 "The Criterion Demos" Unreleased demo recording from 1970 Unreleased Criterion Music Demos Recorded April 6, 1970 in Hollywood Tracks:
copyrighted 1970 by Jackson Browne and Criterion Music Jackson signed a co-publishing agreement with Hollywood's Criterion Music in the fall of 1969, so the demos from that time are just prior to his hooking up with David Geffen, which took place later in 1970 and the recording of his first album which took place in 1971. In fact, it was a demo of "Jamaica Say You Will" from the recording session at Criterion Studios -- which Jackson sent to David Geffen -- that attracked Geffen's attention. The track included backing by J.D. Souther (on drums?), Glenn Frey, and Ned Doheny. This was not an official album, nor was it ever intended as an official release. It was merely Jackson Browne making some demo recordings in his role as a staff writer for Criterion Music. These recordings were intended to be used to promote Jackson's songs to other artists for recording.
LAST TIME I WAS HOME (by Jackson Browne) Last time I was home It was all so strange to see The old house had grown so small And fallen gray As the light was nearly finished with the day I sat speaking with the old ones My father and the hounds But it only made me weary To go round and round so slowly The questions and the answers Still the same Soon the night air had them coughing And shaken their old heads And for once their boy could help them To their bed Old familiar rooms were asking where I'd been Didn't know where I was going Though in the morning I'd be gone By the fire I was sleeping In my father's chair Well I can still see the dream That I had there One old man was riding hard To cross the river But his tired horse went under And the river pulled them down Then the morning sunlight struck And we got up and fixed the truck And the old man drove me back Out to the road JAMAICA SAY YOU WILL (by Jackson Browne) This song also appears on Jackson's 1972 debut album. Jamaica was the lovely one, I played her well As we lay in the tall grass where the shadows fell Hiding from the children so they would not tell We would stay there 'till her sister rang the evening bell Jamaica, say you will Help me find a way to fill these empty hours Say you will come again tomorrow The daughter of a captain on the rolling seas She would stare across the water from the trees Last time he was home he held her on his knees And said the next time they would sail away just where they pleased Jamaica, say you will Help me find a way to fill these lifeless sails And stay until my ships can find the sea Jamaica was a sweet young one, I loved her true She was a comfort and a mercy through and through Hiding from this world together, next thing I knew We had brought her things down to the bay -- what could I do Jamaica, say you will Help me find a way to fill these sails And we will sail until our waters have run dry SONG FOR ADAM (by Jackson Browne) This song also appears on Jackson's 1972 debut album. Though Adam was a friend of mine, I did not know him well He was alone into his distance He was deep into his well I could guess what he was laughing at, but I couldn't really tell Now the story's told that Adam jumped, but I've been thinking that he fell Together we went traveling, as we received the call His destination India, and I had none at all Well, I still remember laughing with our backs against the wall So free of fear, we never thought that one of us might fall I sit before my only candle, but it's so little light to find my way Now this story unfolds before my candle Which is shorter every hour as it reaches for the day But I feel just like a candle in the way I guess I'll get there, but I wouldn't say for sure When we parted we were laughing still, as our goodbyes were said And I never heard from him again as each our lives we led Except for once in someone else's letter that I read Until I heard the sudden word that a friend of mine was dead I sit before my only candle, like a pilgrim sits beside the way Now this journey appears before my candle As a song that's growing fainter the harder that I play But I fear before I end I'll fade away But I guess I'll get there, though I wouldn't say for sure Though Adam was a friend of mine, I did not know him long And when I stood myself beside him, I never though I was as strong Still it seems he stopped his singing in the middle of his song Well I'm not the one to say I know, but I'm hoping he was wrong I'm holding out my only candle, though it's so little light to find my way Now this story's been laid beneath my candle And it's shorter every hour as it reaches for the day Yes, I feel just like a candle in the way I hope I'll get there, but I never pray DOCTOR MY EYES (by Jackson Browne) This song also appears on Jackson's 1972 debut album. 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 I've been waiting to awaken from these dreams People go just where they will I never noticed them until I got this feeling That it's later than it seems Doctor, my eyes Tell me what you see I hear their cries Just say if it's too late for me Doctor, my eyes Cannot see the sky Is this the prize for having learned how not to cry LOW ROAD (by Jackson Browne) People standing all around me In their troubled lives Staring at the sky Searching for the opening To another paradise Wishing they could fly Stories of the high road Wander thru their dreams And whisper to their souls In terms of pleasure Of all the roads I've taken on My way to where I'm going None of them were easy But even as I picked my pleasure Where I found it growing It's never made me crazy I've traveled the low road It's a wide and heavy load And I must ride Until this road will release me Now as I move on down Along that low, unwinding line To save myself from sorrow It's clear that this one day In this one road Are all that's mine And it could end tomorrow I've traveled the