Song of the Day #4,728: ‘My Cleveland Heart’ – Jackson Browne

It’s been exactly a month since I wrapped up my deep dive into the albums of Jackson Browne, and now he’s back with the first single from his upcoming release.

Browne’s 15th studio album, Downhill From Everywhere, is due out next month, seven years after what I suspected might be his last effort, 2014’s Standing in the Breach.

In retrospect, it was silly of me to speculate that he might be hanging it up. At 72, he doesn’t sound exactly like he did 30 years ago, but damn if it isn’t close enough.

‘My Cleveland Heart’ is a fun song inspired by a visit to Cleveland during which Browne learned about the artificial hearts being created at a local hospital. He imagines how improved his life would be if he could replace his imperfect, broken human heart with one of these machines.

The song’s video, one of the few Browne has released in his career, features a cameo by my daughters’ beloved Phoebe Bridgers. She plays a nurse who removes, and then eats, Browne’s heart.

I’m going to make a few changes right away
The way I leap and the way I fall
The way I need somebody else’s eyes to see me
The way I need anyone at all

But I expect the real changes to start
When I finally get my Cleveland Heart
They’re made to take a bashing
And never lose their passion

They never break, they don’t even beat
And they don’t ache, they just plug in and shine
Don’t make mistakes, and they don’t know defeat
Like my heart makes, like this broken heart of mine

I’ve been walking that broken line between
The way life is and the way it seems
I’ve been stranded on that endless straightaway
Between the truth and my wildest dreams

But I will no longer need to tell them apart
When I’ve finally got my Cleveland Heart
They just keep on hoping
And stay so big and open

They never break, they don’t even beat
And they don’t ache, they just plug in and shine
Don’t make mistakes, and they don’t know defeat
Like my heart makes, like this broken heart of mine

4 thoughts on “Song of the Day #4,728: ‘My Cleveland Heart’ – Jackson Browne

  1. Dana Gallup says:

    Aw, I’m very happy to see Browne releasing new music. This first single is promising.

  2. Peg says:

    This is a neat idea excluding the eating of the heart of course. Love that they are doing it in Cleveland since it’s known for the best place for heart care ❤️

  3. Maddie says:

    Can’t wait for the rest of this album 🤗 glad you did the deep dive AND new music is around the corner just when I deepened my own appreciation for Jackson Browne

  4. Amy says:

    So… we going to the Jackson Browne and James Taylor concert?

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