Saturday July 16, 2022 “Doctor, My Eyes” Jackson Browne

Jackson Browne may be the prototypical sensitive California singer/songwriter of the early '70s. While the majority of his work feels unflinchingly personal, it nevertheless became a touchstone for a generation of maturing baby boomers coming to terms with adulthood.  His introspective, literate lyrics always seemed to strike a nerve, and his laid-back folk-rock set the template for much of the music to come out of California during the 1970s. 

Browne’s fourth album The Pretender would probably be considered his breakthrough album with the top twenty title track along with a Grammy nominated song dedicated to the death of his first wife, actress Phyllis Major, “Here Comes Those Tears Again”.

Browne's Southern California musical friends David Crosby and Graham Nash sang harmony vocals on “Doctor, My Eyes”. Browne at the time was signed to Asylum Records, which was owned by David Geffen who according to Jackson, asked Nash if he thought there was a single on what would be Browne’s first album, and Nash picked “Doctor, My Eyes”.

It turns out Nash’s instincts were good as the song became a top ten hit for Jackson Browne, his first release… one half a century ago.

Stay safe and well…and let;s get more current next week this half a century ago stuff has been making me feel ancient.

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

They cannot see the sky

Is this the prize

For having learned how not to cry?