Jackson Browne. He was the calm voice after the chaos of the '60s. His music his songs slowed everything down and brought us back to reality. When he works on a song. It takes a long time. Listen to Bruce Springsteen's introduction of Jackson into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. And he will describe to you Jackson Browne. In his most earnest and honest way. He has been a great American songwriter for over 50 years. And it's time to get him to the Kennedy Center Honors. It's his time. First concert I ever went to 13 years old with my late sister who is 16 at the time and four of her girlfriends. Puberty heaven. But it's always been the music with me. Please do yourself a favor and delve more into Jackson Browne. Before the deluge should be next. It explains the lives of the innocent men, we went to Vietnam's as boys, and when they came home all their lives changed. Thank you
Jackson Browne is amazing. I just saw him live on Sept 23. I take my grandkids to their first concerts and it's always Jackson. My daughter is expecting twins very soon and she went to the concert with me so her babies first concert would carry on our tradition.
I've always loved this song. Jackson Browne is an amazing songwriter. His voice fits his music perfectly, and the backing musicians, studio and road members, are as good as it gets. Trying to figure out exactly what the song is about, I think is up to each listeners perspective. I feel like it's about looking at life realistically from the average person's point of view, and realizing that even though your younger self's hopes and dreams didn't come true, you can still find happiness in the simple things in life. Rock Me On the Water is a great song by him also
I think this is one of the most profound, hard hitting lyric in music . Relatable to the extreme for a man like me , now 61. Loved your reaction to this . Lex recognizing him as a lyricist was great . You bet , lady , he is surely all that and then some
The thing is...the truly sad, sometimes melancholy thing is...we are all pretenders, doing what we have to do to survive, and often putting our dreams on the sidelines in exchange...and that's okay. It's life. On a lighter note, Jackson Browne, like Dylan, possesses that rare talent, a natural knack for writing songs that we can all relate to...on a gut level. My favorite singer/songwriter. Peace. ✌😊
JB has been a big part of my life. I spent my younger life in southern California. And wherever I go back, and I listen to his music,, it all sounds los Angeles in the 70s to me.
If you get a chance to see Mr Brown live...do so...it is one of the purest acoustical productions you will get a chance to see. Nearly every seat in the house will be treated to excellence in sound.
Oh! So happy you did Jackson Browne!! He is 1 of the greatest American song writers…Hope you continue his whole Catalog! I’ve been going to his concerts with my family since I was little & continued into my adulthood. I would love to hear, ( Your Bright Baby Blues ) my sister passed away & that was her favorite song of His🕊. Also ( Daddy’s Tune ) is a really interesting written song. Or ( I’m Ready ) that’s about having a baby. You Can’t go wrong with Any song! ✌🏻☀️
The song the pretender is about the hippies and new thinkers of the 60s..who counted on love to find the way into the future...but then gave into the 70s and the materialism of the American dream of the future....and are now just pretending. Say a prayer to the pretender.
Mr Jackson Browne is one of the most gifted , talented , honest , decent and truely genuine people out there ! Considering what he has achieved in his long career , he may be expected to be rather hubristic on an occasion ? But i have never ,ever witnessed such behaviour. He is always a gentleman of the highest order ...always !
He started out a dreamer searching for important things like true love, but surrendered to commercialism. He now pretends to have it all as his dreams sail out of sight.
The singer is the "pretender". Moving through this life, fulfilling expectations and obligations, while pursuing the almighty dollar. Meaningless without love, purpose and family. I believe I saw Brad's eyes well with tears, and I believe he understands that this is every man's dilemma in our current culture and society. We spend so much time in pursuit of material things, then life, and age catch up.
It’s about anyone who gives up there dreams and surrenders to the 9-5 working life...pretending to be happy but really sad that they never fulfilled there dreams...
I always felt this song was like, Harrison's , While My Guitar Gently Weeps, and New. Rider's, Last Lonely Eagle. He's asking his generation, "where did the love we propagated go". "True love could have been a contender". My generation sold out where it didn't to. You can still be in the system without giving up your core values. Up until the last few years we basically pretended that the movement never happened.
To me Jackson Browne portrays a perfect representation of the laid back Californian, circa the 1970's. He is a truly gifted story teller in song form and this is him at his best. Really great stuff. He has been or is very successful and as is common among celebrities, his personal life has had a fair amount of controversy. A great artist for me.
