3 Folk Rock Classics From 1977 With Deeply Poetic Lyrics

Playing folk music with electric guitars can, as Bob Dylan experienced, anger the purists with a supposed sense of betrayal. But even with electricity and volume, the poetry that defines many folk tunes remains. By the late 1970s, folk music may have been far from its roots, but songwriters were still filling verses with metaphor, plain language, and deeply poetic lyrics, as you’ll hear in these classics from 1977.

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“Running On Empty” by Jackson Browne

Jackson Browne’s fifth album is what happens when you put a touring musician’s journal to music. The title track details how one gets to the next location, often miraculously. Its gas metaphor can be stretched to a thin wallet or to a simple lack of physical energy to keep moving. And you don’t need to spend your life in a rock band to understand the struggle. We all, especially in our youth, barrel down a path, chasing a dream, a hope, or a kind of escape. But take it from this touring musician, road life indeed feels crazy. Yet, I’m grateful for the long miles, the shady characters, and the daily newness of a new town. But one must come to terms with constantly traveling in the red.

“Like A Hurricane” by Neil Young

Neil Young wrote “Like A Hurricane” while on vocal rest in 1975. Perhaps this explains why the track features long passages of his iconic, scribbling guitar work. Though Young couldn’t sing, he could still party. And during a drug-fueled night in the back of a Desoto Suburban, Young whistled the song into existence when he could hardly speak. “We were all really high, f**ked up,” he said. Even without the drugs, many romantic entanglements feel like a hurricane, with a period of calm before the storm sends you running for shelter somewhere else.

“The Chain” by Fleetwood Mac

Bands are incredibly difficult institutions to keep together. Throw a relationship in the mix between bandmates, and you’re asking for trouble. Now add another relationship, and you get Fleetwood Mac. Still, amid Christine and John McVie’s divorce, and the tumult of Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham’s relationship, Fleetwood Mac managed to emerge with a masterpiece, Rumours. “The Chain” is a folk rock banger about breaking bonds. But chains can either keep something together or keep someone from leaving, depending on your view. Thankfully, this bond remained intact long enough for “The Chain” to make the album, and for Fleetwood Mac to complete Rumours.

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