♫ Desperado ♫ (Redux)

Posted on March 6, 2023 by jilldennison under Bits 'n Pieces, History, music

I last played this one almost three years ago, but it remains one of my absolute favourite Eagles’ songs, so let’s hear it again, shall we?

You know how some songs get stuck in your head and just refuse to leave? This one does that to me periodically. This, and Girl From Ipanema. And these days, of course, Fool on the Hill.

Don Henley began writing parts of this in the late ’60s, but it wasn’t arranged into a song until his songwriting teammate Glenn Frey came along. It was the first of many songs Henley and Frey wrote together.

Henley explained in the liner notes for The Very Best of the Eagles: “Glenn came over to write one day, and I showed him this unfinished tune that I had been holding for so many years. I said, ‘When I play it and sing it, I think of Ray Charles – Ray Charles and Stephen Foster. It’s really a Southern gothic thing, but we can easily make it more Western.’ Glenn leapt right on it – filled in the blanks and brought structure. And that was the beginning of our songwriting partnership – that’s when we became a team.”

Desperado is a classic rock staple, but it was never released as a single. The song has also been recorded by Linda Ronstadt, Kenny Rogers, the Carpenters, Bonnie Raitt, and Ringo Starr, but I prefer the Eagles version.

I love the lyrics to this … yes, there is a certain sadness to them … but … they are poignant and remind me of …

Desperado
Eagles

Desperado, why don’t you come to your senses?
You been out ridin’ fences for so long now
Oh, you’re a hard one
But I know that you got your reasons
These things that are pleasin’ you
Can hurt you somehow

Don’t you draw the Queen of Diamonds, boy
She’ll beat you if she’s able
You know the Queen of Hearts is always your best bet

Now, it seems to me some fine things
Have been laid upon your table
But you only want the ones that you can’t get

Desperado, oh, you ain’t gettin’ no younger
Your pain and your hunger, they’re drivin’ you home

And freedom, oh freedom, well that’s just some people talkin’
Your prison is walking through this world all alone

Don’t your feet get cold in the winter time?
The sky won’t snow and the sun won’t shine
It’s hard to tell the night time from the day
You’re losin’ all your highs and lows
Ain’t it funny how the feeling goes away?

Desperado, why don’t you come to your senses?
Come down from your fences, open the gate
It may be rainin’, but there’s a rainbow above you
You better let somebody love you (let somebody love you)
You better let somebody love you
Before it’s too late

Songwriters: Glenn Lewis Frey / Don Hugh Henley
Desperado lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group

♫ Take It To The Limit ♫ (Redux)

Posted on November 19, 2022 by jilldennison under Bits 'n Pieces, History, music

I played this one just over two years ago during what became ‘Eagles Week’ here on Filosofa’s Word, and for some reason it popped into my head this evening.

I’ve picked one of my favourites for this morning’s post, but if you have a favourite that I haven’t already played, let me know and I’ll squeeze it in this weekend!

Don Henley, Randy Meisner and Glenn Frey wrote this song. Meisner sang lead, making this one of only three US Top 40 Eagles songs not sung by Don Henley or Glenn Frey, the others being I Can’t Tell You Why and In the City.

Meisner, who is from rural Nebraska, was the most subdued member of the band, describing himself to Rolling Stone as “Shy and nervous about putting myself on the line.” He was a founding member of the Eagles, but left in 1977 as tensions rose and the lifestyle became too much for him. Leaving the band may well have been a good mental health decision. Don Felder, who joined the band in 1974, said:

“Really the only thing you can do when you’re in the Eagles is eat, breathe, and sleep Eagles. I mean, you’re either on the road, writing in the studio, or doing press – it’s just all consuming.”

The high note at the end of this song was not easy for Randy Meisner to hit. He could pull it off in the studio, but not always in concert, since he would get nervous. At one point, he asked to take the song out of the set, which became a source of contention and a factor in him leaving the band.

In the 2013 History of the Eagles documentary, Glenn Frey and Don Henley recall a show where Take It To The Limit was planned as the encore, but Meisner refused to do it. Frey says that he got in a fight with Meisner backstage, and that Henley made sure security at the venue stayed out of it so they could settle it. Meisner left the band soon after and was replaced by Timothy B. Schmit, who was in the band Poco.

