1970s songs, life is hard

I’m So Afraid- Fleetwood Mac

I’m so afraid of the way I feel…

In “I’m So Afraid”, Lindsey Buckingham is featured almost exclusively, so we really get to see his music ability. His most obvious skill is his guitar playing. He uses a very unique finger-style with his right hand. I’m So Afraid might be confused as a “jam song”. It is not. Though it does have several memorable guitar solos, they are all rehearsed; he is not improvising over a set of chords. Lindsey has this all mapped out. He fits so many motifs into one solo.

The fact that he can sing over that complicated guitar playing is amazing too. Singing complicated vocals on top of complicated guitar parts is just silly. And he has a great voice. We always know what he was feeling when he wrote a song, because he delivers his performances with emotion and energy.

I'm So Afraid meaning — Lindsey Buckingham

Christine McVie’s organ is the perfect accompanying instrument. It gives off the vibe of a haunted house. It is like we are looking inside Lindsey’s haunted soul and we see he is just an angry, frightened young man.

The original album-release was slightly overproduced and it sounds too slick. His live performances are where we truly capture the greatness of this work. That would happen to him again with what is perhaps his best performance of all-time. As such, this is a deeper cut of Fleetwood Mac, but a great song nonetheless.

Everyone knows about Fleetwood Mac’s inter-band problems and relationship dramas. That is part of the reason their music is so interesting and fun. A small part. One of my favorite squabbles was when they fired Lindsey Buckingham. Lindsey Buckingham is Fleetwood Mac. That would be like the Police firing Sting or CSR firing John Fogerty. (They had to hire two guitarists to replace Lindsey).

The casual Fleetwood mac fan might think I am crazy– clearly Stevie Nicks is the draw. She’s fantastic but this is Lindsey’s band. He produced the sound, played guitar like a god and could sing and write…and was one of Stevie’s favorites muses. And for those who still doubt…it was Christine McVie who called it Lindsey’s band.

I’m So Afraid Lyrics

I been alone
All the years
So many ways to count the tears

I never change
I never will
I’m so afraid the way I feel

Days when the rain and the sun are gone
Black as night
Agony’s torn at my heart too long
So afraid
Slip and I fall and I die

I been alone
Always down
No one cared to stay around

I never change
I never will
I’m so afraid the way I feel

Days when the rain and the sun are gone
Black as night
Agony’s torn at my heart too long
So afraid
Slip and I fall and I die

How I feel
Days when the rain and the sun are gone
Black as night
Agony’s torn at my heart too long
So afraid
Slip and I fall and I die

Written by Lindsey Buckingham

1970s songs, heartbreak

Alone Again- Gilbert O’Sullivan

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Alone again…naturally.

Gilbert O’Sullivan’s “Alone Again” is one of the most disorienting songs in pop music. The music is slightly bright and happy—it sounds like a love song or a light ditty by Donovan or Paul McCartney. But the lyrics are downright traumatic!

We recognize that the light sound is to hide the sad story. It is an attempt by the narrator to get through the day. The only thing he can do to prevent himself from jumping off the nearest cliff is tell his story and sing it in a slightly off-handed way.

Alone again naturally meaning — Gilbert O’Sullivan

The narrator has experienced this kind of pain and loss before. He remembers the loneliness he felt when his father died. He cried—he is not ashamed to say it. And then there is his mother. He attempted to console her about the death of his father but there was nothing he could do. Eventually she died too—he thinks she died of a broken heart. Leaving him alone again.

Things were just starting to look up for him after the loss of his parents. He met a woman who made him happy. He proposed and she accepted. However, his happiness was short-lived. O’Sullivan tells us that she just left him at the altar. In addition to losing the love of his life, he has to deal with the guests who are whispering “that must be horrible”. He is alone again. Naturally.

He tells us that if his mood doesn’t improve soon, he will probably jump off the nearest tower. The way he says it so casually and is disconcerting—the song is slightly upbeat and nonchalant. But what we don’t understand is that death would be an improvement to his current condition (in his mind). And what is the difference? Either way he would be alone.

The contrast of the music with the solemnity of the lyrics is what makes the song. The melody is beautiful on its own, but the combination of the two adds up to make a great all-time song. The acoustic classical guitar solo is the only time we really feel a slight shift to the heaviness of the story.

Are O’Sullivan’s thoughts about suicide serious or a tongue-in-cheek exaggeration to express his point? Perhaps a little of both—his feelings probably change moment to moment. There is certainly enough tragedy in the story that we could understand him feeling either way.