low road It's a wide and heavy load And I must ride Until this road must release me DOOR INTO THE MORNING (by Jackson Browne) As I step thru this door into the morning And I leave the night behind There's a shadow in my mind Shadow in my mind I dreamed my love had come back down the line And I woke again to find myself alone And the morning sun is burning Oh I believe this world is turning once again And I will be my own friend Here I am I got the rest of my whole life to understand Though I must admit I have no plans But I got some time now I'm doing what I can As I release my captive sorrows I can hear them singing in the wind So it's here that I'll begin Here I will begin Open to the changes once again Now I'm standing in my life among these people And they hear my story calling Thru the circle I am falling once again And I must be my own friend Here I am I got the rest of my whole life to understand Though I must admit I have no plans But I got some time now I'm doing what I can ANOTHER PLACE (by Jackson Browne) Today the world from where I stay Was on her way to ashes In the wasted morning stillness She lay groaning in the sleepy heat of madness And you know just what is happening But it's not like you can do a thing It's not that way It's over there I guess I'll put my long sleeves on Wonder where the sun has gone He could not watch and still go on Believing Through the darkness and the fire You can hear the buildings whispering Their terrified repentance But it's time They served the sentence I guess I'll put my long sleeves on Wonder where the sun has gone He could not watch and still go on Believing BIRDS OF ST. MARKS (by Jackson Browne) Oh how sadly sound the songs the queen must sing of dying A prisoner upon her throne of melancholy sighing If she could see her mirror now She would be free of those who bow and Scrape the ground before her feet Silently she walks among her dying midnight roses Watches as each moment goes that never really know us And so it seems she doesn't care If she has dreams of no one there Within the shadows of her room But all my frozen words agree, and say it's time to Call back, all the birds I sent to Fly behind her castle walls, and I'm Weary of the nights I've seen Inside these empty halls Wooden lady turn and turn among my weary secrets And wave within the hours past and other empty pockets Maybe we've found what we have lost When we've unwound so many crossed entangling Misunderstandings; but All my frozen words agree and say it's time to Call back all the birds I sent to Fly behind her castle walls, and I'm Weary of the nights I've seen Inside these empty walls MAE JEAN GOES TO HOLLYWOOD (by Jackson Browne) Honey when I brought you here You said that you would sing You said that you would wing your way To fortune and fame Well I have given everything To keep you warm and clean I didn't even bat an eye When you changed your name I'm getting used to hearing people Calling you someone else Getting used to seeing you go in the morning And eating supper by myself Now this Hollywood producer Who has offered you the world And let you drive his sporty new Camero I wonder just how many girls He's told his story to How many dreams have gone the way of sorrow I'm getting tired of biting my nails And pumping gasoline Getting tired of waiting for you to figure out Why this city isn't clean Mae Jean, Would you run back home with me? I'll go back to working on your daddy's farm Mae Jean, Would you run back home with me? This wicked city's bound to do us harm Now all this time I've helped you With your promising career I've never said one word About your singing But I just want to let you know That you'll still be my star If you say goodbye for good to Hollywood And do your singing in the shower Mae Jean, Hey would you run back home with me? Back to where the air is clear and free Mae Jean, Would you run back home with me? If the city doesn't get us first It's gonna slip into the sea GONE TO SORROW (by Jackson Browne) Someone who had been away Suddenly came back today And I allowed a hope to stray Into my mind For a moment face to face We looked back upon the place Where long ago we went to trace Our careless time Oh what did we know? Not what we were asking Our wings were passing so low Over mountains Wondering if I could see Something in her hand for me I picked it up most carefully And looked inside Since her love had long been dead Slowly then she turned her head And looked the other way instead As if to hide Oh what did I know? Not what I was losing My mind was moving so slow In confusion Someone who had been away Suddenly came back today But I've forgotten what to say To keep a friend Darkness sometimes fills the sky And children sometimes ask me why But I don't know, I used to try To answer them Oh what do you know? Not what I've been feeling The past is healing so slow My Tomorrow Gone to Sorrow HOT LIKE TODAY (by Jackson Browne) It was Hot like today As the Sun found it's way Where we Quietly lay In Grassy Shadows There were no words to say We just wanted to stay there Just wanted to lay there But these Mountains are Alive You know they can laugh at the things they see So Come on Woman I said Come on Just forget all the things that you're suppose to do And you can Climb this Day with me So Come on As the Sun passed the Sky So the Light began to Die And the air began to sigh For easy Slumber There were no words to say We just wanted to stay there Just wanted to lay there Grab hold of this Moment Hang on to it Woman Said come on, Oh Woman We got a Number, we're gonna do it When it comes time to get down to it We're gonna See And We'll know we're Living Just cause we know we're Giving Just cause we'll know A CHILD IN THESE HILLS (by Jackson Browne) This song also appears on Jackson's 1972 debut album. I am a child in these hills I am away I am alone I am a child in these hills And looking for water And looking for life