The song reached #4 in the U.S., #16 in Canada, and #12 in the UK

Take It to the Limit
Eagles

All alone at the end of the evening
And the bright lights have faded to blue
I was thinking ’bout a woman who might have loved me
I never knew
You know I’ve always been a dreamer
Spent my life runnin’ ’round

And it’s so hard to change
Can’t seem to settle down
But the dreams I’ve seen lately keep on turning out
And burning out and turning out the same
So put me on a highway and show me a sign
And take it to the limit one more time
You can spend all your time making money
You can spend all your love making time
If it all fell to pieces tomorrow
Would you still be mine?
And when you’re looking for your freedom
Nobody seems to care
And you can’t find the door
Can’t find it anywhere
When there’s nothing to believe in still you’re coming back
You’re running back, you’re coming back for more
So put me on a highway and show me a sign
And take it to the limit one more time

Take it to the limit, take it to the limit
Take it to the limit one more time

Source: LyricFind
Songwriters: Glenn Frey / Don Henley / Randy Meisner
Take It to the Limit lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group

♫ Take It Easy ♫

Posted on July 12, 2022 by jilldennison under Bits 'n Pieces, History, music

A day or two ago, I played a song from 1972 … I had sort of played that game of “close your eyes, spin the wheel, and wherever your finger is pointing when the wheel stops …” and came up with First Time Ever I Saw Your Face by Roberta Flack. Most of you liked it just fine, but our friend Clive wasn’t all that thrilled with it. So, I asked him what HE was listening to in 1972, and he mentioned the Eagles first album, so I took yet another stroll down memory lane and … oh yeah, there were some good ones on that album! Tonight’s song is the first on the album and maybe the best, though I like several of the others as well. Turns out, this is one of the few songs I don’t seem to have played on my music posts yet, so …

Here’s what SongFacts has to say about this one …

Jackson Browne started writing “Take It Easy” for his first album, but he didn’t know how to finish it. At the time, he was living in an apartment in the Echo Park section of Los Angeles, and his upstairs neighbor was Glenn Frey, who needed songs for his new band – the Eagles.

Frey heard Browne working on the song (he says that he learned a lot about songwriting by listening to his downstairs neighbor work), and told Jackson he thought it was great. Browne said he was having trouble completing the track, and played what he had of it. When he got to the second verse, Frey came up with a key lyric: “It’s a girl, my lord, in a flatbed Ford, slowing down to take a look at me.”

Browne turned the song over to Frey, who finished writing it and recorded it with the Eagles, who used it as the first song on their first album, and also their first single. Frey says Browne did most of the work on the song and was very generous in sharing the writing credit. He described the unfinished version of the song as a “package without the ribbon.”

Glenn Frey’s changes to this song included stretching out the “E” in “Easy.” He considered the song one of the most important Eagles tracks, and a great introduction to the group on their first album. In an interview with Bob Costas, he said the song represented “America’s first image of our band with the vistas of the Southwest and the beginnings of what became country-rock.”

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Thanks to the line, “Standing on a corner in Winslow, Arizona,” music lovers have made this Southwest town a popular stop on their road trips. Winslow is on Route 40 in northern Arizona, making it a great place to stop if you’re traveling from California to New Mexico.

While it might not be the actual corner where Jackson Browne was standing, the city designated the corner of West 2nd Street and North Kinsley Avenue in downtown Winslow as “Standin’ On The Corner Park.” Officially opened in 1999, the park has become a popular tourist destination and hosts a festival every year. A mural with the name of the town, and with a statue of a guy standing on the corner have filled many Flickr feeds. When the mural was damaged by fire in 2004, the Eagles donated a signed guitar that was raffled off to help repair it.

According to Glenn Frey, the message of this song is, “You shouldn’t get too big too fast.”

Jackson Browne released his own version of “Take It Easy” on his second album, For Everyman, in 1973. He and the Eagles each issued their debut albums in 1972; Browne was the first to have a hit, charting with “Doctor My Eyes” a few months before the Eagles landed with “Take It Easy.”

