6/16/2016 , , , , ,
Eagles - Take It To The Limit
Eagles - Take It To The Limit


Eagles - Take It To The Limit Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: One Of These Nights
Released: 1975

Take It To The Limit Lyrics


Take It To The Limit
  • This is a good example of the "Southern California Sound," a mix of country, folk, and rock that the Eagles became known for. It's also a good example of melancholy lyrics wrapped in a sweet melody - another attribute of early Eagles songs. In this one, the singer is left longing for a woman and trying to make sense of it.
  • Don Henley, Randy Meisner and Glenn Frey wrote this song. Meisner sang lead, making this one of only three US Top 40 Eagles songs not sung by Don Henley or Glenn Frey, the others being "I Can't Tell You Why" (sung by Timothy B. Schmit ) and "In the City" (sung by Joe Walsh).

    Meisner, who is from rural Nebraska, was the most subdued member of the band, describing himself to Rolling Stone as "Shy and nervous about putting myself on the line." He was a founding member of the Eagles, but left in 1977 as tensions rose and the lifestyle became too much for him. Leaving the band was a good mental health decision. Don Felder , who joined in 1974, told us: "Really the only thing you can do when you're in the Eagles is eat, breathe, and sleep Eagles. I mean, you're either on the road, writing in the studio, or doing press - it's just all consuming."
  • Speaking about this song, Randy Meisner explained: "The line 'take it to the limit' was to keep trying. You reach a point in your life where you feel you've done everything and seen everything - it's part of getting old. And just to take it to the limit one more time, like every day just keep punching away at it. That was the line, and from there the song took a different course."
  • The high note at the end of this song was not easy for Randy Meisner to hit. He could pull it off in the studio, but not always in concert, since he would get nervous. At one point, he asked to take the song out of the set, which became a source of contention and a factor in him leaving the band.

    In the 2013 History of the Eagles documentary, Glenn Frey and Don Henley recall a show where "Take It To The Limit" was planned as the encore, but Meisner refused to do it. Frey says that he got in a fight with Meisner backstage, and that Henley made sure security at the venue stayed out of it so they could settle it. Meisner left the band soon after and was replaced by Timothy B. Schmit , who was in the band Poco.
  • Country music legends Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings do a country duet version of this song. It appears on the album Many Sides of Willie Nelson. (thanks, Julian - Oakland, AR)
  • Jim Ed Norman arranged and conducted the strings. He worked on all of the Eagles albums before their 1982 breakup, and also did strings for Linda Ronstadt, who once had future members of the Eagles in her backup band.
  • This was one of 10 songs included on Their Greatest Hits 1971-1975, which for a short time was certified as the best selling album of all time in America. Michael Jackson's Thriller eventually eclipsed it.