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Don Henley - The End Of The Innocence

Don Henley - The End Of The Innocence Youtube Music Videos and Lyrics

Album: The End Of The Innocence
Released: 1989

The End Of The Innocence Lyrics

Remember when the days were long
And rolled beneath a deep blue sky
Didn't have a care in the world
With mommy and daddy standing by

When happily ever after fails
And we've been poisoned by these fairy tales
The lawyers dwell on small details
Since daddy had to fly

But I know a place where we can go
Still untouched by man
We'll sit and watch the clouds roll by
And the tall grass wave in the wind

You can lay your head back on the ground
And let your hair fall all around me
Offer up your best defense
But this is the end

This is The End Of The Innocence
O' beautiful, for spacious skies
But now those skies are threatening
They're beating plowshares into swords

For this tired old man that we elected king
Armchair warriors often fail
And we've been poisoned by these fairy tales
The lawyers clean up all details

Since daddy had to lie
But I know a place where we can go
And wash away this sin
We'll sit and watch the clouds roll by

And the tall grass wave in the wind
Just lay your head back on the ground
And let your hair spill all around me
Offer up your best defense

But this is the end
This is the end of the innocence
Who knows how long this will last
Now we've come so far, so fast

But, somewhere back there in the dust
That same small town in each of us
I need to remember this
So baby give me just one kiss

And let me take a long last look
Before we say good bye
Just lay your head back on the ground
And let your hair fall all around me

Offer up your best defense
But this is the end
This is the end of the innocence

Writer/s: HORNSBY, BRUCE / HENLEY, DON
Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

The End Of The Innocence Song Chart

The "Tired old man that we elected king" is a reference to US president Ronald Reagan. There are a lot of political overtones in the song, as Henley strongly opposed Reagan's agenda.

The line about "Beating ploughshares into swords" is a distortion of Isaiah 2:4 in which Isaiah describes the end times: "And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more."

The inversion of the words most likely hints at the decline of the number of family farms and the increase in US military power in the '80s as a signal of the end times of innocence. (thanks, Kent - Pittsfield, IL)

Bruce Hornsby played piano on this and wrote this with Henley. Hornsby had a US #1 hit with "The Way It Is." (thanks, Brad Wind - Miami, FL)

This was Henley's third solo album. He didn't release another for 11 years.

When the Eagles broke up in 1980, Joe Walsh and Glenn Frey also launched solo careers. They all did fairly well, but Henley was the most successful. The Eagles re-formed in 1994 for their Hell Freezes Over tour.

Bob Dylan often performed this on his 2002 US tour.