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In the calling out to one another
Of the lovers up and down the strand
In the sound of the waves and the cries
Of the seagulls circling the sand
In the fragments of the songs
Carried down the wind from some radio
In the murmuring of the city in the distance
Ominous and low
I hear the sound of the world where we played
And the far too simple beauty
Of the promises we made
If you ever need holding
Call my name, I'll be there
If you ever need holding
And no holding back, I'll see you through
Sky blue and black
Where the touch of the lover ends
And the soul of the friend begins
There's a need to be separate and a need to be one
And a struggle neither wins
Where you gave me the world I was in
And a place I could make a stand
I could never see how you doubted me
When I'd let go of your hand
Yeah, and I was much younger then
And I must have thought that I would know
If things were going to end
And the heavens were rolling
Like a wheel on a track
And our sky was unfolding
And it'll never fold back
Sky blue and black
And I'd have fought the world for you
If I thought that you wanted me to
Or put aside what was true or untrue
If I'd know that's what you needed
What you needed me to do
But the moment has passed by me now
To have put away my pride
And just come through for you somehow
If you ever need holding
Call my name, I'll be there
If you ever need holding
And no holding back, I'll see you through
You're the color of the sky
Reflected in each store-front window pane
You're the whispering and the sighing
Of my tires in the rain
You're the hidden cost and the thing that's lost
In everything I do
Yeah and I'll never stop looking for you
In the sunlight and the shadows
And the faces on the avenue
That's the way love is
That's the way love is
That's the way love is
Sky blue and black
Of the lovers up and down the strand
In the sound of the waves and the cries
Of the seagulls circling the sand
In the fragments of the songs
Carried down the wind from some radio
In the murmuring of the city in the distance
Ominous and low
I hear the sound of the world where we played
And the far too simple beauty
Of the promises we made
If you ever need holding
Call my name, I'll be there
If you ever need holding
And no holding back, I'll see you through
Sky blue and black
Where the touch of the lover ends
And the soul of the friend begins
There's a need to be separate and a need to be one
And a struggle neither wins
Where you gave me the world I was in
And a place I could make a stand
I could never see how you doubted me
When I'd let go of your hand
Yeah, and I was much younger then
And I must have thought that I would know
If things were going to end
And the heavens were rolling
Like a wheel on a track
And our sky was unfolding
And it'll never fold back
Sky blue and black
And I'd have fought the world for you
If I thought that you wanted me to
Or put aside what was true or untrue
If I'd know that's what you needed
What you needed me to do
But the moment has passed by me now
To have put away my pride
And just come through for you somehow
If you ever need holding
Call my name, I'll be there
If you ever need holding
And no holding back, I'll see you through
You're the color of the sky
Reflected in each store-front window pane
You're the whispering and the sighing
Of my tires in the rain
You're the hidden cost and the thing that's lost
In everything I do
Yeah and I'll never stop looking for you
In the sunlight and the shadows
And the faces on the avenue
That's the way love is
That's the way love is
That's the way love is
Sky blue and black
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You're the color of the sky
Reflected in each store-front window pane
You're the whispering and the sighing
Of my tires in the rain
You're the hidden cost and the thing that's lost
In everything I do
If you are lucky enough to enjoy or have enjoyed that kind of love with another, these words are just a magical interpretation of how that feels. Jackson does this kind of thing so well.
He is a great poet and this song proves his great talent to take words and thoughts that everyone
can identify with. He does this time and time again with his lyrics and it sets him apart from so many musicians and song writers.
My favorite part is the last verse (although I love the whole song)
You�re the color of the sky
Reflected in each store-front window pane
You�re the whispering and the sighing
Of my tires in the rain
You�re the hidden cost and the thing that�s lost
In everything I do
Yeah and I�ll never stop looking for you
In the sunlight and the shadows
And the faces on the avenue
BEAUTIFUL
Such a powerful song. My favourite of Mr Browne's.
Of Sky Blue, he commented that he's been told of a couple who used it for their wedding. What he thought was a transparent break-up song used as a wedding anthem kinda amused him, and he noted the irony of writing a song, and then sending it out to the public. At that point it becomes everyone's song, and he has no control over how people understand it's meaning. Which is, after all, the point.
I-VI-II-V on the verses and VI-IV-I-V on the refrain. Written originally in C, these days I think he sings it down a whole step or more, but uses the transposer on the keyboard, cuz both B and Bb are a bitch to play in. The key of A is way freundlich, so maybe that one.
Anyone who has ever loved and lost will recognize themselves in I'm Alive.
A common theme in Browne's lyrics is to juxtapose the physical and real to the mental/emotional/spiritual and unreal, and to leave it to the reader to put them together. That's most apparent in the song's title. Sky blue suggests warmth, happiness, sunshine, ideals. But the world is never really like that. You can't reach out and touch the sky. Life doesn't fit the storybooks, which is where the black comes in.
Notice the way the song begins and ends. Both focus on very physical imagery, and relate them to nonphysical notions of love. Beautiful.