These Days (Jackson Browne song)
| "These Days" | |
|---|---|
| Song by Jackson Browne | |
| Published | 1967 |
| Writer(s) | Jackson Browne |
| Language | English |
| "These Days" | |
|---|---|
| Song by Nico from the album Chelsea Girl | |
| Released | October 1967 |
| Genre | Folk-pop, chamber folk |
| Length | 3:30 |
| Label | Verve |
| Writer(s) | Jackson Browne |
| Producer(s) | Tom Wilson |
| "These Days" | |
|---|---|
| Song by Gregg Allman from the album Laid Back | |
| Released | October 1973 |
| Genre | Country folk |
| Length | 3:56 |
| Label | Capricorn |
| Writer(s) | Jackson Browne |
| Producer(s) |
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"These Days" is a song written by Jackson Browne and recorded by numerous artists. Browne wrote the song at age 16; its lyrics deal with loss and regret. It was first recorded by Nico in 1967 for her album Chelsea Girl. Gregg Allman recorded a new arrangement of the song in 1973 on Laid Back, and Browne recorded the Allman arrangement on For Everyman the same year. "These Days" has also been recorded by Paul Westerberg, St. Vincent, Fountains of Wayne, and Drake (musician), among others.
According to Randall Roberts at the Los Angeles Times, the song has "quietly become a classic" over the years.Pitchfork Media's 2006 ranking of "The 200 Greatest Songs of the 1960s" placed the Nico version of "These Days" at number 31.
In the mid-to-late 1960s Browne was a precocious songwriter who was pitching his material to various artists and publishing houses. On January 7, 1967 he made some demo recordings for Nina Music Publishing at Jaycino Studio in New York City. (An unplanned double album of these recordings was made by Nina Music, with 100 copies issued.) Included in these demos, and the third song on this collection, was "I've Been Out Walking", the earliest manifestation of "These Days". Yet the song was even older than that; Browne would later say he wrote it when he was sixteen years old, meaning in 1964 or 1965.
German model and singerNico was the first to record "These Days" for release, on her October 1967 album Chelsea Girl. The elaborate production featured a fairly fast fingerpicking electric guitar part by Browne played in a descending pattern ending in a major 7th chord; the use of that instrument was suggested by Andy Warhol, who was part of the Nico and Velvet Underground scene in New York and was looking for something more "modern" than an acoustic guitar in the song. This was combined with strings and flutes, added after the fact by producer Tom Wilson, without Nico's knowledge. Set against these elements were the sad, world-weary tone of the lyrics, all wrapped around Nico's mannered, icy, German-accented, lower-register vocals:
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