Today I thought of the Jackson Browne song, “Lawyers in Love,” from the 1983 album of the same name.
And whenever I think of it, I recall one of my brothers asking me what I thought about the keyboard part echoing Browne’s “love call” in the then-new song. I honestly didn’t catch that at first, but it was unmissable after he pointed it out… and forever a link between the two of us. This brother and I weren’t in touch for a long while, but even then, every time I listened to the song, I thought of him, as I do still. My first-ever post, the Psychedelic Furs’ “Heaven,” is another mutual favourite, very meaningful in our enjoyment of it, and the official video for it.
This brother reads and listens to one of my songs of the day each day, and every time we talk on the phone (plus times in between, via text), he tells me about his experience of my song choices. It is so beautiful to hear the experiences others have of songs we love, isn’t it? I sure think so.
Anyway, this brother also loves soundtracks, so I always feel a bit of excitement posting something the tag, “Film / TV Soundtrack,” and smile as I affectionately think of him.
When looking for the video for today’s selection, I came across many Jackson Browne songs I remembered from my youth. Then I came across Running on Empty, an album I haven’t thought about for many years. The song, “The Load Out” and companion song “Stay” are so irrevocably connected. Yet, there are only unofficial videos that pair them like the couple they indeed are, the ying to the other’s yang. The 1977 album was one of those essential parts of my younger years — though I never bought it (huh?!). The record was also tied to that first serious relationship that I’ve talked of a couple of times… Maybe I just needed to let go of the record-as-a-symbol, though that would have been far easier than letting go of the relationship.
But man, I loved hearing it tonight after searching YouTube for Jackson Browne videos.
At some time, I’ll talk more about Running on Empty and the album’s influence, but for today, I wanted to focus on the memory of that conversation about the love call/keyboard response in “Lawyers in Love.”
Memories are important. They aren’t always good or things we recall with joy, but they anchor us to our roots, our lives, our ancestors. They deserve to be honoured and, if they are negative, well, that’s a first step to reconciling with them.
So for tonight, I’m reminiscing on memories of that long-ago conversation about today’s song. And I am looking forward to speaking with my brother again soon… though I think he’s still weeks behind on the blog. (I honour and love that he sticks to one post per day.)
Incidentally, thinking of Jackson Browne always reminds me of another artist, a British fellow, Duncan Browne, a rather obscure musician but one whom I was hooked into some time in my 1970s and 80s record-buying days. I no doubt heard the record of his that I bought, in one of the downtown Winnipeg stores on one of those weekly money-savings-avoidance trips.
Now you know a little about why this is my song of the day for today. Thanks for joining me here, and please enjoy.
Here’s the official video for the song from Jackson Browne’s YouTube channel:
Song of the Day for Today 