Love Jackson Browne! If you want to hear some amazing lyrics, try "Call it a Loan" and "Shape of a Heart". "These Days" is another beautiful song he wrote when he was about 16. I mean, really, where does a 16 year old get the experiences to write a song like "These Days"?
This song brings back good memories. I was 16 year's old in 1976. I was young and in love. Or whatever I thought love was. I'm 62 now and when I hear song's like this it brings out the warm and fuzzy in my SOUL. 🌴🤠😜😎🐊😉🇺🇲☮️🌞
You two are becoming my favorite reaction people to watch. I just subscribe to your channel. I like your choice of music and the way you interact with each other.
This song is about choosing what people think the “right” way to live is. Keeping your dreams in your back pocket until it’s too late: your work and responsibilities take over and the light that once shone on what you really love have taken the drivers seat. He is the pretender “who started out so young and strong, only to surrender”.
I think the majority of people, male or female, want the simple things in life. A job that you like, a home that you love, someone to share this with, raise a family and have enough money so that you’re not always struggling. Great song, great lyrics. Can’t go wrong with Jackson Browne. Thanks guys! 🇨🇦
No. Women are never satisfied and always want more. Males make the mistake of trying to provide it and get caught up in the need to buy such a life. Many become unhappy and fall prey to a "Perfect stranger" and love's illusion ends (only to restart in a new exploit). This is an observation made in the movie Boyhood, which I highly recommend.
@@jillwanlin9558 That's what I'm told when I don't take the care to add the word "some" or "many" or other qualifier. I'm just handing it back to the females when they do it, too.
This song is about a man who could have enjoyed a life of love, fulfillment and purpose but instead chose to chase every dollar he could. This song was written in 1976 and he predicted the rise of the yuppie. It is one of Jackson's best. Sadly, in his own life, his wife committed suicide a couple of months before this album was released. He became a single dad quick. This album also propelled him to the spotlight as he became a big star with this one. Glad you like it. Jackson has written some very powerful, thoughtful and observant lyrics in throughout his career.
The counter culture kids of the 60s and 70s and the yuppies of the 80s were the same people, I think they call that growing up, the aging process. Do you prefer middle aged adolescents, they had a few of them too...I think those are the ones now over 70 with $0 in their savings account and even less in their IRAs...
"Chasing the dollar" as you say, is only one aspect of the larger meaning of the song. Which is about an idealistic young man having to adopt the ways of the mundane, seemingly meaningless, work-a-day world, setting aside, even denying, the deeper longings of his soul. He has to pretend. (And the person he becomes, living in the shadow of the freeway, is hardly a yuppie.)
@@iamhudsdent2759 That's always the way I took it. The protagonist never INTENDED to be so mundane, but that's just how it went, while all his hopes and dreams were sort of suppressed and lie dormant while he does "what he has to." Dreams deferred, Longings unsatisfied, mostly. I see it as a West-coast-style Bruce Springsteen song.
Well put
The record is a concept album (as I see it) with the character in The Fuse going through his first big experience at love and finding it lacking. In his own life his relationship with Joni had not gone well and this song, Pretender, was finished after his first wife died. I think he was in a temp store for rent while finding a place to live so the last verse turns very dark and bitter. He is a Pretender because this is how he is feeling but knows, deeper down, that he can not be happy in such a life so could yet be pulled away from it. That's why he asks us to pray for him.
“In a 1997 interview with Mojo magazine, Browne said of this song: "I'm a big fan of ambiguity and its bountiful rewards, and 'The Pretender' is two things at once. It's that person in all of us that has a higher ideal, and the part that has settled for compromise - like Truffaut says, there's the movie you set out to make, and there's the one you settle for. But in a more serious way, 'The Pretender' is about '60s idealism, the idea of life being about love and brotherhood, justice, social change and enlightenment, those concepts we were flooded with as our generation hit its stride; and how, later, we settled for something quite different. So when I say 'Say a prayer for The Pretender,' I'm talking about those people who are trying to convince themselves that there really was nothing to that idealism."
well said
Right. If you pay attention to the lyrics, it's more about compromising your dreams than realizing them
Love you Jackson!!!¡
@@supertrexandroidx Exactly, that was what I always thought.