Who will show me the river and ask my name? Is there nobody here who'll do that? Well I have come to these hills I will come to the river As I choose to be gone from the house of my father I am a child in these hills I am a child Chased from the gates of the city where no one had touched me I am away I am alone I am a child in these hills And looking for water And looking for life Who will show me the river and ask me my name? Is there nobody here who'll do that? Well I have come to these hills I will come to the river As I choose to be gone from the house of my father I am a child in these hills I am a child I am a child I am a child THE TOP (by Jackson Browne) I've been looking at this old Top That I found here on the Ground It looks like it's been lost For some Time I wonder if I gave it a turn Would it go spinning round and round You know I wouldn't tell you a lie And I wouldn't pretend I've been waiting in this alley For a friend And I wonder if my friend is going to come at all Thought we'd be here by now And I thought we would run I've been sitting in this old car With my feet up on the dash I guess it hasn't gone so far In some time Well I wonder if I ease the brake Would it roll out of this grass You know I wouldn't tell you a lie And I wouldn't pretend I've been waiting in this lot For a friend And I wonder if my friend is on the way right now I've been waiting so long Waiting to fly Until my friend can get to me I've got no where else to be So I guess I'll stick around I've been looking at this old world Through this piece of glass I found It looks like it's been lost for some time Well I wonder if I gave it a turn Would it go spinning round and round You know I wouldn't tell you a lie And I wouldn't pretend I've been waiting in this world For a friend MY OPENING FAREWELL (by Jackson Browne) This song also appears on Jackson's 1972 debut album. A lady stands before an open window Staring so far away She can almost feel the southern wind blow Almost touching her restless day She turns from her window to me Sad smile her apology Sad eyes reaching to the door Daylight loses to another evening And still she spares me the word goodbye And sits alone beside me fighting her feelings Struggles to speak but in the end can only cry Suddenly its so hard to find The sound of the words to speak her troubled mind So I'm offering these to her as if to be kind: There's a train everyday leaving either way There's a world, you know There's a way to go And you'll soon be gone -- that's just as well This is my opening farewell A child's drawings left there on the table And a woman's silk lying on the floor And I would keep them here if I were able Lock her safe behind this open door But suddenly it's so clear to me That I'd asked her to see what she may never see And now my kind words find their way back to me There's a train everyday leaving either way There's a world, you know You got a way's to go And I'll soon believe -- it's just as well This is my opening farewell THE TIMES YOU'VE COME (by Jackson Browne) This song also appears on Jackson's 1973 album For Everyman. In the time we've known That we each are a part of one another We've lost as much as we have won And as our lives have grown We have found that it only brings us pain That hangs on to the things that we have done Still I've loved the times you've come When you went away Taking all that I'd built my false road on I dropped my life and couldn't find the pieces Now you come and go And it's hard but I feel my strength returning We'll see how far this new road reaches We'll see a little more each time we come Now everybody's gonna tell you it's not worth it Everybody's gotta show you their own thing You might try to find your way up around it But the need for love will still remain Now we're lying here So safe in the ruins of our pleasures Laughter marks the place where we have fallen And our lives are near So it wouldn't occur to us to wonder Is this the past or the future that is calling You know I've loved these times you've come. FROM SILVERLAKE (by Jackson Browne) This song also appears on Jackson's 1972 debut album. Did you see our brother He was here the other day But he only came to say that he was leaving Did you see his lady She was looking where he'd gone But she wasn't letting on that she was grieving She's bound to go Perhaps she'll find him waiting for his boat in some city far away She's bound to go Lately I remember afternoons of smoke and wine There was nothing we could find but peace and pleasure And with a smile he told me That he wanted just to be on his way across the sea no man can measure He won't be back, And the sun may find him sleeping in the dust of some ruin far away He won't be back Early today as I watched while the skyline was shaking I heard a rumbling Early today the mechanical city was waking And I ran out stumbling, mumbling Out through the laughter of children and dogs Did you see our brother He was here the other day But he only came to say that he can't breathe here Did you see his lady She was reaching for his hand Just as if to tell her man that she can't either They're bound to go And the sun may find me running after them, seeing something far away We won't be back SOME KIND OF FRIEND (by Jackson Browne) You've seen me wandering slowly By watching the sky You heard me whispering to the sun Can you see anyone close to me? Could there be? Look and see Don't leave me standing here You've heard me cry to the wind Just send me some kind of friend Cause I've been flying all around in circles In a dark and stormy sky And I've noticed all the upturned faces On all the people who would like to try and fly like me It looks so easy But I'm so tired Of all the circling And all these glimpses of the end That's all the voices say You'll go right on circling Until you've found some kind of friend I've been living on a live volcano In the middle of a burning sea And