#FortnightFridayMusic
Jan 23 2026
This week we’re caught in #Indecision
James Taylor, “Don’t Let Me Be Lonely Tonight” from One Man Dog (1972)
Lyric:
Go away then, damn you, go on and do as you please
You ain't gonna see me gettin' down on my knees
I'm undecided, and your heart's been divided
You've been turnin' my world upside down
( #MisheardLyrics side note: For years I heard that as “Go away then, Daniel” - and there was this Daniel, see…💔)
The whole “One Man Dog” album is kind of quirky, with short passages gluing the more conventional songs together, giving it a herky-jerky quality that keeps it from feeling like just another gentle #LaurelCanyon #SingerSongwriter outing.
Those song fragments don’t stand on their own, so this album is best listened to all the way through, but "Don’t Let Me Be Lonely Tonight" is a beautiful ballad filled with longing, slipping into your ears with Taylor’s smooth voice, complete with sax solo. Cliché? Maybe, but another word for cliché might be “standard,” and songs become standards for a reason - and to me this song is as lovely and timeless as any standard in the so-called Great American Songbook.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FVF94qAW2sQ
#JamesTaylor #70sMusic #70s