And Freedom? Oh freedom. That’s just some people talkin/
Your prison is walking through this world all alone.

The above line from The Eagles’ “Desperado” is one of the most underappreciated lyrics in rock. It really captures the spirit of the outlaw–the loner, the rebel, the desperado. As you walk alone are you a rebel or are you creating a prison of your own making?

At times it feels like it might be a dream to escape from this world of daily burdens: our family, our job, our significant other. Wouldn’t it be great to live a life with no cares in the world, and not have to answer to anyone? But would the loneliness be worth it?

Henley and Frey tell the young man–The Desperado–to look a little bit closer: that life is not as it seems. You will end up all alone in this world and your ‘freedom’ that you romanticized will just lead to unhappiness.

What makes “Desperado” great is the simple storytelling along with the beautiful chord progressions of the piano. The song is relatively simple, but it packs an emotional punch due to Henley’s singing. The gradual addition of the strings, then drums, then backup vocals allow the song’s energy to build to the great closing line: “You better let somebody love you, before it’s too late.”

“Desperado” is one of the first songs The Eagles wrote, and it only became popular because Linda Ronstadt released a cover of it. She was (and is!) a superstar, and the burgeoning Eagles were her backup band! Now, it is considered an Eagles classic.

Desperado Lyrics

Desperado, why don’t you come to your senses?
You’ve been out ridin’ fences for so long now.
Oh, you’re a hard one,
I know that you’ve 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 getting younger.
Your pain and your hunger
They’re driving you home.
And freedom, oh, freedom,
Well that’s just some people talking.
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.
And you’re losing 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.

written by Don Henley and Glen Frey

The highway is for gamblers, better use your sense/
Take what you have gathered from coincidence.

In “It’s All Over Now Baby Blue”: we don’t get the details from Bob Dylan about what went wrong in her life, but something has gone wrong for the protagonist. It sounds like she is in debt, and her life is in danger and she must immediately leave town (and perhaps even change her name) if she wants to survive.

Things are so bad that a vagabond is standing outside her door in the clothes she pawned. It is interesting that she is still around. The song is not about how she left for a life on the road. The song is a warning, a wake-up call. Dylan is saying “you don’t have much time left, leave now and start over”. Baby Blue is one of the more fascinating characters in Dylan’s songs.

Listen to the live version at Free Trade Hall in 1966. This is the best concert of Dylan’s career, and many of the best versions of his best songs come from that performance. But most of all, it is this song. It is so much better than the album version.

One of the aspects that stands out about “It’s All Over Baby Blue” are the harmonica solos. Dylan is famous for playing the harmonica, but he is not great at it. In this performance, his two harmonica solos sound transcendent. That night his voice sounded great and he delivered the song as if the songs mattered to him.

It is truly one of the best live performances ever. It was his acoustic set that was amazing. Halfway through he switched to electric guitar and someone yelled out “Judas”. The rest of the concert did not go as well. They took their folk music seriously back then.

More Great Songs from Dylan.

It’s All Over Now Baby Blue Lyrics

You must leave now, take what you need, you think will last.
But whatever you wish to keep, you better grab it fast.
Yonder stands your orphan with his gun,
Crying like a fire in the sun.
Look out, the saints are comin’ through,
And it’s all over now, Baby Blue.

The highway is for gamblers, better use your sense.
Take what you have gathered from coincidence.
The empty-handed painter from your streets,
Is drawing crazy patterns on your sheets.
The sky too is folding under you,
And it’s all over now, Baby Blue.

All your seasick sailors, they’re all rowing home.
Your empty-handed army is all going home.
Your lover who just walked out the door,
Has taken all his blankets from the floor.
The carpet too is moving under you,
And it’s all over now, Baby Blue.

Leave your stepping stones behind there, something calls for you.
Forget the dead you’ve left, they will not follow you.
The vagabond who’s rapping at your door,
Is standing in the clothes that you once wore.
Strike another match, go start anew.
And it’s all over now, Baby Blue.

written by Bob Dylan

As heads is tails, just call me Lucifer…

In The Rolling Stones’ “Sympathy for the Devil” the devil is the speaker and we get to meet him and learn a little bit more about him. One of the most interesting things about The Devil is how polite he is. He says, “Please allow me to introduce myself I’m a man of wealth and taste.” He seems to point out that there are two sides to him: The Devil and Lucifer.

The Devil was around when there was war and takes glee in it. He may even have agency: “I rode a tank, held a general’s rank…” Sure there is that side to him, but if you meet him call him Lucifer and be courteous, because he doesn’t always want to be killing. He was an angel once, after all. Or don’t be courteous…he is The Devil, and there is that side to him too.

There are two parts of The Stone’s “Sympathy for the Devil” that make it sound distinct: the bongos and the background singers. We rarely if ever hear bongos used as the sole percussion in a rock song. It creates part of the unique sound. The “woo woo”s that the background singers is…interesting. I would have preferred it for one verse, but it gets kind of annoying as it lasts about ¾ of the song. Keith Richards has some great guitar solos in the song, and I like the outro that sounds like an improvised jam similar to what McCartney did on Hey Jude.

Lyrics Sympathy For The Devil

Please allow me to introduce myself
I’m a man of wealth and taste
I’ve been around for a long, long year
Stole many a man’s soul to waste

And I was ’round when Jesus Christ
Had his moment of doubt and pain
Made damn sure that Pilate
Washed his hands and sealed his fate

Pleased to meet you
Hope you guess my name
But what’s puzzling you
Is the nature of my game

I stuck around St. Petersburg
When I saw it was a time for a change
Killed the czar and his ministers
Anastasia screamed in vain

I rode a tank
Held a general’s rank
When the blitzkrieg raged
And the bodies stank

Pleased to meet you
Hope you guess my name, oh yeah
Ah, what’s puzzling you
Is the nature of my game, oh yeah

I watched with glee
While your kings and queens
Fought for ten decades
For the gods they made

I shouted out
Who killed the Kennedys?
When after all
It was you and me

Let me please introduce myself
I’m a man of wealth and taste
And I laid traps for troubadours
Who get killed before they reached Bombay

Pleased to meet you
Hope you guessed my name, oh yeah
But what’s puzzling you
Is the nature of my game, oh yeah, get down, baby

Pleased to meet you
Hope you guessed my name, oh yeah
But what’s confusing you
Is just the nature of my game, mm yeah

Just as every cop is a criminal
And all the sinners saints
As heads is tails
Just call me Lucifer
‘Cause I’m in need of some restraint

So if you meet me
Have some courtesy
Have some sympathy, and some taste
Use all your well-learned politesse
Or I’ll lay your soul to waste, mm yeah

Pleased to meet you
Hope you guessed my name, mm yeah

But what’s puzzling you
Is the nature of my game, mm mean it, get down

Oh yeah, get on down
Oh yeah
Oh yeah

Tell me baby, what’s my name
Tell me honey, can ya guess my name
Tell me baby, what’s my name
I tell you one time, you’re to blame
Oh, right

What’s my name
Tell me, baby, what’s my name
Tell me, sweetie, what’s my name.
written by Jagger/Richards