Agreed, I always assumed it was not meant to be from the point of view of someone planning their life that way, to become a pretender struggling for the legal tender... it's more a commentary on how things turn out for so many of us, the emptiness of the letdown after riding the merry go round of chasing the dollar and material pursuit and suburban utopia... and the lyrics are phrased this way, tongue in cheek, to show how silly it would have sounded to be aspiring to this if we had known beforehand
This song saved my life. It came out when I was a teenager, and I went to see Jackson Browne in concert during his "Running on Empty" tour. In my late 30s and early 40s, I started climbing the corporate ladder... I was surrendering to the search for the legal tender. My daughter told me that her early memories of me are of me bent over a computer doing work from home. I remembered this song, and went back to a blue collar life. I'm still at it, age 61. In great shape and LIVING! Married the girl I took to the prom... because she's always been the one. She doesn't care about money... only having fun. It's more than OK to "have enough" to live, so you can be healthy and live. I've always admired a great poet, and Jackson Browne is one. Prosit! from Texas.
Kenny ---- from one Kenny to another... You, my friend did the right thing. What you wrote was a story of how to live the best way in your situation. You've found the key and used it to unlock the door to contentment.
I have a similar story only I haven't found my love or had kids. But, I was caught up in becoming famous in the entertainment business and was in the tabloids, hanging out at the Playboy mansion dating playmates and daughters and ex wives of rock stars, and I turned 30 (1995) and realized that I needed to change the course of my life and two days after a huge star filled 30th birthday party I packed my things and left my home and birthplace, L.A. and moved to a smaller city in CA. and went back to work as an electrician in the Union and was anonymous, except that I ran into a couple people I knew from LA. But, I didn't tell anyone I met about who I was and who I knew etc... eventually a couple people who became close friends found out by seeing photos in my house with celebrities and lived that way for 17 years and then moved back to LA to start my own electrical contracting business, and as life works, I'm doing electrical work as a subcontractor for film and tv production on locations for about half of my business and the other half is service electrical for residential and small commercial work. I love what I do, I make morenthan enough money for a single man. I could make a lot more but I choose to not work every day, pick and choose which jobs I want to do and I'm relatively stress free. I don't have the love of a woman but I also don't have the hassle and stress of a woman in my life other than dating. I consider my business my child since I started from nothing, no business plan or any clients and built it up to being the #1 electrical subcontractor for all the major film and tv studios and production companies working on films for Terantino and Spielberg and many other big films, award winning, Oscars and Emmys and every other award, #1 shows multiple times. But my business is still just me and a helper once in a while and it's been 10 years. Like I said before, I make plenty to pay my bills and buy my toys and have fun without stress. Sometimes I'll work everyday for two or three months and make $40k and then I'll only work a couple days a week for six months make another $40k and then work hard or semi hard or take a couple months off and do some traveling or enjoy my hobbies.
Hug your wife and kids every day. You all stay safe and happy.
Brad & Lex, you’ll love his "Doctor, My Eyes", “The Pretender” and “The Load Out”/”Stay”!!! “The Load Out”/”Stay” must be done together! Singer/songwriter who plays guitar and piano!
edit- This song is about a man who gives up his dreams and lives a life of routine monotony in order to accumulate money. He is the pretender.
the song is about many things, i think, at least some of it, is about his first wife that commited suicide at the age of thirty. this was his first album after that.
Running on empty.
@@mikemaricle9941 they reacted to that song Aug 3, 2022.
'Doctor, My Eyes' yes yes, that is an absolute classic.
Jackson is in both the rock and roll hall of fame and the songwriter hall of fame. And this song exemplifies both. A true talent who's humanitarian side outdoes his music. Great reaction.
Guys, this may be the best reaction you've done yet. The stars lined up with a great song and you guys being in a thoughtful mood. great stuff! keep it up.
Jackson Browne's lyrics are beautiful in their simplicity. His songs often reflect on his own life, either as a musician on the road, or life's lessons.
Jackson is such a precocious talent. At sixteen, he wrote the wonderful "These Days". He is by far my favourite singer-songwriter.
A tune from my favorite JB album. "For Everyman" is my favorite album, so many great songs. I am fond of " Our Lady of the Well", not sure why, but it may be my favorite.
I just posted the same thing about "These Days".
that song is epic!
I love "These Days" and "Fountain of Sorrow" - very underrated songs these days. (See what I did there? lol)
@@Calamity_Jack A clever play on words, but don't get carried away, and take it easy.
