 "The Nina Demo" Unreleased demo recording from 1967 Unreleased Nina Music Demo Recording (2-LP Set) Recorded on Saturday, January 7, 1967 Tracks:
copyrighted 1967 by Nina Music Company; Open Window Music/Companion Music On January 7, 1967, Jackson Browne stepped into the studio to make some demos of his songs for Nina Music. The idea was to showcase Jackson's songs to various artists on the Elektra roster. For some reason, Nina Music pressed thirty of Jackson's songs -- along with ten of Steven Noonan's songs -- onto two LPs. (Actually only about 2/3 of the songs were from the 1967 recording session at Jaycino Studio in New York. The rest were from a Columbia session on October 5, 1966.) The "Nina Demo" has become somewhat legendary and infamous among Jackson's fans as his first "unreleased" album, but it never was intended to be an album release (much less an album); it was merely Jackson Browne and his guitar making some 2-track tapes in his role as a staff writer for Nina Music, the music publishing arm of Elektra Records. The recordings were to be used to pitch his songs to other artists on the Elektra label.
HOLDING (by Jackson Browne) I'm standing here and hoping for you Holding my door open for you now Ask just what you will of me I'll bend just like a willow tree And now I'm holdin' Holdin' my door open to the wind Well seven times she came to me And each time seemed the same to me She knows just what to ask me now And I can't help but wonder how And now I'm holdin' Holdin' my door open before the wind I wrote my name upon the sands With questioningly weary hands The tide arose and answered me And washed my name into the sea And now I'm holdin' Holdin' my door open before the wind SOMEWHERE THERE'S A FEATHER (by Jackson Browne) Love and learn Take your turn Somewhere there's a feather Falling slowly from the sky You need not know the reason why Stand apart Hear your heart Someday there will be another lover to the end You need not hold your breath 'til then Don't ask me to explain to you There's nothing to remain but what we see Fall and climb Take your time Somehow you must live up to the precedents you've set You need not hope for answers yet Don't ask me how I know it now The future does not show itself to me So love and learn Take your turn Somewhere there's a feather Falling slowly from the sky You need not know the reason why I'VE BEEN OUT WALKING (by Jackson Browne) This song appears on the album For Everyman as "THESE DAYS" with slightly different lyrics". I've been out walking I don't do too much talking these days These days These days I seem to think a lot About the things that I forgot to do And all the times I had the chance to I stopped my ramblin' I don't do too much gamblin' these days These days These days I seem to think about How all the changes came about my way And I wonder if I'll see another highway And I had a lover I don't think I'll risk another these days These days And if I seem to be afraid To live the life that I have made in song Well it's just 'cause I've been losing so long Well I'll stop my dreamin' I don't do too much schemin' these days These days These days I'll sit on cornerstones And count the time in quartertones to ten Please don't confront me with my failures I had not forgotten them FUNNY YOU SHOULD ASK (by Jackson Browne) Well it's funny you should ask me how I feel As the scenes before my eyes begin to reel I can't remember how long I cried I can't remember how hard I tried Turned my thoughts away from you Like I had something else to do And now I find you here And it's funny you should want to see me now Well I'd refuse you but I can't remember how I can't remember how long I cried I can't remember how hard I tried I'd tell myself I didn't care That I was down and you weren't there You've been away so long And it's funny you should want to know my plans As the future disappears beneath my hands I can't remember how long I cried I can't remember how hard I tried Now I'll cast aside my memories And shut you out most bitterly I'm down on my last smile LOVE ME, LOVELY (by Jackson Browne) Lovely, lovely, did you see me Just as I was crying Love me lovely, make it easy What I say is hard but I am trying Lovely, lovely, can you hear me Listen to my singing Love me lovely, while you're near me Try and understand the thought I'm bringing Last night I was sleeping But I did not know if I'd awaken today Lie in my keeping, only know That I can't stay after today I'm on my way - love me lovely Love me lovely Lovely, lovely, you can't fool me I know that you need me Love me, lovely, now and truly Knowing that your love can only speed me Don't say how it could be Or I'll know that you'll be crying today Just how it should be I don't know So this I'll say I'm on my way - love me lovely Love me lovely Last night I was sleeping But I did not know if I'd awaken today Lie in my keeping, only know That I can't stay after today I'm on my way - love me