Take It Easy

Eagles

Well I’m a-runnin’ down the road try’n to loosen my load
I’ve got seven women on my mind
Four that want to own me, two that want to stone me
One says she’s a friend of mine

Take it easy, take it easy
Don’t let the sound of your own wheels drive you crazy
Lighten up while you still can
Don’t even try to understand
Just find a place to make your stand, and take it easy

Well, I’m a standin’ on a corner in Winslow, Arizona
Such a fine sight to see
It’s a girl, my Lord, in a flat-bed Ford
Slowin’ down to take a look at me
Come on, baby, don’t say maybe
I gotta know if your sweet love is gonna save me
We may lose and we may win, though we will never be here again
So open up I’m climbin’ in, so take it easy

Well, I’m a runnin’ down the road tryin’ to loosen my load
Got a world of trouble on my mind
Lookin’ for a lover who won’t blow my cover, she’s so hard to find
Take it easy, take it easy
Don’t let the sound of your own wheels make you crazy
Come on baby, don’t say maybe
I gotta know if your sweet love is gonna save me

Oh, we got it easy
We oughta take it easy

♫ Peaceful Easy Feeling ♫

Posted on September 20, 2020 by jilldennison under music

Last night of Eagles Week! I hope you’ve all enjoyed it … I know I have. Tonight’s song has a bit of an interesting origin …

A San Diego singer-songwriter named Jack Tempchin wrote this song sometime around 1969. One night after a club gig in nearby El Centro, he waited around trying to hook up with a waitress, but she left and never came back. With no ride home, he crashed on the floor of the club, but couldn’t sleep. To kill the time, he grabbed his guitar and started composing this song, writing lyrics on the back of one of his flyers.

He finished the song in stages, and made his way to Los Angeles, where he hung out at the Troubadour along with Glenn Frey, Jackson Browne, J.D. Souther and various other up-and-comers in the West Coast music scene. He was staying with Browne one day when Frey came over and heard Tempchin playing the song. Tempchin made a cassette recording for Frey, who came back the next day with a demo he had worked up with his band that had been backing Linda Ronstadt – the band that would soon become the Eagles.

Peaceful Easy Feeling was included on the Eagles debut album and released as the third single. Tempchin went on to write Already Gone for the Eagles and helped Frey write his solo hit You Belong To The City. The flyer Tempchin used to start writing the lyrics is now in the Grammy Museum.

This song, like all of those on the Eagles first two albums, was recorded in London, which was a way to minimize distractions for the band. According to Don Henley …

“They packed us off to England and stuck us in this little apartment, picked us up, took us to the studio, and then we’d go back to this little apartment and drink ourselves to sleep. Then we’d get up the next day and do it all again.”

Jack Tempchin finished writing this song while waiting for his order (a Polish dog) at the Der Wienerschnitzel restaurant in San Diego. On December 1, 2012, the mayor of San Diego declared it “Peaceful Easy Feeling Day” in the city to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the song’s release. The ceremony was held at the restaurant, which marked the table where Tempchin wrote it with a plaque. Tempchin was also given a golden wiener, of which he is quite proud: “Lots of people have Grammys, but they don’t have a solid gold wiener.”

Peaceful Easy Feeling
Eagles

I like the way your sparkling earrings lay
Against your skin so brown
And I want to sleep with you in the desert night
With a billion stars all around

‘Cause I got a peaceful easy feelin’
And I know you won’t let me down
‘Cause I’m already standin’
On the ground

And I found out a long time ago
What a woman can do to your soul
Aw but she can’t take you any way
You don’t already know how to go

And I got a peaceful easy feelin’
And I know you won’t let me down
‘Cause I’m already standin’
On the ground

I get this feelin’ I may know you
As a lover and a friend
This voice keeps whisperin’ in my other ear
Tells me I may never see you again

‘Cause I get a peaceful easy feelin’
And I know you won’t let me down
‘Cause I’m already standin’
I’m already standin’
Yes, I’m already standin’
On the ground

Source: LyricFind
Songwriters: Jack Tempchin
Peaceful Easy Feeling lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc

♫ I Can’t Tell You Why ♫

Posted on September 19, 2020 by jilldennison under music

I almost didn’t do a music post tonight, so distraught am I over the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. But, I figure since I’m not likely to sleep anyway, why not listen to some music and share with my friends? Continuing on with Eagles’ Week, I have chosen one of my most favourite Eagles’ songs.

