Pretender
Jackson Browne

I'm going to 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.

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
When the morning light comes streaming in
You'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

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

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 morning light comes streaming in
We'll get up and do it again
Get it up again

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
Thought 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?
Say a prayer for the pretender
Are you there for the pretender?
Are you prepared for the pretender?


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Lyrics by Jackson Browne

  A Child In These Hills   About My Imagination   Across the Universe   Ah, But Sometimes   Alive In The World   Alive in the World [Live]   All Good Things   And I See   Anything Can Happen   Baby How Long   Barricades of Heaven   Before The Deluge   BIRDS OF ST. MARKS   Black & White   Black And White   Boulevard   Bound For Colorado   Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?   Call It A Loan   Candy   Casino Nation   Cast Off All My Fears   Challenger   Chasing You Into The Light   Cocaine   Cocaine (Rehab Version)   Colors Of The Sun   Crow On The Cradle   Culver Moon   Cut It Away   Daddy's Tune   Daddy's Tune   Disco Apocalypse   Doctor My Eyes   Don't You Want to Be There   Don't You Want To Be There   Doolin-dalton   Doolin-dalton (Reprise)   Downtown   Drums of War   El Rayo X   El Salvador   Enough Of The Night   Everywhere I Go   Far From The Arms Of Hunger   Farther On   First Girl I Loved   For A Dancer   For A Rocker   For America   For Everyman   For Taking The Trouble   For Waking the Trouble   Fountain Of Sorrow   Fourth & Main   FOURTH AND MAIN   From Silver Lake   Funny You Should Ask   Giving That Heaven Away   Going Down To Cuba   Golden Slumbers   Golden Slumbers / Carry That Weight   Golden Slumbers/carry That Weight   GOLDEN SLUMBERS/CARRY THAT WEIGHT (MEDLEY)   GOLDEN SLUMBERS\/CARRY THAT WEIGHT (MEDLEY)   Gotta See A Man About A Daydream   Here Come Those Tears Again   Hold On Hold Out   Hold Out   Holding   How Long   I Am A Man Of Constant Sorrow   I Am A Patriot   I Thought I Was A Child   I'll Do Anything   I'll Fly Away (Without You)   I'm Alive   I'M THE CAT   I've Been Out Walking   I've Been The One   I'll Do Anything   I'll Fly Away (Without You)   I'm Alive   I'm The Cat   I've Been The One   If I Could Be Anywhere   If I Only Had A Brain   If I Only Had the Nerve   In My Time   In The Shape Of A Heart   Information Wars   It Is One   IT'S BEEN RAINING HERE IN LONG BEACH   It's Been Raining Here In Long Beach   Jamaica Say You Will   Just Like Forever   Just Say Yeah   Kisses Sweeter Than Wine   Knock On Any Door   Late For The Sky   Lavender Bassman   LAVENDER WINDOWS   Lawless Avenues   Lawyers In Love   Leaving Winslow   Let It Be Me   Lights & Virtues   Lights And Virtues   Linda Paloma   Live Nude Cabaret   Lives In The Balance   Load-Out   Looking East   Looking East [Live]   Looking Into You   Love Me, Lovely   Love Needs A Heart   Marianne   Melissa   Mercury Blues   Mexico [DVD]   Miles Away   My Opening Farewell   My Personal Revenge   My Problem Is You   My Stunning Mystery Companion   Naked Ride Home   Never Stop   Never Stop [Live]   Niño   Nightingale   Nino   Nothing But Time   Of Missing Persons   Off Of Wonderland   Oh, My Love   On The Day   Only Child   Our Lady Of The Well   Poor, Poor Pitiful Me   Ready Or Not   Red Neck Friend   Redemption Song   Redneck Friend   Rock Me On The Water   Rosie   Runnin On Empty   Running On Empty   SAY IT ISN'T TRUE   Say It Isn't True   Sergio Leone   Shadow Dream Song   Shaky Town   SHE'S A FLYING THING   She's A Flying Thing   Sing My Songs To Me   Sit Down Servant   Sky Blue & Black   Sky Blue And Black   Sleep's Dark & Silent Gate   SLEEP'S DARK AND SILENT GATE   Sleep's Dark And Silent Gate   Soldier Of Plenty   Some Bridges   Somebody's Baby   Somebody's Baby   Somebodys Baby   Someday Morning   Something Fine   SOMEWHERE THERE'S A FEATHER   Somewhere There's A Feather   Song For Adam   Standing In The Breach   Stay   Stay Load Out   Take It Easy   Take It Easy [Live]   Take This Rain   Tender Is The Night   That Girl Could Sing   The Arms Of Night   The Barricades Of Heaven   The Barricades of Heaven [Live]   The Birds Of St. Marks   The Birds of St. Marks [#]   The Birds of St. Marks [Live]   The Crow On The Cradle   The Drums Of War   The Fairest Of The Seasons   The Fuse   The Jitterbug   The Late Show   The Light From Your Smile   THE LOAD-OUT   The Load-out (5:38) Stay (3:28)   The Long Way Around   The Naked Ride Home   The Next Voice You Hear   The Night Inside Me   The Only Child   The Painter   The Pretender   The Pretender [Live]   The Rebel Jesus   The Road   The Road [Surround Sound][Multimedia Track]   The Road & The Sky   THE ROAD AND THE SKY   THE TIMES YOU'VE COME   The Times You've Come   The Word Justice   These Days   Till I Go Down   Time The Conqueror   Time Travel Fantasy   Too Many Angels   Tu Tranquilo   Tumble Down   Two Of Me, Two Of You   Under The Falling Sky   Unloved   Voice Of America   Walking Slow   Walking Town   Walls And Doors   We Can Be   WE'RE OFF TO SEE THE WIZARD   We're Off To See The Wizard   When The Stone Begins To Turn   Where Were You   World In Motion   Yeah Yeah   You Asshole You   YOU DIDN'T NEED A CLOUD   You Know The Night   You Love The Thunder   YOU'LL GET IT IN THE MAIL TODAY   You're a Friend of Mine   YOU'VE FORGOTTEN   You'll Get It In The Mail Today   You're A Friend Of Mine   You've Forgotten   YOUR BRIGHT BABY BLUES

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