lovely Love me lovely YOU'VE FORGOTTEN (by Jackson Browne) You've been passed around from hand to hand Cast upon the darkest sands Now you're so confused that you can hardly stand Forgotten, you've forgotten now you're on the run Forgotten, you've forgotten How to live beneath the sun How to live beneath the sun Before you left I thought I knew That you would always need me too I never thought someday, that I'd be telling you You've forgotten, you've forgotten The things you used to feel Forgotten, you've forgotten How to smile for real How to smile for real And for the changes you have made Your beauty was the price you paid All your dreams rose up and then you watched them fade. You've forgotten, you've forgotten You've forgotten, you've forgotten The best is always yet to come The best is always yet to come The best is always yet to come And how to live beneath the sun SOMEDAY MORNING (by Jackson Browne) As the early morning filters through My shuttered window pane I look about and realize That things are still the same These flowers in a glass Mark the hours that have passed As I lay sleeping And I can hear my footsteps ringing Down the empty morning street And the concrete that I walk upon Is cold beneath my feet A single winging dove Reminds me of the sleeping love That I am leaving 'Cause everyone must someday do his own thing 'Cause everyone must someday do his own thing And I have a brand new song to sing In the morning skies the stars Begin to sputter and to fade As the night surrenders all its claim On shadows it has made A watchdog's hungry bark Is the morning's first remark Upon my walking And everyone must someday do his own thing And everyone must someday do his own thing And I have a brand new song to sing And I'm told that if I try That I can do most anything Well then I would like to sing a song And make this morning ring As the morning turns to day Hear the waking city say Who is that singing CAST OFF ALL MY FEARS (by Jackson Browne) Once I was on my own And falling Once I was all alone And calling For someone, anyone today To help me just a little on my way And then I took a look around And I saw the love that surrounded me I knew that it was up to me To cast off all the fears that bound me You'll find you can't go on Demanding On ways to help you in Defending Your reason for being who you are And asking for the lightest brightest star I found that all I had to do Was believe in the things that are true to me And that'll happen naturally And cast off all the fears that bound me Yes, people let me say that I took a look around And I saw the love that surrounded me I knew that it was up to me Cast off all the fears that bound me I had to cast off all the fears that bound me IN MY TIME (by Jackson Browne) In my mind The golden silver statues turn to tin And I find Confidence is just a place I've been In my mind I was kind When poppa's begging friendship came to me I was blind To think it would be easy to be free In my time I've not lied I tried to save the pride I hold within When I denied Happiness is just a room I'm in In my time In my mind The golden silver statues turn to tin And I find Happiness is just a place I've been In my time MELISSA (by Jackson Browne) Melissa, I knew I just had to kiss ya Heaven knows what I had in mind When my eyes went blind And you had to take me home Because I could not find my way Mimi, you make my glasses steamy Heaven knows that I'll take a chance On a girl from France Just so long as we don't have to dance 'till dawn Maybe baby I'm not so smart But I know I'm not your brother And the way you affect me You needn't suspect me Of falling in love with another Daisy, your old man thinks I'm crazy Heaven knows I used to go insane When I heard your name I knew what I was doin' When I had my brain removed Maybe baby I'm not so smart I never claimed to be a thinker But you gotta respect me Cause the way you affect me I'll never have to be a drinker Bessie, my dreams of you are messy Heaven knows I used to lie awake And try to make my heart stop pounding Long enough to take my rest IT'S BEEN RAINING HERE IN LONG BEACH (by Jackson Browne) It's been raining here in Long Beach The dampness in the air Tends to straighten out my hair Against my wishes But the traces of a song reach My tattered ear once more Lend me courage to ignore The smell of fishes I was a drunken lout, I ran about With ladies that I knew I did 'em wrong all night long Singing 23 skidoo Huzahh...huzahh... Once upon a time I was a kid Well I don't know what happened then But I'm warning all you younger men On your way to Long Beach think again You can't afford to settle down in Long Beach I had a raccoon coat, a paddle boat I played the ukulele Beneath the moon in June I'd croon, "Won't You Come Home Bill Bailey" Huzahh...huzahh... Once upon a time I was a kid But now my hair is turning gray I'm getting fatter every day If you got any sense you'll stay away And never give