Jackson Browne has been a prolific singer/songwriter for decades. His "Late For The Sky" album is my favorite, because I found it at a rough period in my life. You finally reacted to my second favorite artist. I'm still waiting for someone to check out my favorite, the legendary John Prine.
@@landenchantment It's cool that some reactors have done some Prine, but none are songs that I would choose as the best examples of his artistry. I love Paradise, but the absolute best version is from the album "German Afternoons". The other two songs are very poetic, but also profoundly sad. I'm still hoping to see reactions to songs from his Emmy winning album "The Missing Years". "Picture Show" and "All The Best" would be great choices. His duet with Bonnie Raitt on John Prine Live is classic.
JOHN TALENT IS AMAZING 2 BAD WE LOST HIM
I've loved Jackson Brown since the 80's but somehow never heard this song, it's just brilliant, absolutely beautiful
The classic voice of Jackson Browne:
The Load Out-Stay
Doctor My Eyes
Jackson Browne is one of the best songwriters I know of. He gets to the heart of it.
Wife here..Can't go wrong with Jackson Browne!!..very nostalgic..Sooo Beautiful!!
This song is about giving up your dreams to live a life of mediocrity and earn a living. One of the saddest songs ever -- brings me to tears every time.
It is sad. I did it. And I regret it almost every day.
@@Eowyn187 -- Me too and I'm 74 so I've had a lot more years than most to think about it. But, I don't want to get too maudlin -- it may be sad but it's life. Not everyone gets to be the superstar -- and I'm sure even they have regrets.
@@hog7203 -- I suspect that if you don't look at your failed (or surrendered) dreams with a little regret, they were small dreams.
@@Eowyn187 I did not give up my dreams. I pursued them, a life of meditation, writing, travel, and dedication to the soul. But there are two sides to this choice kj. It comes with a price. Not many people will walk with you on that path. I've learned to be alone. I don't regret that. But it's hard at times. It's not for everybody. So count your blessings, and understand your soul, who you actually are, no matter the circumstance. That soul is always you. Circumstance is not.
You nailed what this song is about! "While the ships bearing their dreams. Sail out of sight".
I always thought the pretender was someone just going through the motions. He once had a dream when he was young, but life buckled him under and his dreams "sailed out of sight." Most people end up this way, which is why this song is so relateable.
This is a reminder of my college days. "Jackson Browne - Running On Empty" was one of my favorites. It was played on the radio all through the day. I remember a woman, Jewel, dancing to it.
Late for the Sky, the album and the song is an absolute masterpiece. Never get tired of listening to JB
Yes! Late for the Sky is packed with great songs.
"Are guys that simple?"
"Yes"
A million men just nodded in agreement with Brad.
We are simple creatures ladies.
Amen Paul. Men are so simple compared to women. Men need respect and to feel loved by the woman he desires. When we are young, we want to conquer the world and will do stupid shit like fist fight and sleep around.
This song is that point in time when you figure out.. "I'm going to find myself a girl who can show me what laughter means (love means). And we will fill in the missing colors of our paint by numbers dreams" (meaning I don't need the cheers of the crowd, just the laughter and love of this woman who can show me how to be intimate)
I always laughed when a woman asked what I was thinking. Nothing, or what should I eat next, is usually it. Sometimes I think about something for fifteen minutes (unless someone makes it last longer).
Jackson Browne is great at writing songs people can relate to.
He is an incredible song writer and you can’t go wrong with any of his songs
“While the ships bearing their dreams sail out of sight.” Might be the most heartbreaking lyric ever though.
It’s a little about how sad it is to give up on dreams and also how it’s ok.
Agree with that line.....the whole song just makes me realize how so many just follow what society tells them is the right thing to persue.
@@guitarkis4969 It's called growing up....being a middle aged adolescent is usually more pathetic than giving up on the pipe dreams of your youth....
@@pulsarlights2825 But if you start the record over, again, he picks up the torch of his earlier dreams and tries again. Jackson pointed this out to Alan Ladd (who asked about the depressing end of Pretender).
@@rainmanjr2007 You think he tried again? "He started out so young and strong, only to surrender" My vote is that he lost the battle and the war, as we all do being mortal beings that age and die....
@@pulsarlights2825 He believes, at that moment, that he will never allow such pain to happen again. If one starts the record over, with The Fuse, we see that he can not fight his real nature and does try again. Sadly, he ends up at the same place and asks us, once again, to say a prayer for him. This is much like the many phases of any person's life. At moments we make vows that are not to be.
