Don Henley is most known for his songwriting contributions to the Eagles’ catalog. While he has enjoyed a stellar solo career, it will always be his time with the band that will be his calling card. To shine a brighter light on Henley’s solo pursuits, we’re taking a look at his best deep cuts. Enjoy five of his lesser-known tracks below.
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[RELATED: 5 Deep Cuts From the Eagles That You Should Be Listening To]
1. “Long Way Home”
“Long Way Home” is the most Eagles-esque song on Henley’s debut album, I Can’t Stand Still. While many of the songs on the album deal with hard-hitting topics like fake news and poor education, “Long Way Home” is a tried and true breakup track. There’s nothing flashy about it. It recalls the simple approach to songwriting that Henley employed while writing some of the Eagles’ most timeless hits.
This house don’t work
And this dream don’t work no more
Lover neither do you and I
I fall asleep with colors flyin’
Over sand and foam
But it’s a long way back home
2. “A Month of Sundays”
Henley sings about growing old in “A Month of Sundays” – mainly the divide between the more modern, electronic age and that of an older generation. 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,” he sings in the second verse, highlighting the push and pull of progress and time-honed notions.
The big boys, they all got computers
They got incorporated to
Me, I just know how to raise things
That’s all I ever knew
Now it all comes down to numbers
Now I’m glad that I have quit
Folks these days just don’t do nothing
Simply for the love of it
3. “How Bad Do You Want It?”
Much of Henley’s early solo career saw him turning to politics in his songwriting. Every so often though, he would deliver blithe offerings like “How Bad Do You Want It?” for a nice change of pace. In this track from The End of the Innocence, he asks a host of people how badly they want love and what they are willing to do to achieve it.
So you, you put a hold on happiness
A day, a week, a year
You got to bring somethin’ to this party, boy
If you party here
And if you’re lookin’ for love
You better look some other way
If you’re lookin’ for love
I have to ask you
4. “Goodbye to a River”
“Goodbye to a River” is chock full of beautiful imagery. He uses allusions to pollution to describe the breakdown of a relationship. We lose our wonder bit by bit / We condescend and in the end / We lose our very souls / Goodbye to a river, he sings.
The rains have come early, they say
We’re all gonna wash away
Well, that’s all right with me
If heaven’s torrent can wash clean
The arrogance that lies unseen
In the damage done since we have gone
Where we ought not to be
Goodbye to a river
5. “Inside Job”
“Inside Job” has long been interpreted as Henley’s commentary on the Orwellian world he believes we live in. He warns against the wrongdoings of some omnipresent force though he never specifies. He urges the listener to “wake up” and realize what is going on before it’s too late.
And it’s an inside job
To learn about forgiving
It’s an inside job
To hang on to the joy of living
They know the road by which you came
They know your mother’s maiden name
And what you had for breakfast
And what you’ve hidden in the mattress
(Photo by Michael Kovac/Getty Images for NARAS)
