Sooo many choices, I could pick at least 4 more from Bruce,
The Unforgettable Fire, and The Scorpions "Still Loving You" as an album closer, the best Thompson Twins song "Hold Me Now", "Birds Fly (Whisper to a Scream)" from The Icicle Works, and so many more...
But I'm going to go with my final selection for a lyrical two-fer song combo that I think is the best and least appreciated part of Don Henley's landmark album.
On the closer from
Hotel California, (mostly) Don Henley and Glenn Frey write about industry and commerce inevitably destroying beautiful places in "The Last Resort".
Don Henley takes it up a notch with this beautiful combo that initially reflects on the passing of time and the bittersweet feelings of growing older, particularly focusing on the displacement of an older, traditional way of life by modern, faster-paced society.
My grandson, he comes home from college
He says, "We get the government we deserve."
My son-in-law just shakes his head and says,
"That little punk, he never had to serve."
And I sit here in the shadow of suburbia
and look out across these empty fields
...
and I wonder when I'll see my companion again
This all blends in and leads perfectly into the 2nd part of the song combo that pays tribute to a real hamburger joint on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood that has since been demolished. The song uses the grill as a metaphor to comment on the changing nature of American cityscapes, the loss of family-owned businesses, urban sprawl, and the vapid commercialism of Hollywood.
These days a man makes you somethin'
And you never see his face
But there is no hiding place
Down at the Sunset Grill
"A Month Of Sundays / Sunset Grill" - Don Henley
View attachment 174246
