The Pretender (1976) – Jackson Browne

The Pretender is an epic song about the American dream and a person’s shifting place in it. It explores the tension between youthful ideals and the sobering realities of adult life – where dreams of love and purpose gradually give way to routine and responsibility. Browne closes the first two verses with a “Amen,” blessing those noble pursuits – but you wonder if he’s at the same time questioning whether they’re truly fulfilling or just the best option left.

In answering the question of who The Pretender is, Browne said – “…it’s not me exactly, although sometimes people applaud for me at that moment in the song as if I am, but in truth there is a bit of The Pretender in me, but it’s anybody that’s sort of lost sight of some of their dreams…and is going through the motions and trying to make a stab at a certain way of life that he sees other people succeeding at. So maybe it’s a lot of people of a certain generation who sort of embraced a very material lifestyle in place of dreams that they had that sort of disintegrated at some point.”

Musically, The Pretender is built around long verses and long pre-choruses, each with fresh lyrics and shifting melodies, creating a sense of motion rather than repetition. So musically it flows just like its narrative. Also Browne’s voice here has a blend of warmth, intimacy, and emotional depth and perfectly suits the song’s loose, dreamy imagery.
This song is a bastion of classic Americana songwriting in my humble opinion. It’s no wonder Bruce Springsteen, during Browne’s Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction, said of The Pretender and songs like it: “I wish I had written them myself.”

The Pretender was released in In November 1976, Browne’s fourth studio album. It was his first major album chart success reaching no. 5 on the Billboard, and was his first record to chart in the U.K., where it reached no. 26. The title track was the second single from the album and reached no. 58 on the Billboard.

According to Wikipedia: It gained substantial progressive rock radio and album-oriented rock airplay, and has since become a staple on many classic rock formats. It has been one of Browne’s most often performed songs during his concert tours. As a result, it is one of Browne’s best-known works. It also featured in the 1995 film Mr. Holland’s Opus.

[Verse 1]
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
And when the evening rolls around
I’ll go on home and lay my body down
And when the morning light comes streaming in
I’ll get up and do it again
Amen
Say it again
Amen

[Verse 2]
I want to know what became of the changes
We waited for love to bring
Were they only the fitful dreams
Of some greater awakening?
I’ve been aware of the time going by
They say in the end it’s the wink of an eye
And when the morning light comes streaming in
You’ll get up and do it again
Amen

[Pre-Chorus]
Caught between the longing for love
And the struggle for the legal tender
Where the sirens sing
And the church bells ring
And the junkman pounds his fender
Where the veterans dream of the fight
Fast asleep at the traffic light
And the children solemnly wait
For the ice cream vendor

[Chorus]
Out into the cool of the evening
Strolls the pretender
He knows that all his hopes and dreams
Begin and end there

[Bridge]
Ah the laughter of the lovers
As they run through the night
Leaving nothing for the others
But to choose off and fight
And tear at the world with all their might
While the ships bearing their dreams
Sail out of sight

[Verse 3]
I’m going to find myself a girl
Who can show me what laughter means
And we’ll fill in the missing colors
In each other’s paint-by-number dreams
And then we’ll put our dark glasses on
And we’ll make love until our strength is gone
And when the morning light comes streaming in
We’ll get up and do it again
Get it up again

[Pre-Chorus]
I’m gonna be a happy idiot
And struggle for the legal tender
Where the ads take aim and lay their claim
To the heart and the soul of the spender
And believe in whatever may lie
In those things that money can buy
Though true love could have been a contender

[Chorus]
Are you there?
Say a prayer for the pretender
Who started out so young and strong
Only to surrender

[Outro]
Say a prayer for the pretender
Are you there for the pretender?
Say a prayer for the pretender
Oh, are you there for the pretender?
Are you prepared for the pretender?

References:
1. The Pretender (Jackson Browne song) – Wikipedia