The Pretender

I'm gonna rent myself a house
in the shade of the freeway
Gonna pack my lunch in the mornin' and
go to work each day

And when the evenin' rolls around
I'll go on home and lay my body down
And when the mornin' light comes streamin' in
I'll get up and do it again... Amen
(say it again..Amen)

I wanna 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 goin' by
They say in the end, it's the blink of an eye
And when the mornin' light comes streamin' in,
we'll get up and do it again...Amen.

Caught
Between the longing for love and the struggle for
the legal tender
Where the sirens sing, and the church bells ring,
and the junk man 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

Out into the cool of the evening, strolls the Pretender
He knows that all his hopes and dreams
Begin and end there

Ahhh 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 barring their dreams
sail outta sight

I'm gonna 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 mornin' light comes streamin' in
We'll get up and do it again (Get up again)...
Amen

I'm gonna be a happy idiot
and struggle for the legal tender
Where the heirs take aim. and lay their claim
to the heart and soul of the spender
And believe in whatever may lie in those
things that money can buy...
For true love could have been a contender

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

Say a prayer for the Pretender
Are you there for the Pretender?

(Are you prepared for the pretender?)

Performed by Jackson Browne
Written by Jackson Browne (1975)