Cockburn's early albums were fairly straight ahead folk music spotlighting his brilliant guitar playing. In fact, there were a good number of instrumental guitar numbers on those early recordings. A Christian element came into his music around the time of the album Salt, Sun and Time, and over time his writing has taken on a stronger and stronger political orientation.
Perhaps the most consistent element of Cockburn's music has been his willingness to change and evolve over time. In this way, he is similar to fellow Canadians Joni Mitchell and Neil Young.
He has had a couple of radio hits in the United States, including (Wondering Where the Lions Are and If I Had a Rocket Launcher).
His albums in the 80s are considered some of his strongest, including Humans, Inner City Front, Stealing Fire, and Big Circumstance. After Big Circumstance he struggled with writer's block, and his output began to slow down; but he recovered with the formidable Nothing But a Burning Light, which led the way back to a sparer, more folk-oriented form of music. His later album The Charity of Night contains one of his most thoughtful songs, Pacing the Cage.
His 2006 album Life Short Call Now was preceded by Speechless, a collection of instrumentals, many of them from earlier albums. The album highlights Cockburn's prodigious abilities as a guitarist.
Cockburn's 31st studio album,Small Source of Comfort was released in March, 2011. BruceCockburn.com called the album "an adventurous collection of songs of romance, protest and spiritual discovery. The album, primarily acoustic yet rhythmically savvy, is rich in Cockburn’s characteristic blend of folk, blues, jazz and rock."
Pangs of Love
Bruce Cockburn Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Listen to the nightbird's lonesome cry
Listen to the scratch of pen on paper
That's the sound of sleep denied
Hear the sleepers toss and turn
Dreaming whatever they're dreaming of
The wind that's clearing the heat from the air
Pangs of love
That's the price you pay
When you give your love
But don't give all the way
Pangs of love
Won't let me go
I came so far around the world
To hear the night say
I told you so
In these lyrics from Bruce Cockburn's song "Pangs of Love," he paints a vivid picture of a sleepless night filled with various sounds. In the first stanza, he describes the rain falling on a mountain town and the distant sound of a nightbird's cry, both of which are peaceful and calming sounds. However, the scratching sound of a pen on paper that he mentions represents the restlessness and frustration he's feeling because he can't sleep. It's as though he's writing furiously in a journal, trying to settle his racing thoughts.
In the second stanza, Cockburn goes on to describe the other sleepers around him who are tossing and turning in their own dreams. He contrasts their peaceful slumber with the turmoil he's experiencing in his heart as he grapples with the pains of love. He acknowledges that these pangs of love are the price he pays for loving someone, but not giving himself to them fully. The last line, "I came so far around the world to hear the night say I told you so," implies a feeling of regret for having left someone behind, and now he's lying awake and feeling the pain of that decision.
Overall, these lyrics paint a beautiful, almost haunting picture of a sleepless night filled with conflicting emotions.
Line by Line Meaning
Listen to the rain on this mountain town
Pay attention to the sound of rain falling on this town.
Listen to the nightbird's lonesome cry
Hear the sound of a lonely bird crying in the night.
Listen to the scratch of pen on paper
Focus on the sound of a pen scratching against paper.
That's the sound of sleep denied
This sound is preventing me from sleeping.
Hear the sleepers toss and turn
Listen to people in their sleep shifting uncomfortably in their beds.
Dreaming whatever they're dreaming of
They are all dreaming about something different.
The wind that's clearing the heat from the air
The wind is removing the hot air from the surroundings.
Can't clear my heart of these pangs of love
These emotions of love remain in my heart despite the efforts to clear them.
Pangs of love
Strong feelings of love.
That's the price you pay
Experiencing these intense emotions is the cost of loving someone.
When you give your love
When you commit to loving someone.
But don't give all the way
But not completely and fully.
Won't let me go
These emotions won't let me move on or forget this love.
I came so far around the world
I traveled great distances.
To hear the night say
To be reminded or realize.
I told you so
That I was warned or knew what the pangs of love would feel like.
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Bruce Cockburn
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Rob Davidson
Beautiful,
Chuck Lutter
Great song, better album. At a time when everyone in the 1st world was busy building 401k's and snorting the worlds weight of coke and raping mother earth, Mr Cockburn made one of the most politically and environmentally relevant albums ever. I am amazed at how few musically savvy people are not familiar with it.
Rob Davidson
True very !
Tyrion Lannister
Very well said. Bruce is an extremely deep man, and the precision and poetry of his lyrics make that clear. I write songs, but writing lyrics on Bruce's level is no mean feat. First there is the way the words fit the music, but mainly it is the way he can target a single thought and render it into a well-turned phrase that makes evident his high degree of intellect. In the old days I saw him with the big band, more recently solo acoustic in small clubs. Last time I sat ten feet in front of him as he rolled off one classic after another. It was magical. I've been having this musical romance with him for forty years and am so glad it's still possible to see him live. This song, Pangs of Love, is one of my favorites and has haunted me since the first time I heard it.
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