“These Days” by Jackson Browne

Jackson Browne was 16 when he wrote "These Days", and by the time he finally cut it himself for his 1973 album For Everyman, the song had already been through other hands: Nico got there first in 1967, and Browne's own take leans on the new arrangement Gregg Allman had just worked up for Laid Back. It's a young man's song about loss and regret that somehow sounds older than its author.

Browne produced it and plays the acoustic guitar and sings, with David Lindley's slide guitar weaving around him, David Paich on piano, Doug Haywood on bass and backing vocals, and Jim Keltner on drums. John Haeny recorded it. Of everything Browne has written, it's one of the songs that has lasted longest, and it keeps getting covered.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.