another thought to Long Beach And never give a moment's thought to Long Beach YOU'LL GET IT IN THE MAIL TODAY (by Jackson Browne) I've been up all night I've been writing this letter And I think I might have found a better way To tell you all the things I've got to say I put it in writing and you'll get it in the mail today Well I don't know but I can't help feeling That you got to stop your double-dealin' ways Cheatin' on me is a crime that never pays And that's all in the letter and you'll get it in the mail today Well I would tell you to your face But you'd just lie to me Put you in your place But you'd just try to defy me Been up all night Pencil and a paper And I think I might have found a safer way Say goodbye without much more delay Well it's all in the letter and you'll get it in the mail today I don't mean tomorrow It's all in the letter and you'll get it in the mail today I don't mean no Western Union It's all in the letter and you'll get it in the mail today SHADOW DREAM SONG (by Jackson Browne) I meant to call her name I meant to take her hand I meant to be the same and understand Just what was happening in the evening Between the princess and the prince I can't be bothered now And I can't eat or drink I can't remember how I used to think What was the song she sang before the morning rang Bringing the princess to the prince It's a crystal ringing way She has about her in the day But she's a laughing dappled shadow She's a laughing dappled shadow in my night If I could hear her voice If I could see her face If I could have my choice I'd be in the place Where I saw her last on the evening past Of the princess and the prince It's a crystal ringing way She has about her in the day But she's a laughing dappled shadow She's a laughing dappled shadow in my night (c) 1967 Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp. & Open Window Music THE LIGHT FROM YOUR SMILE (by Jackson Browne) Oh the light from your smile Can be seen for a mile By travelers dark in their sorrow If you want me to stay Throw a smile my way And I'll stay by your side 'till tomorrow Woooah... 'Cause all my battered dreams are shattered now And I need all your beauty to warm me In the time that I've known you I've always shown you That I could be captured in kindness Now a storm's blowin' Tomorrow I'm goin' Well the sun takes away my blindness Woooah... Cause all my tattered hopes are shattered now I wait for the future to touch me Oh the morning is nearing The clouds disappearing The sun will be coming to guide me Wherever I go I want you to know That I carry your smile beside me Woooah... The slowly shifting fog is lifting now And I see the road I'll be taking GOTTA SEE A MAN ABOUT A DAYDREAM (music by Jackson Browne, lyrics by Greg Copeland) I could write for you A song about the warming of September But I couldn't really give to you That month in the spring And I could write for you Melodies dedicated to the seasons But I'd be caught behind Remembering a reason not to sing And the music would accompany The words it brings along Why should I try How can I try I can't give you the seasons in a song I could paint for you A picture with a swirling world of color But I couldn't really give to you The brush strokes of my mind And in my ticker-tape parade All the memories of all my failures Would be summoned in And made to walk a step or two behind And models seldom find themselves In portraits that I've drawn But I have cried And not denied That my colors aren't clear enough in song You ask of me What's a word that rhymes with all your confusion Don't you think that's just a little bit Unusual to ask Once you asked of me Once before what is a word for all your crying But you were laughing at me all the time Behind your tragic mask Now you ask me and my friends If you can pack and come along Why should I try How can I try If you can follow the honesty in song So I'll go skipping through All my daydreams at a thousand miles an hour And I'll try to sort things out Into an order if I can I've got a couple things to do Before I come and talk to you again Well I'll meet you in a dream or two Down by the borderland I've got a necessary game to play And changes to go through It's time to go, time to go So it's so long, farewell And I'll be seeing you TIME TRAVEL FANTASY (music by Jackson Browne, lyrics by Pamela Polland) My head is in the forest And I'm thinking about you The mist is pulling lightly on the timber My thoughts are of the forest And I'm sure I'm not in view Of anyone but the dragon And the prince of song I cannot see the daytime For my head is in the night The fog is gently swaying on the moor now I hardly know the difference >From the dark into the light Since I was with the dragon It's been far too long My feet can't keep my thoughts >From running out on me this time The haze is passing fully 'cross the skyline Where's the girl to hold me To the boundaries of my mind Princess with bag of crystal