I once heard Jackson in an interview say that after his career took off it wasn't just about the music anymore; it was about the promotion of his music and concert dates and paying the band and crew and all the other stuff that comes with being a success, and that he had this little fantasy about being just a session player, pretty anonymous, no one knows who you are and you can just rent a house, pack your lunch and guitar and go to work and just play music which is what it's all about anyway. It was an eye-opener for me to realize that the artists we love have their "get away from it all" fantasies, too. Hail The Pretender!
"Rock Me On the Water" from his first album is one of his most uplifting and soul-cleansing songs, but often overlooked by reactors; give it a listen!
Linda Ronstadt also does a great cover of this song.
Great choice of songs.
This song always hits me in the feels and makes me very emotional, both for the lyrics and the beautifully simple melancholia it evokes.
"The Load Out/Stay" is a MUST to hear (and you MUST do both together, as they were built to be played together).
Definitely, but do both together
Brad is always looking for meaning in song lyrics that often don't have any. But Jackson Browne writes deep meaningful lyrics in practically all his songs, so he'd be a good person to listen to some more of his material.
I grew up in the 70's and 80's, yet I have never listened to this song. I'm glad I did. It is beautiful. The banter from the two of you about men's thoughts vs women's thoughts were hilarious!! Y'all are a bright spot in my day, everyday! 💙
"All his hopes and dreams
begin and end there!"
Great song y'all.
Talking about life and being a pretender as time goes by...
We are all "pretenders"
Listening to Jackson Browne's entire "For Everyman" album is still one of my common Sat/Sun morning rituals.
I’ve always related to the line from this song “the struggle for the legal tender”.
One of my favorite songs. Such wisdom from a young man. It's a beautiful melody as well.
Jackson Browne is a gift to all. What an eye opener this song is. Everything is a pretence.”Nothing is real.” It is your time , waste it at your own leisure , not at someone else’s.
I saw behind the music about him on VH1, He said this was written about a simple man going through the daily life of a studio musician, and his simple life of going through the motions every day for whomever the person, or band may have been and never quite getting the fame, and recognition he deserved!
Jackson Browne is a musician’s musician, and this is brilliant!
This has always been one of my favorite songs of all time…..great lyrics and vocal performance by Jackson Browne!
This is such a great tune. The lyrics are deep and true...not just for here, but worldwide.
Guys, this is one of the greatest American singer-songwriters ever. He has been writing songs since he was 15. He just released a new album last year at age 72. He is presently on an extensive tour of America, Canada and Australia. His best album is 1974’s “Late For The Sky” which is one of the best albums ever written. Listen to “Late For The Sky” and “For A Dancer” from that 1974 album.
Dancer was written for Lloyd George, of Little Feat, who was bisexual and died.
I've always liked Jackson Browne, "Lawyers in Love", "Somebody's Baby", and "Boulevard" are some of my favorites.
I found this song while going through a divorce and trying to sort thru life. I did find the girl that showed me what laughter means and after many many years even through her Dementia when she laughs my heart will soar and I can only hope that for others.
Youre a blessed man
@@erwinbenally8027 I am I just don't know what she is laughing about any more and it get fewer and fewer.
@@turnerdan53 you are both so lucky, and I'm sorry you're both going through this. Both of my parents died with dementia.
Just be there for her my friend because the reward is not here on earth but in heaven with our Savior Jesus Christ. 🙏
Guys you have to understand one thing about Jackson Browne. He was the calm voice after the chaos of the '60s. His music his songs slowed everything down and brought us back to reality. When he works on a song. It takes a long time. Listen to Bruce Springsteen's introduction of Jackson into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. And he will describe to you Jackson Browne. In his most earnest and honest way. He has been a great American songwriter for over 50 years. And it's time to get him to the Kennedy Center Honors. It's his time. First concert I ever went to 13 years old with my late sister who is 16 at the time and four of her girlfriends. Puberty heaven. But it's always been the music with me. Please do yourself a favor and delve more into Jackson Browne. Before the deluge should be next. It explains the lives of the innocent men, we went to Vietnam's as boys, and when they came home all their lives changed. Thank you
Y’all guys are such a joy to watch
Such a great song and great album. My favorite 'Here Come Those Tears Again' from the same album is a must!
Jackson Brown has many great songs! Awesome reaction!
