OK, just one more Jackson Browne lyrics. No more.
As we enter the Christmas month (or the festive season, or the silly season, whatever you like), Jackson Browne's "The Rebel Jesus" comes to my mind. He wrote and sang "The Rebel Jesus" specifically for a collaborative Christmas album - "The Bells of Dublin" - by The Chieftains.
Certain versions of Jackson Browne's latest album, Solo Acoustic Vol.1, offers a live version of this song as bonus cut.
All the streets are filled with laughter and light
And the music of the season
And the merchants’ windows are all bright
With the faces of the children
And the families hurrying to their homes
As the sky darkens and freezes
Will be gathering around the hearths and tables
Giving thanks for God’s graces
And the birth of the rebel Jesus
Well they call him by ‘the Prince of Peace’
And they call him by ‘the Savior’
And they pray to him upon the seas
And in every bold endeavor
And they fill his churches with their pride and gold
As their faith in him increases
But they’ve turned the nature that I worship in
From a temple to a robber’s den
In the words of the rebel Jesus
We guard our world with locks and guns
And we guard our fine possessions
And once a year when Christmas comes
We give to our relations
And perhaps we give a little to the poor
If the generosity should seize us
But if any one of us should interfere
In the business of why there are poor
They get the same as the rebel Jesus
But pardon me if I have seemed
To take the tone of judgement
For I’ve no wish to come between
This day and your enjoyment
In a life of hardship and of earthly toil
We have need for anything that frees us
So I bid you pleasure
And I bid you cheer
From a heathen and a pagan
On the side of the rebel Jesus
With Looking into You: A Tribute to Jackson Browne, almost two dozen singers, spanning generations and genres, illustrate the timelessness and power of the legendary songwriter’s work.