That's where I belong Now will my head stay with the night And watch the chance I take All the dew has gathered on the heather Will I go to sleep again Or will I stay awake Let me linger with the dragon And the prince of song THE FAIREST OF THE SEASONS (music by Jackson Browne, lyrics by Greg Copeland) Now that it's time Now that the hour hand has landed at the end Now that it's real Now that the dreams have given all they had to lend I want to know Do I stay or do I go And maybe try another time And do I really have a hand in my forgetting Now that I've tried Now that I've finally found that this is not the way Now that I turn Now that I feel it's time to spend the night away I want to know Do I stay or do I go And maybe finally split the rind And do I really understand the undernetting Yes and the morning has me looking in your eyes and seeing mine Warning me to read the signs carefully Now that it's love Now that the candle's falling smaller in my mind Now that it's here Now that I'm almost not so very far behind I want to know Do I stay or do I go And maybe fall another side And do I really have a sound that I can ride on Now that I can Now that it's easy ever easy all around Now that I'm near Now that I'm falling to the sunlight and to song I want to know Do I stay or do I go And do I have to do just one And can I choose again if I should lose the reason Yes and the morning has me looking in your eyes and seeing mine Warning me to read the signs oh carefully Now that I smile Now that I'm laughing even deeper in the side Now that I see Now that I finally found the one thing I denied I want to know Do I stay or do I go And it is finally I decide That I'll be leaving in the fairest of the seasons SING MY SONGS TO ME (by Jackson Browne) This song appears on the album For Everyman with slightly different lyrics. Sing my songs to me Sing them to me softly Sing me sunlight and shadows Oranges and yellows Let your voice ring back my memory Sing my songs to me Sing my dreams to me Sing them to me softly Sing me friendships and lovers Pillows and covers Let your voice ring back my hopes to me Sing my dreams to me Sing my thoughts to me Sing them to me softly Sing me minutes and hours Poets and flowers Let your voice ring back myself to me Sing my thoughts to me Sing my songs to me Sing them to me softly Sing me sunlight and shadows Oranges and yellows Let your voice ring back my memory Sing my songs to me Sing them to me softly LAVENDER WINDOWS (by Jackson Browne) Lavender windows and burgundy doors Olive green pillows on ebony floors The lightest of wine Could have been mine It should have been mine Promises kept and promises broken They're all the same whether silent or spoken They're not worth a penny I didn't make many I didn't break any Roads that are leaving and roads that have gone Oh every road moves but the one that I'm on The score is now even And I should be leaving Why am I not leaving (c) 1967 Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp. & Open Window Music THE PAINTER (by Jackson Browne) We see him dancing in the morning Stars depart the yawning sky He'll take the hour that is passing And leave it in his lover's eye And if you want he'll make it seem As though you're walking in his dream A mystic sea We hear him laughing in the shadows As he smuggles in the sand He's found another kind of color In the magic he has donned And if you want he'll take the time To ask the sun and moon to rhyme And then combine He draws no lines between what he's imagining (c) 1967 Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp. & Open Window Music FOURTH AND MAIN (by Jackson Browne) I'm here at Fourth and Main Been standing in the rain I feel no joy, I feel no pain I got nothing to lose, nothing to gain I'm at Fourth and Main Been down at City Hall Been writing on the wall The grass is wet and the trees are tall I listen to the pigeons, to the raindrops fall I'm at City Hall Been down at Pershing Square I can't seem to care If the people stop or the people stare I don't care if I'm leaving, I'm going somewhere I'm at Pershing Square BOUND FOR COLORADO (by Jackson Browne) The days of spring have just begun And melted snow begins to run Aspen is a fine place where many people go And so you're bound for Colorado Don't send me cards from where you've been Or tell me 'bout the friends you win But send to me a new leaf just begun to grow And hurry home from Colorado You told me once that you would like to run away >From all the fears and all the tears you felt that day You should know no matter where you go You have your friends to lean upon When you're not sure what's goin' on And if you don't return by the summer I will know You've found a home in Colorado And you're doing fine in Colorado WE CAN BE (by Jackson Browne) Talk with me I believe that we can find a tomorrow Lend to me and I will try to borrow I can see you and me Love is free We can be free Sing with me Melodies that soar