“Out into the cool of the evening / Strolls the Pretender / He knows that all his hopes and dreams / Begin and end there”

This song is one example of Browne’s “life experiences” approach to songwriting. He rarely pens a cheesy love song, instead choosing to write about young men’s loneliness, his concerts, and other familiar and relatable personal events.

Browne’s storytelling in this song zooms in on the choices of one man, and then fades back out to show other people’s lives as well. 

The main character is a young adult experiencing new found freedom, with big plans for the future: “I'm gonna rent myself a house / In the shade of the freeway / Gonna pack my lunch in the morning / And go to work each day.”

He soon falls into a melancholy routine (“And when the morning light comes streaming in / I'll get up and do it again”). And so proves Browne’s theme of modern-day America: the constant need to work for money each day. 

The nearly-six-minute ballad is a fun, easy listening song with memorable, moving lyrics. The song is also impressive just in the sheer number of lyrics that Browne found to rhyme with “pretender”.

“Gotta do what you can just to keep your love alive / Trying not to confuse it, with what you do to survive”

This song is the title track to Browne’s fifth album. “Running on Empty” focuses on the thoughts of a confused man, unaware of his life path. 

The song was recorded live in front of a crowd in Columbia, Maryland, in August 1977. The beginning of the track features fans yelling out song requests as well as a few chord strums from a guitar. After some scattered applause, the song launches right into the rocking beat and strong piano chords. 

The entirety of the Running on Empty album was recorded on the road: live on stage, on tour buses, in hotel rooms, or backstage. Unlike most live recordings from bands or artists, the songs on this album were previously unreleased. 

Fitting with the “road” theme, the songs on the album are about typical tour experiences. The title shows Browne’s mentality through his seemingly never-ending tour, but he keeps plugging on to perform for crowds.

Running on Empty received two Grammy nominations for 1979: Album of the Year and Pop Male Vocal Performance for the title track.

The album and title track show Browne’s versatility as an artist, and how he could succeed with faster-paced rock songs as well.

“Well, I'm a-running down the road, tryin' to loosen my load. I've got seven women on my mind…”

Most people recognize the Eagles’ take on this song as the most famous version, but few realize that Browne actually penned the song with help from Eagles’ Glenn Frey. 

Frey and Browne began to collaborate on music after frequenting the same open mic nights. The two men also lived in the same California apartment complex. 

The Eagles released “Take It Easy” as the first song on their debut album in 1972, as well as releasing it as their first single. Browne recorded his own version of the song and released it as a part of his 1973 album For Everyman.

Although the Eagles’ version has received way more airplay and is more recognizable, the Browne version should also be considered just as great. 

This is just one example of Browne’s incredible songwriting and collaboration with other artists: He has written hits for The Velvet Underground’s Nico, the Band, and the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, and many artists have covered his work.

“She's probably somebody's only light / Gonna shine tonight / Yeah, she's probably somebody's baby”

This song is Browne’s biggest commercial hit and highest-charting single, peaking at No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 and staying there for 19 weeks. 

This song is more modern and “poppy” than some of his other folk work, but is still a great song fitting into the “easy listening” category. The song uses synthesizer sounds as well as slap bass – instruments not usually found in a Browne folk rock song. 

Written for the soundtrack of the 1982 film Fast Times at Ridgemont High, the song was released as a non-album single. It was used in the film due to its classic teenage love appeal and lyrics. 

Overall, this song makes listeners want to groove and snap along with the beat, and has made its way into the bank of iconic, catchy ’80s anthems.

“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”

This song is a tribute to the many crew members traveling with Browne on the road. 

Recorded live on the same day as “Running on Empty,” the song was released as a single in December 1977. As Browne croons about how much playing for a crowd means to him, the crowd cheers back up to him.

This song is slow, showcasing the thankless work of crew members and technicians traveling with the band, as well as the many fans who appreciate his work. While it speeds up slightly in the middle, it is a pretty song that showcases Browne’s most common folk feel. 

The song then morphs into “Stay”, an adaptation of the 1960 hit from Maurice Williams. 

The changed lyrics of “People stay just a little bit longer / We want to play, just a little bit longer” show how Browne is constantly on the road, playing for new cities. Band members Rosemary Butler and David Lindley sing the iconic falsetto verses for the song. 

While the two songs were not originally released together, they are now played as a melody on most radio stations as a just-shy-of-nine-minute Jackson Browne masterpiece.