Wonderful reaction to a simply beautiful song! ♥
Iwas 20 when this album came out. Still consider it to be among my Top 10 of all time. There is no filler on it. This song is THE Blue Collar Ballad.
Jackson is a legend 🤘🤘
Finally! The Pretender! More Jackson Browne please
Jackson Browne is a very good story teller with great lyrics that are relatable to most people.
Great reaction guys. As always.
Hearing this again makes me miss my old vinyl records. Thanks for posting.
Jackson Browne is amazing. I just saw him live on Sept 23. I take my grandkids to their first concerts and it's always Jackson. My daughter is expecting twins very soon and she went to the concert with me so her babies first concert would carry on our tradition.
Love Jackson Browne, listen to him since seventy six. Saw him in 1978, I finally found a girl that showed me what laughter means took me fifty years.
Wonderful singer/songwriter. I could never tire listening to Jackson Browne x
I've always loved this song. Jackson Browne is an amazing songwriter. His voice fits his music perfectly, and the backing musicians, studio and road members, are as good as it gets.
Trying to figure out exactly what the song is about, I think is up to each listeners perspective.
I feel like it's about looking at life realistically from the average person's point of view, and realizing that even though your younger self's hopes and dreams didn't come true, you can still find happiness in the simple things in life.
Rock Me On the Water is a great song by him also
YESSSS! One of my all time fav songs! Love it!
JB has many great songs that speak of the human condition. Very much a national treasure and a fervent activist.
And here we are...I think of a nostalgic song, look it up, and here you guys are. Here WE are. Experiencing it. So good.
So glad I watched this on my desktop where I could actually hear the bass. Man, whoever is playing the bass here is killing it. Is it Leland Skylar?
I think this is one of the most profound, hard hitting lyric in music . Relatable to the extreme for a man like me , now 61. Loved your reaction to this . Lex recognizing him as a lyricist was great . You bet , lady , he is surely all that and then some
Very simple yet very profound. Always makes me weep. So poetic too.
Saw him back in the late 70s in concert.....he's great
The longing, regret and hope are all tangible here. JB is a true artist.
The thing is...the truly sad, sometimes melancholy thing is...we are all pretenders, doing what we have to do to survive, and often putting our dreams on the sidelines in exchange...and that's okay. It's life. On a lighter note, Jackson Browne, like Dylan, possesses that rare talent, a natural knack for writing songs that we can all relate to...on a gut level. My favorite singer/songwriter. Peace. ✌😊
Another amazing artist in the singer/ songwriter genre. Was so handsome. "Somebody's Baby"!!!
This is one of my favourite Jackson Browne songs--along with 'Rock Me On the Water' and 'A Song for Adam'.
JB has been a big part of my life.
I spent my younger life in southern California.
And wherever I go back, and I listen to his music,, it all sounds los Angeles in the 70s to me.
YEAHHHH, JACKSON WAS ANOTHERRR ONE OF THOSE 70'S CLASSIC ROCK GUYS WHO COULD WRITE , WRITE, WRITE YOU GUYS!😊 SAY A PRAYERRRR, FOR THE PRETENDER! 😊
If you get a chance to see Mr Brown live...do so...it is one of the purest acoustical productions you will get a chance to see. Nearly every seat in the house will be treated to excellence in sound.
Perfect reaction!! You guys are awesome😊😊
Oh! So happy you did Jackson Browne!! He is 1 of the greatest American song writers…Hope you continue his whole Catalog! I’ve been going to his concerts with my family since I was little & continued into my adulthood. I would love to hear, ( Your Bright Baby Blues ) my sister passed away & that was her favorite song of His🕊. Also ( Daddy’s Tune ) is a really interesting written song. Or ( I’m Ready ) that’s about having a baby. You Can’t go wrong with Any song! ✌🏻☀️
The song the pretender is about the hippies and new thinkers of the 60s..who counted on love to find the way into the future...but then gave into the 70s and the materialism of the American dream of the future....and are now just pretending.
Say a prayer to the pretender.
7:28 the funniest moment in Brad and Lex history. She gives him a huge eye roll while she says it. Too funny.
One of the best American songwriters and this might be his best song.
Nice reaction. You guys have to do a deep dive into Jackson Brown, one of the best musical poets ever!
Mr Jackson Browne is one of the most gifted , talented , honest , decent and truely genuine people out there ! Considering what he has achieved in his long career , he may be expected to be rather hubristic on an occasion ? But i have never ,ever witnessed such behaviour. He is always a gentleman of the highest order ...always !