Eagles bass player Timothy B. Schmit, who replaced Randy Meisner in 1977, sang lead and was the primary songwriter. According to Schmit …

“It was co-written by me and Don (Henley) and Glenn (Frey). I did bring a portion of that song, unfinished, to them back then, because I was new in the band and they wanted to introduce me on a good note, no pun intended. And I had this little piece of a tune that they really liked. It was loosely based on my own experiences.”

Glenn Frey played lead guitar on this song, which was rare at the time since Don Felder or Joe Walsh usually played lead, relegating Frey to rhythm. In an interview with Bob Costas, Frey said that this and One Of These Nights were the two Eagles songs he helped write that he would put into a time capsule to represent the Eagles best work.

Now here’s something that might surprise you. Jimmy Buffett sang background on this track and David Sanborn played saxophone. Timothy B. Schmit is the one who came up with the term “Parrotheads” to describe Jimmy Buffett’s fans.

I Can’t Tell You Why
Eagles

Look at us baby, up all night
Tearing our love apart
Aren’t we the same two people who live
Through years in the dark?
Ahh
Every time I try to walk away
Something makes me turn around and stay
And I can’t tell you why

When we get crazy
It just ain’t to right (try to keep you head little girl)
Girl I get lonely too
You don’t have to worry
Just hold on tight (don’t get caught in your little world)
Cause I love you
Nothing’s wrong as far as I can see
We make it harder than it has to be
And I can’t tell you why
No, baby, I can’t tell you why
I can’t tell you why

Every time I try to walk away
Something makes me turn around and stay
And I can’t tell you why
No, no, baby, I can’t tell you why
I can’t tell you why
I can’t tell you why

Source: LyricFind
Songwriters: Don Henley / Timothy B. Schmit / Glenn Lewis Frey
I Can’t Tell You Why lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc, Eb Music Services

♫ Take It To The Limit ♫

Posted on September 18, 2020 by jilldennison under music

I really didn’t start out with the intention of making this “Eagles’ Week”, but I started on Wednesday playing Tequila Sunrise, then someone asked for Lyin’ Eyes, and when I jokingly said perhaps it ought to just be Eagles’ week, a couple of people jumped on that! So … I’ve decided to finish out the week (through Sunday) with more of … the Eagles!

I’ve picked one of my favourites for this morning’s post, but if you have a favourite that I haven’t already played, let me know and I’ll squeeze it in this weekend!

The song reached #4 in the U.S., #16 in Canada, and #12 in the UK

Take It to the Limit
Eagles

Take it to the limit, take it to the limit
Take it to the limit one more time

Source: LyricFind
Songwriters: Glenn Frey / Don Henley / Randy Meisner
Take It to the Limit lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group

♫ Lyin’ Eyes ♫ (Redux)

Posted on September 17, 2020 by jilldennison under music

I try not to play songs by the same artists too close together, but it was just last night that I played “Tequila Sunrise” by the Eagles, and here I am back with another Eagles’ song tonight! Why? Well, in a comment today, friend Cheryl said that Lyin’ Eyes was her all-time favourite, and … well, you know I aim to please, right? Besides that, after reading her comment, the song got stuck in my head and has been bouncing around up there ever since. I did play this on once before, two days after Christmas in 2018.

Lyin’ Eyes is a song written by Don Henley and Glenn Frey and recorded in 1975 by the American rock band the Eagles, with Frey singing lead vocals.

According to the Eagles on their DVD Hell Freezes Over, when they were a struggling band in Los Angeles, they saw a lot of beautiful women around Hollywood who were married to wealthy, successful men, and wondered if they were unhappy. One night they were drinking in a bar (their favorite watering hole: Dan Tana’s) when they spotted this stunning young woman; two steps behind her was a much older, fat, rich guy. As they were half laughing at them, Glenn Frey commented, “Look at her, she can’t even hide those lyin eyes!”

Realizing they had a song title, the band members began grabbing for cocktail napkins to write down lyrics to go with that great observation.

In the History of the Eagles documentary, Don Henley offered a slightly different interpretation: “It was about all these girls that would come down to Dan Tana’s looking beautiful. They’d be there from 8 O’clock until midnight having drinks with all of us rockers, then they’d go home because they were kept women.”

A bit of interesting trivia:

In 2008, an Irish prosecutor quoted the words to this song (“You can’t hide those lyin’ eyes…”) in her closing statement at a trial involving the email lyingeyes98@yahoo.ie. The Dublin jury convicted Sharon Collins of conspiring to have her older partner and his two sons killed. Using the lyingeyes98 email, she contacted a hit man at hire_hitman@yahoo.com to do the deed, apparently unaware that emails can be traced.

