Like most people, I’ve always been easily affected by music. Songs that drive me in sorrowful, fiery, or bittersweet directions mean the most to me, and even as a child, songs with a world-weary overtone would weigh heavy on my heart; but I was—and am—drawn to them like a magnet.
Today in the offices of Jose el Retardo, a fellow staff member caught my attention by singing Jackson Browne’s Doctor My Eyes, and it immediately made me stop whatever useless task I was up to and wax horribly nostalgic. It’s dogged my steps all day, and I’ve gotten relatively little accomplished. Upon hearing this song on the radio, even when I was very young, a shadow has always been cast over my mind. Obviously I had no clue what Browne was talking about, but my kid-brain was nevertheless troubled by the notion that this man singing was up against the wall somehow, and getting no relief.
Don’t get me wrong, agents of cool. I am NOT a Jackson Browne fan by any stretch of the imagination—Lawyers in Love could be in the top twenty of all time bad songs; oh how I hate it—so don’t get yourself all in a tizzy over my nerdish admission. But come on, you have to give it up for Doctor My Eyes. It’s just so damn sad. Maybe it’s because his vocals on the song are the most vulnerable of any of his recordings that I can remember—indeed, when Browne practically yelps out the line, “You must help me, if you can”, he truly seems at the end of his rope. Or maybe it’s the plaintive lyrics. I don’t know, but as I get older, this song only gets more and more haunting in a bizarrely pleasant way.
Listen for yourself, and then tell the Jose community what songs weigh heavily on you:
Tags: Doctor My Eyes, Jackson Brown, Sad Songs
Entries (RSS)
April 3rd, 2008 at 3:37 pm
Dear dear Jose…just because you like a song by someone does not make you a devoted follower of their music. I don’t have a favorite band, just favorite songs. And certainly no one could blame you for what songs you like when you were little.
By the way here are the lyrics
Doctor, my eyes have seen the years
And the slow parade of fears without crying
Now I want to understand
I have done all that I could
To see the evil and the good without hiding
You must help me if you can
Doctor, my eyes
Tell me what is wrong
Was I unwise to leave them open for so long
cause I have wandered through this world
And as each moment has unfurled
Ive been waiting to awaken from these dreams
People go just where there will
I never noticed them until I got this feeling
That its later than it seems
Doctor, my eyes
Tell me what you see
I hear their cries
Just say if its too late for me
Doctor, my eyes
Cannot see the sky
Is this the prize for having learned how not to cry
maybe this man feels bad for not letting his feelings show through out his life. Anyway Jose…cool song, I had forgotten about it. Hey lets not forget “Wildfire” or “Shannon”
the
sis
April 3rd, 2008 at 6:32 pm
Thanks for the lyrical content, the sis. I remember Shannon well. Written and sang by Henry Gross, and part of my collection.
Good point about the man in the song suffering from not having reacted to the things he had seen in the world. Never quite looked at it that way.
April 3rd, 2008 at 7:42 pm
Young Jose…… Those haunting lyrics always strike a chord with me as well!! It just goes to show, even though you pretend to have a heart of pure dog poop… well you really do have a 24K soul. Rock on young-un!
April 4th, 2008 at 5:09 am
Jose did you ever find that when you found out the true meaning of a song then you did not like it as much any more? There was another song I used to love as a young child. It was Mandy by Barry Manalow (sorry for even typing his name on your web site) You can’t control what your parents listen too! Anyways a few years back he was on some talk show and he stated what that song was really about…..HIS FREAKIN DOG, not a woman! Since then I have never liked that song (or Barry for that matter)
p.s.
shame on pops for trying to ruin your ultra cool rep!
April 4th, 2008 at 7:12 am
The sis, I will not have you deriding Barry Manilow on this site. I do think that Mandy was about a man, not a woman, but he didn’t feel comfortable saying it, so he said it was a dog.
Pops, a heart of pure dog poop? Really? I suppose you’re a huge Steve Jobs fan or something.
April 4th, 2008 at 7:21 am
god, how i love music.
April 4th, 2008 at 7:41 am
Such a wistful voice. I got no problem with Jackson Browne or various other very good musicians who shovel the cheese once in a while.
The beginning of this sound sounds just like, like just like, some Spoon songs. Looks like I discovered where Brit Daniel has been looking for inspiration. Hmmm.
April 4th, 2008 at 8:00 am
I, too, appreciate what some may call “cheese,” since I will always stay connected to my humble musical start in life before I became the bass player for the explosively popular NYC-based band The Shallow Divers. Plus, I happen to think a lot of cheese is simply delicious, especially Velveeta. And Bon Jovi! Who could argue this gem:
I’ll be there for you
These five words I swear to you
When you breathe, I wanna be the air for you
I’ll- be- there- for- you
And don’t tell me, any of you, that you didn’t once pause to count that there actually were 5 words in there.
April 4th, 2008 at 11:33 am
I didn’t ever pause to figure out those 5 words. Bon JOvi should not be mentioned on this blog. Just my opinion.
April 4th, 2008 at 11:43 am
All topics are welcome here, Danzig. Don’t be hatin’. Leave that to the professionals here at Jose el Retardo. And yes, I have counted those words hundreds of times, as if it might change on me somehow.
April 4th, 2008 at 12:07 pm
don’t hate the player, hate the game
April 4th, 2008 at 1:47 pm
Boo hoo
April 5th, 2008 at 7:10 am
Steve Jobs sucks!!!!!!! And the her\art of pur dog poop remark was just said to magnify (for your readers sake) the personna that you try to convie in your blogs. BUT I truly know the real Jose. The kind, sweet, caring, tender and thoughtful young man that you really are…. with that untarnished 24K soul!! A KIND SOUL and A ROCKIN SOUL!!
PS… The sis ‘es, well tey’re pretty damn special too!!
There… now I said it and ruined the my ‘hard nosed’ personna!
April 7th, 2008 at 12:50 pm
I am a kind and rocking soul, yes Pops.