Jackson Browne

[fox69]

"It's Been Raining Here In Long Beach"

"It's Been Raining Here In Long Beach"



It's been raining here in Long Beach
The dampness in the air
Tends to straighten out my hair
Against my wishes
But the traces of a song reach
My tattered ear once more
Lend me courage to ignore
The smell of fishes

I was a drunken lout, I ran about
With ladies that I knew
I did 'em wrong all night long
Singing 23 skidoo

Huzahh...huzahh...
Once upon a time I was a kid
Well I don't know what happened then
But I'm warning all you younger men
On your way to Long Beach think again
You can't afford to settle down in Long Beach

I had a raccoon coat, a paddle boat
I played the ukelele
Beneath the moon in June I'd croon,
"Won't You Come Home Bill Bailey"

Huzahh...huzahh...
Once upon a time I was a kid
But now my hair is turning gray
I'm getting fatter every day
If you got any sense you'll stay away
And never give another thought to Long Beach
And never give a moment's thought to Long Beach

 

[fox69]

"Jamaica Say You Will"

"Jamaica Say You Will"



Jamaica was the lovely one, I played her well
As we lay in the tall grass where the shadows fell
Hiding from the children so they would not tell
We would stay there 'till her sister rang the evening bell

Jamaica, say you will
Help me find a way to fill these empty hours
Say you will come again tomorrow

The daughter of a captain on the rolling seas
She would stare across the water from the trees
Last time he was home he held her on his knees
And said the next time they would sail away just where they pleased

Jamaica, say you will
Help me find a way to fill these lifeless sails
And stay until my ships can find the sea

Jamaica was a sweet young one, I loved her true
She was a comfort and a mercy through and through
Hiding from this world together, next thing I knew
We had brought her things down to the bay
- what could I do

Jamaica, say you will
Help me find a way to fill these sails
And we will sail until our waters have run dry

 

[fox69]

"Just Like Forever"

"Just Like Forever"



It wasn't me at your window, Baby.
It wasn't me at your door.
It must have been some other fool
With his heart in his hand,
Coming back for more.

I was there when you closed your eyes.
But it wasn't me when you came.
I just thought I heard you call my name.

You were there when I needed someone
With your warmth and your style.
I was back in the world again
And it was real for awhile.

I was ready for love to be coming,
But not for what love became,
And I thought I heard you call my name.

Call my name.
Now there was something only we knew together
Far too simple to explain.
Love smiled on us just like forever.

You're always leaving town.
First you come around.
Then you can't be found
It always brings me down.

There's nothing wrong with my heart, Baby.
There's nothing wrong with the world.
If a girl don't feel the same way I feel,
There's nothing wrong with the girl.

Maybe we were too different to love each other.
Maybe too much the same.
Anyway, I thought I heard you call my name.

Call my name.
Like you were drifting away down the river.
All my voices and curses in the pain
Love flows on just like forever.

You're always leaving town.
First you come around.
Then you can't be found
And it always brings me down.

Da da da da da
Da da da dum dum dum
Da da da
Ohhhh no no no no no no
Na na na na na

Just like forever.
Da da da da da
Just like forever.
Just like forever.

 

[fox69]

"Just Say Yeah"

"Just Say Yeah"



I wanted to be somebody you see
When you're feeling good
I started looking for your little MG
In my neighborhood
I started feeling kind of funny and free
When you were around
And I began to cook up a plan to
Take you out of town

Not really dating, we were relating
And we were friends
It's hard to say where the relating leaves off
And where loves begins
A friend will tell you all kinds of stuff
That a lover won't
And you would think you would see love coming
But of course, you don't

I want to hold you, don't want to mold you
Into someone else
I never could have invented you
Or written you so well
I never met another woman who
Possessed your particular charms
I want to be that man who will see that
You never come to harm

Must have been you I dreamed of
Yeah that was you all right
You were the laughter I was listening to
Standing in the light
You were the lover in the sunrise who
Had begun to slip away
Though I was just a kid I must have known
You'd be real someday

I want to know you, I want to show you
That you're not alone

You've been the only thing steadyin' me
And I guess we've both known
Maybe you haven't been that ready to see
That I could take you there
Well that was then, but this is when
I need to hear you say yeah
Baby just say yeah

 

[fox69]

"Kisses Sweeter Than Wine"
(feat. Bonnie Raitt)

"Kisses Sweeter Than Wine"
(feat. Bonnie Raitt)



[Jackson:]
When I was a young man I'd never been kissed;
I got to thinking about what I had missed.
I found a girl. I kissed her and then...
Oh Lord, I kissed her again.

[Together:]
Oooooh, kisses sweeter than wine.
Oooooh, kisses sweeter than wine.

[Bonnie:]
He asked me to marry and be his sweet wife;
We would be happy - all of our life.
He begged and he pleaded like a natural man, and then...
Oh Lord, I gave him my hand.

[Together:]
Oooooh, kisses sweeter than wine.
Oooooh, kisses...

[Jackson:]
I worked mighty hard and so did my wife;
Working hand in hand to make a good life.
Corn in the field and wheat in the bins, and then...
Oh Lord, I was the father of twins.

[Together:]
Oooooh, kisses sweeter than wine.
Oooooh, kisses...

[Bonnie:]
Our children numbered just about four
And they all had sweethearts knocking on the door.
They all got married and they didn't wait, I was...
Oh Lord! A grandmother of eight!