Alone Again (Naturally) Lyrics

In a little while from now
If I’m not feeling any less sour
I promise myself to treat myself
And visit a nearby tower
And climbing to the top
Will throw myself off
In an effort to
Make it clear to whoever
Wants to know what it’s like when you’re shattered

Left standing in the lurch at a church
Were people saying, My God, that’s tough
She stood him up
No point in us remaining
We may as well go home
As I did on my own
Alone again, naturally

To think that only yesterday
I was cheerful, bright and gay
Looking forward to who wouldn’t do
The role I was about to play
But as if to knock me down
Reality came around
And without so much as a mere touch
Cut me into little pieces

Leaving me to doubt
Talk about, God in His mercy
Oh, if he really does exist
Why did he desert me
In my hour of need
I truly am indeed
Alone again, naturally

It seems to me that
There are more hearts broken in the world
That can’t be mended
Left unattended
What do we do
What do we do

Alone again, naturally

Looking back over the years
And whatever else that appears
I remember I cried when my father died
Never wishing to hide the tears
And at sixty-five years old
My mother, God rest her soul
Couldn’t understand why the only man
She had ever loved had been taken
Leaving her to start
With a heart so badly broken
Despite encouragement from me
No words were ever spoken
And when she passed away
I cried and cried all day
Alone again, naturally

Songwriter Gilbert O’sullivan

1970s songs, story songs

The Load Out/Stay (Live)- Jackson Browne

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Stay just a little bit longer…

In “The Load Out”, Jackson Browne tells us about his work experience and manages to make it palatable. Most rock stars age out by the time they are 30. They never write another good song past that age. Why? Many reasons.

The main reason is that the exciting experiencing of youth have turned into the drudgery of the road. Once an artist gets to be famous to the “travelling-musician” level you are going to be seeing a lot of the road.

Or they hit it big and are riding in private jets. So, what do you write songs about if not your lived experience? You either must be super creative and imaginative, have a good memory of your youth, or use other people’s stories as content. Or attempt to describe your daily lived experience on the job. And that is risky. Paint an unflattering picture and risk being labelled a “sellout”, and alienate your audience.

But Browne avoids the pitfalls that I described above for two reasons. Primarily because the message is “All the mundane travel is worth it because when we walk on the stage and get to play for the fans it is all worth it.” And he is grateful to the behind-the-scenes people. He notices them. The work they do. Without this, the song wouldn’t work. Jackson Browne seems like a genuine guy, so the song connects.

There is one final touch that manages to bridge that gap that I was talking about—the wealth gap. This song is written as a love song. I am sure this has been called a “love song to the road” or a “love song to the fans” or whatever on a thousand publications, but here is apt. We can feel the love he has for the music.

The Load Out Stay Meaning — Jackson Browne

And of course, the music of The Load out is so beautiful. And tender. The piano playing is casual as is his voice. As more instruments are introduced the song shows off the talents of each band member—each is given their time to shine.

The way he incorporates the song “Stay” by Maurice Williams is fun and unconventional. Just reading it sounds gimmicky, but it works. The falsetto is outrageous and playful. A contrast to the somber mood of where the song started. A great place to end the show.

The Ramones had a more colorful take about life on the road.

The Load Out Lyrics

Now the seats are all empty
Let the roadies take the stage
Pack it up and tear it down
They’re the first to come and the last to leave
Working for that minimum wage
They’ll set it up in another town

Tonight the people were so fine
They waited there in line
And when they got up on their feet
They made the show

And that was sweet
But I can hear the sound
Of slamming doors and folding chairs
And that’s a sound they’ll never know

Now roll them cases out and lift them amps
Haul them trusses down and get ’em up them ramps
‘Cause when it comes to moving me
You know, you guys are the champs

But when that last guitar’s been packed away
You know that I still wanna play
So just make sure you got it all set to go
Before you come for my piano

But the band’s on the bus
And they’re waiting to go
We gotta drive all night
And do the show in Chicago

Or Detroit, I don’t know
We do so many shows in a row
And these towns all look the same

We just pass the time in the hotel rooms
And wander ’round backstage
‘Til those lights come up, and we hear that crowd
And we remember why we came

Now we got Country and Western on the bus
R & B, we got Disco
And eight tracks and cassettes in stereo

And we got rural scenes and magazines
And we got truckers on the C.B.
And we got Richard Pryor on the video

We got time to think of the ones we love
While the miles roll away
The only time that seems too short
Is the time that we get to play

People, you’ve got the power over what we do
You can sit there and wait or you can pull us through
Come along, sing the song
You know that you can’t go wrong

‘Cause when that morning sun comes beating down
You’re gonna wake up in your town
But we’ll be scheduled to appear
A thousand miles away from here

Songwriters: Jackson Browne / Bryan Garofalo

Stay Lyrics

Stay, ah just a little bit longer,
Please, please, please, please, please,
Tell me that you’re going to

Now your Daddy don’t mind,
And your Mommy don’t mind,
If we have another dance, yeah,
Just one more, one more time.

Oh won’t you stay, just a little bit longer,
Please let me hear you say that you will
Say you will

Won’t you place your sweet lips to mine,
Won’t you say you love me all the time

Songwriters: Cedric Allen Williams

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