as high as a swallow I can lead the way if you will follow I can see you and me Love is free We can be free You show me Words of beauty that describe your love Let me know the things that you are sure of I can see you and me Love is free We can be free You know me I'm as reckless as a mountain stream Careless as a could-be, someday dream I can see you and me Love is free We can be free AND I SEE (by Jackson Browne) Just like a leaf that's just been rained on Something of a cloud above, a soon-awaking sun And I see the day has just begun Feeling windblown, reeling I have grown out of my time And like a circle casting shadows Rolling over growing clover fields so far below And I see I've just begun to grow Climbing, spinning, rhyming I am pinning down my time And like a river flowing seaward Bounding down, surrounding things that have puzzled me before And I see the ever-open door Flirting pure love, certainly I'm sure of what I know Just like a leaf that's just been rained on Something of a cloud above, a soon-awaking sun And I see the day has just begun Feeling windblown, reeling I have grown out of my time AH, BUT SOMETIMES (by Jackson Browne) I'm a moody and swirling pool, lost in some dark wood Angry at a million things and more I can do no good Ah, but sometimes - Sometimes I'm a growing blade of grass Washed by the rain, bent by the wind I'm a deeply wounded lonely tree Lost in my own way Brooding on the saddest things and worse I've seen my better day I'm an old and broken tumbleweed Lost on faded sands Dreaming of my yesterdays before I watch the heat waves dance MARIANNE (by Jackson Browne) Marianne, Marianne With your voice like silver strings ringing And sounds of laughter and singing Keep repeating, Marianne, Marianne Marianne, Marianne Oh I can tell better than anyone else could That there's more to you than just bad or good There's a teardrop or a shaft of light for your heart Marianne, oh, Marianne The dawn will be breaking soon And my voice will fade with the moon And the sunlight will remind me of you TUMBLE DOWN (by Jackson Browne) Tumble down beside me here and now And then inside we can be sure That if the rain is only silver And the sun is only gold, we won't be poor Sing a song around me here and now And then surround me with your eyes If it turns out that tomorrow we can fly I promise I won't be surprised And surely you must know by now That you've got me wondering how I was fortunate to find you Look upon me kindly here and now And then remind me I'm alive Let me know I need not worry If the answers to my questions don't survive YOU DIDN'T NEED A CLOUD (by Jackson Browne) As I saw you, you were looking through your window Looking at the clouds to know which way the wind blows You saw me - I was walking down your highway You didn't need a cloud to know the wind was blowing my way You didn't need a cloud to know the wind was blowing my way And wasn't it fine All the questions and the answers were mine I sang you a song about my walking A song I felt I had no right or reason to sing But you showed me that no matter what is said in song A singer has the right to sing as long as he can go on A singer has the right to sing as long as he can go on And isn't it true Now all the questions and the answers come from you LAVENDER BASSMAN (by Jackson Browne) Listen to my bassman, he is lavender His woman is his bass and he is loving her, loving her Listen to the sounds he's giving As he is living True to lavender Listen to the things my friend is saying now A poetry of notes as he is playing now, playing now Listen to the tales he's telling Magic bass compelling Lavender Listen to my bass man, he is lavender His fingerboard's a highway, he's a traveler, traveler Listen to his fingers making music Hear his soul embarking Lavender Listen to my bass man, he is lavender SHE'S A FLYING THING (by Jackson Browne) She's a flying thing that sings With her eyes like smoky rings The sun can feel her presence in the sky And I think I'm gonna stay 'Cause there's nothing in our way And she says that she can teach me how to fly If I could love her more Than I have ever loved before Then tomorrow I'll be standing at her door And when I hear her voice I have no other choice Than to bend back my head and search the sky Her hair is spun so fine Roses fell like laughing wine And she says that she can teach me how to fly If I could give her all the things She's never had before Then tomorrow I'll be standing at her door To see her walking by Is to see a windy sky And the clouds reflecting in her eyes The softness of her skin Makes me wonder where I've been And she says that she can teach me how to fly If she could love me more Than she has ever loved before Then tomorrow I'll be standing at her door She's a flying thing that sings With her eyes like smoky rings She says that she can teach me how to fly And she says that she can teach me how to fly And she says that she can teach me how to fly |