[Together:]
Oooooh, kisses sweeter than wine.
Oooooh, kisses...

[Jackson:]
Now we are old and ready to go
Thinking about what happened a long time ago.

[Bonnie:]
We had lots of kids and trouble and pain, but...
Oh Lord, we'd do it again.

[Together:]
Oooooh, kisses sweeter than wine.
Oooooh, kisses...
Oooooh, kisses sweeter than wine.
Oooooh, kisses...

 

[fox69]

"Knock On Any Door"

"Knock On Any Door"



Knock on any door
Look through any window
Baby knock on any door
Knock on any door
Is there any place you want to go
Baby who you lookin' for

Yeah, yeah, baby now you know
It's a cold world like they told you so

Knock on any door
Save your tears for some occasion
Keep your heartache to yourself
Knock on any door
It's a simple operation
Just trade your memory for your health

Knock on any door
Look through any window
Walk on
Knock on any door
Look through any window
Walk on

It's insane girl, you can't run away
It's the same world it was yesterday

Knock on any door
Look through any window
Walk on
Knock on any door
Look through any window
Walk on

Now, now, now how do you survive
With a pain so real, in a world so jive

Knock on any door
Look through any window
Peek through any shade
Knock on any door
Look through any window
Walk on

 

[fox69]

"Late For The Sky"

"Late For The Sky"



The words had all been spoken
And somehow the feeling still wasn't right
And still we continued on through the night
Tracing our steps from the beginning
Until they vanished into the air
Trying to understand how our lives has led us there

Looking hard into your eyes
There was nobody I'd ever known
Such an empty surprise to feel so alone

Now for me some words come easy
But I know that they don't mean that much
Compared with the things that are said when lovers touch
You never knew what I loved in you
I don't know what you loved in me
Maybe the picture of somebody you were hoping I might be

Awake again I can't pretend and I know I'm alone
And close to the end of the feeling we've known

How long have I been sleeping
How long have I been drifting alone through the night
How long have I been dreaming I could make it right
If I closed my eyes and tried with all my might
To be the one you need

Awake again I can't pretend and I know I'm alone
And close to the end of the feeling we've known

How long have I been sleeping
How long have I been drifting alone through the night
How long have I been running for that morning flight
Through the whispered promises and the changing light
Of the bed where we both lie
Late for the sky

 

[fox69]

"Lavender Bassman"

"Lavender Bassman"



Listen to my bassman, he is lavender
His woman is his bass and he is loving her, loving her
Listen to the sounds he's giving
As he is living
True to lavender

Listen to the things my friend is saying now
A poetry of notes as he is playing now, playing now
Listen to the tales he's telling
Magic bass compelling
Lavender

Listen to my bass man, he is lavender
His fingerboard's a highway, he's a traveler, traveler
Listen to his fingers making music
Hear his soul embarking
Lavender

Listen to my bass man, he is lavender

 

[fox69]

"Lavender Windows"

"Lavender Windows"



Lavender windows and burgundy doors
Olive green pillows on ebony floors
The lightest of wine
Could have been mine
It should have been mine

Promises kept and promises broken
They're all the same whether silent or spoken
They're not worth a penny
I didn't make many
I didn't break any

Roads that are leaving and roads that have gone
Oh every road moves but the one that I'm on
The score is now even
And I should be leaving
Why am I not leaving

 

[fox69]

"Lawless Avenues"

"Lawless Avenues"



Papa hit him, Mama kissed him
Made him go to Catechism
With the sisters in their black and white
And all the time those city streets
Were teaching him another kind of wisdom
When to run and when to fight
Up at the playground after school
Listening to tales of the prison system
And those lawless avenues

Dawn on a half darkened street
A child's footsteps repeat
And something there turns them
Down those lawless avenues

Silent Joe went down so bad
He was the strongest fighter the avenues had
Stabbed in the chest he went down swinging
Someone from some other part of town
No one even seen it coming down
And you don't hear no church bells ringing
And in the violent night the police light
Sweeps across the lots and the yards
Following those lawless avenues

Down on a half darkened street
Armies advance and retreat
And struggle to take control
From those lawless avenues

Manuelito's sister Rosa
Ran away with a surfer from Hermosa
Manuelito, cuida a Rosa,
Hay mira como estan las cosas!
(Manuelito take care of Rosa
...Look at how things are)

But who could blame her after she saw
Every boy die who could have gotten close to her
Rosa es joven u solo quiere
ver la belleza del mundo
(Rosa is young and only wants
To see the beauty of the world)

Manuel said:
"You gotta fight for what you want in this life"
Just before they shipped him overseas to 'Nam
Otra guerra sin razon
Otra guerra sin fin, sin honor
(Another war without reason,
Another war without end, without honor)

And she was fighting to understand
When they shipped Manuelito's body home
All she heard was one more shot
Echoing down lawless avenues

Hoy amigo, tal igual como ayer,
La lucha en el barrio no cambia
Nuestros hijos son los que han de crecer
Por ley de la calle, viviendo entre abrazos
Y chingazos
(Today my friend, just like yesterday,
The struggle in the barrio doesn't change.
Our children are the ones to grow up
By the law of the street
Living between hugs and blows)

Down on a half darkened street
Fathers' and sons' lives repeat
And something there turns them
Down those lawless avenues

En el calor de la calle
(In the heat of the street)
Buscan valor en la calle
(Looking for valor in the street)
Hasta final de la calle
(Till the end of the street)