These Days (Jackson Browne Song) - Origins and Nico Version

Origins and Nico Version

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 chanteuse Nico 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 C 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:

I've been out walking

I don't do too much talking, these days –

These days ... These days I seem to think a lot,

About the things that I forgot to do

And all the times I had the chance to

Critics have denounced the strings addition, and Nico herself called the whole album "unlistenable" as a result. But Pitchfork said that nevertheless, the "ineffable sadness" and "grandeur of her melancholy" came through. While Nico never achieved much commercial visibility, her work caught the attention of other musicians and songwriters. And although Browne was still several years from getting his own recording contract, his wise-beyond-his-years talent was quickly recognized by other performers looking for material. And of Browne's catalogue during this period, "These Days," along with his "Shadow Dream Song," were regarded as his gems. Thus "These Days" was recorded in 1968 by The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band on their album Rare Junk, by Tom Rush on his 1970 self-titled album, by Jennifer Warnes (as "Jennifer") in 1972 (this version was produced by John Cale, who also played on Nico's Chelsea Girl album), by Kenny Loggins' first band, Gator Creek, around the same time, and by Ian Matthews on his 1973 album Valley Hi.