I've been to hundreds of concerts, from sold out shows in large arenas to intimate gatherings in venues no bigger than my living room. I've seen big name acts and I've seen no name acts. I've seen nobodies before they became somebodies and somebodies that were soon to be nobodies. I've seen (and heard) the good, the bad and the ugly.
There are some artists who if they were singing the phone book I'd go. One of those is Jackson Browne. From the first time I saw him (No Nukes in Battery Park, 1979) to the last (a few weeks ago) and every show in between I always come away feeling fortunate to have been there. Of course I loved his music long before I ever attended one of his shows. His lyrics have always spoken to me in a way few others have (Linda Paloma nonwithstanding).
"Farther On" is a perfect example of why I love Jackson Browne.
In my early years I hid my tears
And passed my days alone
Adrift on an ocean of loneliness
My dreams like nets were thrown
To catch the love that I'd heard of
In books and films and songs
Now there's a world of illusion and fantasy
In the place where the real world belongs
Still I look for the beauty in songs
To fill my head and lead me on
Though my dreams have come up torn and empty
As many times as love has come and gone
To those gentle ones my memory runs
To the laughter we shared at the meals I filled their kitchens and living rooms
With my schemes and my broken wheels It was never clear how far or near
The gates to my citadel lay
They were cutting from stone some dreams of their own
But they listened to mine anyway I'm not sure what I'm trying to say
It could be I've lost my way
Though I keep a watch over the distance Heaven's no closer than it was yesterday
And the angels are older
They know not to wait up for the sun
They look over my shoulder
At the maps and the drawings of the journey I've begun
Now the distance leads me farther on
Though the reasons I once had are gone I keep thinking I'll find what I'm looking for
In the sand beneath the dawn
But the angels are older
They can see that the sun's setting fast
They look over my shoulder
At the vision of paradise contained in the light of the past
And they lay down behind me
To sleep beside the road till the morning has come
Where they know they will find me
With my maps and my faith in the distance
Moving farther on