He started out a dreamer searching for important things like true love, but surrendered to commercialism. He now pretends to have it all as his dreams sail out of sight.
The singer is the "pretender". Moving through this life, fulfilling expectations and obligations, while pursuing the almighty dollar. Meaningless without love, purpose and family.
I believe I saw Brad's eyes well with tears, and I believe he understands that this is every man's dilemma in our current culture and society.
We spend so much time in pursuit of material things, then life, and age catch up.
Lex I love your pure reaction and love for the song!
Brad, "We have pretty simple trains of thought" Amen Brother, Amen.
It’s about anyone who gives up there dreams and surrenders to the 9-5 working life...pretending to be happy but really sad that they never fulfilled there dreams...
This is one of my favorite songs because it is about so many different life stories from believing in one self only to change the dream.
Running On Empty prob one of Jackson Browne's biggest hits and a great song.
He surrendered to Life 💜🦋💜
I always felt this song was like, Harrison's , While My Guitar Gently Weeps, and New. Rider's, Last Lonely Eagle. He's asking his generation, "where did the love we propagated go". "True love could have been a contender". My generation sold out where it didn't to. You can still be in the system without giving up your core values. Up until the last few years we basically pretended that the movement never happened.
Guys Jackson Browne is amazing! The best song he ever wrote was called “Sky Blue and Black”the most amazing song about love and loss ever written!
Amen ! Making a living ! Being productive is what life is about, its been that way since the beginning of time !
To me Jackson Browne portrays a perfect representation of the laid back Californian, circa the 1970's. He is a truly gifted story teller in song form and this is him at his best. Really great stuff. He has been or is very successful and as is common among celebrities, his personal life has had a fair amount of controversy.
A great artist for me.
It's an ode to the common man and the loss of innocence and idealism that comes with age. He started out so young and strong only to surrender.
Jackson Brown is a great songwriter and musician. He pretty much defined the 70's pop sound.
My favorite J.B. song. Had this on cassette tape growing up. "I want to know what became of the changes we waited for love to bring...." Boom.
It was wonderful to watch you young guys struggle with the same questions. I'm 72.
“For Everyman “. Profound lyrics from an enlightened poet of our age.
Jackson Brown always dug really deep for his songs.
Love Jackson Browne! If you want to hear some amazing lyrics, try "Call it a Loan" and "Shape of a Heart". "These Days" is another beautiful song he wrote when he was about 16. I mean, really, where does a 16 year old get the experiences to write a song like "These Days"?
This song brings back good memories. I was 16 year's old in 1976. I was young and in love. Or whatever I thought love was. I'm 62 now and when I hear song's like this it brings out the warm and fuzzy in my SOUL. 🌴🤠😜😎🐊😉🇺🇲☮️🌞
The Pretender is the one living that mundane life, having to pretend, because his soul is so much deeper than that.
1st~~
Fantastic music 🎶🤩🥰✨
Beautiful voice. Loved it.💘💝💗
You two are becoming my favorite reaction people to watch. I just subscribe to your channel. I like your choice of music and the way you interact with each other.
This song is about choosing what people think the “right” way to live is. Keeping your dreams in your back pocket until it’s too late: your work and responsibilities take over and the light that once shone on what you really love have taken the drivers seat.
He is the pretender “who started out so young and strong, only to surrender”.
Songs like this always put a smile on my face and make me feel good about the truly simple life I try to lead... Good choice guys
I think the majority of people, male or female, want the simple things in life. A job that you like, a home that you love, someone to share this with, raise a family and have enough money so that you’re not always struggling. Great song, great lyrics. Can’t go wrong with Jackson Browne. Thanks guys! 🇨🇦
No. Women are never satisfied and always want more. Males make the mistake of trying to provide it and get caught up in the need to buy such a life. Many become unhappy and fall prey to a "Perfect stranger" and love's illusion ends (only to restart in a new exploit). This is an observation made in the movie Boyhood, which I highly recommend.
@@rainmanjr2007 how ridiculous to say “all men” are this or “all women” are that.
@@jillwanlin9558 That's what I'm told when I don't take the care to add the word "some" or "many" or other qualifier. I'm just handing it back to the females when they do it, too.
@@rainmanjr2007 appreciate that you clarified that. 👍✌️