"Remember when the days were young/ And rolled beneath a deep blue sky/ Didn't have care in the world/..... But now these skies are threatening/ They' re beating plowshares into swords/ For this tired old man we elected King/ Armchair warriors often fail/ And we've been poisoned by these fairy tales/ The lawyers clean up all details/ Since daddy had to lie".
The End of the Innocence Bruce Hornsby/Don Henley
Bruce Hornsby is of one of those consummate musicians who over a long career has crossed many musical genres. He has been a successful singer songwriter, had commercial hits in the 1980's, and as a piano player has played with some of the finest American jazz, blues, country and contemporary musicians, including the Grateful Dead, BB King, Lou Reed, Chaka Khan, Bonnie Rait, Pat Metheny and Charlie Haden to name a few.
Recently Hornsby appeared playing piano on one of my favourite CD's for 2009 Charlie Haden Family and Friends the country album by jazz icon Charlie Haden (who I have written about here). Hornsby's evocative piano playing features on a number of the tracks. Hornsby is a such a fine piano player with a distinctive touch, whether playing solo or as a part of larger band.
Bruce Hornsby is probably best remembered for his 1986 album The Way it Is, recorded with his band the Range, which featured 3 top 20 hits, including the song The Way It Is. That album sold millions worldwide, stayed in the charts for over 12 months and won Hornsby a Grammy for Best New Artist. After a couple of successful albums Hornsby tired of the commercial pressures, and returned to his roots which included jazz, folk and bluegrass.
Two of my favourite US songs- The Way It Is and the End of Innocence- were both composed by Bruce Hornsby and reflect something of the feelings of many Americans during the years of the Presidency of Ronald Reagan.
The song the Way It Is was the first track on the 1986 album of the same name. Hornsby's piano solo introduction is such a distinctive piece, as is the piano solo in the middle of the song.
The song speaks of issues of poverty, homelessness and of civil rights in the US in the mid 80's- and the turning away from those issues during the Reagan era (see the lyrics below). In one way the song is a statement of resignation about the difficulty of addressing injustice, but also about the need for strength and persistence in the face of injustice. In one line Hornsby sings "Some things will never change". But then he follows up with the line"But don't you believe em".
The End of the Innocence was co-written by Hornsby with Don Henley in 1989 and while I have always liked Don Henley's version of the song, Hornsby's live version on solo piano is better (I think). Hornsby slows the song down and gives the song a very different feel. It becomes a lament, a song of regret (as well as sequing into a version of Danny Boy).
I always liked the way the song bridges the personal and the social, with its references to Ronald Reagan (For this tired old man we elected King/ Armchair warriors often fail) to the passing of the hopes and innocence of the 1960's and 1970's and to the pain and regret of lost hopes. Hornsby's live version captures the yearning, regret and nostalgia that is such a strong element of the song.
Lyrics of The Way It Is (Bruce Hornsby)
Standing in line marking time/Waiting for the welfare dime/ 'Cause they can't buy a job/ The man in the silk suit hurries by/ As he catches the poor old ladies' eyes/ Just for fun he says "Get a job"/ That's just the way it is/ Some things will never change/ That's just the way it is/ But don't you believe them/ They say hey little boy you can't go Where the others go/ 'Cause you don't look like they do/ Said hey old man how can you stand To think that way/ Did you really think about it Before you made the rules/ He said, Son That's just the way it is/ Some things will never change/ That's just the way it is/ But don't you believe them/ Well they passed a law in '64/ To give those who ain't got a little more/ But it only goes so far/ Because the law won't change another's mind/ When all it sees at the hiring time/ Is the line on the color bar/ That's just the way it is/ Some things will never change/ That's just the way it is/ But don't you believe them
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