And now, I will hush and let you enjoy the song …

Lyin’ Eyes
Eagles

City girls just seem to find out early
How to open doors with just a smile
A rich old man
And she won’t have to worry
She’ll dress up all in lace and go in style

Late at night a big old house gets lonely
I guess every form of refuge has its price
And it breaks her heart to think her love is only
Given to a man with hands as cold as ice

So she tells him she must go out for the evening
To comfort an old friend who’s feelin’ down
But he knows where she’s goin’ as she’s leavin’
She is headed for the cheatin’ side of town

You can’t hide your lyin’ eyes
And your smile is a thin disguise
I thought by now you’d realize
There ain’t no way to hide your lyin’ eyes

On the other side of town a boy is waiting
With fiery eyes and dreams no one could steal
She drives on through the night anticipating
‘Cause he makes her feel the way she used to feel

She rushes to his arms, they fall together
She whispers that it’s only for awhile
She swears that soon she’ll be comin’ back forever
She pulls away and leaves him with a smile

You can’t hide your lyin’ eyes
And your smile is a thin disguise
I thought by now you’d realize
There ain’t now way to hide your lyin’ eyes

She gets up and pours herself a strong one
And stares out at the stars up in the sky
Another night, it’s gonna be a long one
She draws the shade and hangs her head to cry

She wonders how it ever got this crazy
She thinks about a boy she knew in school
Did she get tired or did she just get lazy?
She’s so far gone she feels just like a fool

My oh my, you sure know how to arrange things
You set it up so well, so carefully
Ain’t it funny how your new life didn’t change things?
You’re still the same old girl you used to be

You can’t hide your lyin’ eyes
And your smile is a thin disguise
I thought by now you’d realize
There ain’t no way to hide your lyin’ eyes
There ain’t no way to hide your lyin’ eyes
Honey, you can’t hide your lyin’ eyes

♫ Tequila Sunrise ♫

Posted on September 16, 2020 by jilldennison under music

As sometimes happens, my inspiration has dried up tonight. I was ready to give up, snuggle down in the rabbit hole and leave you sans music. And then, I popped over to fellow-blogger Michael Seidel’s site just to see if perhaps he had any extra inspiration lying around. Turns out, he did! He had a flock of Eagles singing this song! Thanks, Michael!!! I owe you one {I actually owe him a few!}

Glenn Frey and Don Henley, both of the Eagles, wrote this song together, and Frey sang lead. Along with “Desperado,” it was one of two songs they came up with the first week that they started writing together. The songs formed the basis for a Western theme, with Frey and Henley comparing the life of a cowboy to that of a musician.

According to Frey, he was lying on a couch playing the guitar, and came up with a guitar riff he described as “kinda Roy Orbison, kinda Mexican”. He showed Henley the guitar riff and said: “Maybe we should write something to this.”

The title refers to a cocktail named Tequila Sunrise that was then popular. According to Henley …

“I believe that was a Glenn title. I think he was ambivalent about it because he thought that it was a bit too obvious or too much of a cliché because of the drink that was so popular then. I said, ‘No-Look at it from a different point of view. You’ve been drinking straight tequila all night and the sun is coming up!’ It turned out to be a really great song.”

The line, “Take another shot of courage,” refers to how if you drink tequila, it will give you courage to talk to women (although not coherently). The Eagles, who knew their way around a tavern, used to refer to tequila as “instant courage” at a time then they needed some to approach the ladies.

The song only made it to #64 in the U.S. and #68 in Canada, but I still like it.

Tequila Sunrise
Eagles

It’s another tequila sunrise
Starin’ slowly ‘cross the sky
Said goodbye
He was just a hired hand
Workin’ on the dreams he planned to try
The days go by

Ev’ry night when the sun goes down
Just another lonely boy in town
And she’s out runnin’ ’round

She wasn’t just another woman
And I couldn’t keep from comin’ on
It’s been so long
Oh and it’s a hollow feelin’
When it comes down to dealin’ friends
It never ends

Take another shot of courage
Wonder why the right words never come
You just get numb
It’s another tequila sunrise
This old world still looks the same
Another frame