I've been trying just to laugh about The way it seems to be Only me You know I've dreamed to be the dragon Who could live among the flames But as I look into the mirror for the dragon I can see only me I'm going to steal you in the forest Take you by the hand I'm going to lead you into the muddy lagoon I'm going to seize you in the shadows Take you by surprise Fly you to the dark side of the moon And you can run into the desert You can run into the sea But in the end I think you'll come With me THERE CAME A QUESTION (by Jackson Browne) From crooked walls and painted windows Within a forest of disguise From under crumbling inventions There came a question from your eyes And in this dream there was no touching Although we reached for stolen skin As into darkness we went fading There came a question from within I've been looking for you The question is "What is the question?" I've been looking for you The answer is "There is no answer." There is no answer Between the words there was a moment Among the shadows and the holes With tired eyes and frozen faces There came a question from our souls I've been looking for you The question is "What is the question?" I've been looking for you The answer is "There is no answer." There is no answer HAVE I SEEN HER? (by Jackson Browne) Have I seen her wandering Winding her way thru the streets of my mind There alone among my tangled thoughts Tell me what she is hoping to find Guarantees of positive uncertainty Is all I have for her To be free from boundaries of philosophy Is all I hope to be And when the sea is black And the sky is red She comes softly to me And calls my name Aah, she moves so gracefully Filling the holes that are made by the night Oh how good it is to see Someone who's not afraid to let you inside Guarantees of positive uncertainty Is all I have for her To be free from boundaries of philosophy Is all I hope to be And when the sea is black And the sky is red She comes softly to me And calls my name Have I heard her whispering The words she learned from a face in a dream You won't find her bothering When things don't turn out to be what they seem Guarantees of positive uncertainty Is all I have for her To be free from boundaries of philosophy Is all I hope to be And when the sea is black And the sky is red She comes softly to me And calls my name COLORS OF THE SUN (by Jackson Browne) This song also appears on Jackson's 1973 album For Everyman. Colors of the sun Flashing on the water top Echo on the land Picking for a coin Many other tiny worlds Singing past my hand Awake to understand you are not dreaming It is not seeming just to be this way Dying men draw numbers in the air Dream to conquer little bits of time Scuffle with the crowd to get their share And fall behind their little bits of time Voices in the air Sympathetic harmony Coming from the trees Hanging at my door Many shiny surfaces Clinging in the breeze Oh, leave me where I am I am not losing If I am choosing not to plan my life Disillusioned saviors search the sky Wanting to just to show someone the way Asking all the people passing by Doesn't anybody want the way I say goodbye to Joseph and Maria They think I see another sky And from my fallen window I still see them I'll never free them from the sky DANCING SAM (by Jackson Browne) Sailors line the boardwalk Blinking their eyes in the air Gathered like flies on the carnival cries In the air Hustlers from the shore stalk So many tricks of the trade Smiling like sharks On the floundering marks To be made Down past laughing Lottie And the crowded mirror maze Sad electric autos bump and slam People fail to see themselves A thousand different ways And they never really notice Dancing Sam The barker on the platform Casting his line to the crowd Speaking so fine As he covers its mind With a shroud The freaks behind the canvas Go on performing for change Madly deforming Their bodies go swarming For change Down around the fun house The caterpillar rides The fortune teller sells her ragged scam People bump into themselves But fail to recognize The image of their souls In Dancing Sam Dancing Sam Do you care if the sailors lost his pay? Do you care if the ladies lost her way? I'll tip my hat and bow But I don't know how You go on dancing through it All this way Faces of plastic With mouths of elastic Go swinging past midgets Who pay for the chance To be winning at something The couples in the fun zone Walking around in their sleep Cover the ground With a slow motion sound As they creep Down past laughing Lottie And the Nickel-Dime Arcade All the lonely marksmen Push and cram People hear the ocean But they only dare to wade Through the hollow sounds that come From Dancing Sam Dancing Sam Do you care if the sailors lost his pay? Do you care if the ladies lost her way? I'll tip my hat and bow But I don't know how You go on dancing through it All this way TAKING SO LONG (by Jackson Browne) There is no reason For what we seem to understand As words between us There is no reason But that we're caught behind the hours That have seized us It's taking so long to tell you in words What I want you to know Where I want you to go Taking so long to tell you in words I hear you breathing What better voice to sing the pleasure Of the living I hear you seething What better choice than to be stolen In the giving It's taking so long to tell you in words What I feel on your skin What is real is within Taking so long to tell you in words Demons follow me Trying to swallow me Taste me just to place me in the sky Demons follow me Trying to swallow me Chase me just to space me in the sky Angels who see me Labor to free me Reelin' on the ceiling of my eye I see you reaching For what you know is in the air Somewhere around you I see you reaching Where will you go When your questions Have all found you It's taking so long to tell you in words What reflection to show Which direction to go Taking so long to tell you in words |