Written for Jim Adams’ Song Lyric Sunday
where our challenge is
“Charles Manson Was A Wanna Be Musician”
It’s November and time once again to celebrate birthdays here on Song Lyric Sunday. Jim’s theme this week is “Charles Manson Was a Wanna Be Musician” and our challenge is to write about a song written or performed by someone born in the month of November. While doing research for my post, I learned that two members from one of the most iconic American rock bands were born in November; that band is the Eagles, formed in Los Angeles in 1971. They have sold over 200 million records worldwide, were inducted into the R&R Hall of Fame in 1998, and released Their Greatest Hits (1971-1975) and Hotel California (1976), two of the best-selling albums in history. So, you may be wondering who the two birthday boys from the Eagles are featured today; they are the great Glenn Frey and Joe Walsh. There are so many great Eagles songs to choose from …. most of which were written by Frey and fellow member Don Henley …. but I got very lucky when I saw that the major hit “Life In The Fast Lane” was co-written by Frey, Walsh, and Henley and that made my selection very easy. OK, time for some background info, kids.
Glenn Frey, born November 6, 1948 in Detroit, Michigan, was a singer, songwriter, guitarist, actor, and co-founder of the Eagles. At age five, he started taking piano lessons and later learned the guitar. He played in several local 1960s bands such as The Mushrooms (helped by Bob Seger) and Longbranch Pennywhistle with singer-songwriter-actor JD Souther, whose birthday is tomorrow. In the late 60s, Frey relocated to Los Angeles where he met drummer Don Henley; in 1971, they founded the Eagles with Frey as co-lead singer, frontman, guitarist, and keyboardist. He launched a successful solo career in the late 1980s, releasing tracks like “The Heat Is On,” “Smuggler’s Blues,” and “You Belong to the City”. He also appeared in TV and film projects, including notable guest roles on Miami Vice. It was a shock and a great loss when Glenn passed away on January 18, 2016, at age 67 in New York City due to complications from rheumatoid arthritis, acute ulcerative colitis, and pneumonia (the last two ailments caused by his RA meds). A life-size statue of Frey was unveiled at the Standin’ on the Corner Park in Winslow, Arizona, to honor his songwriting contributions to the Eagles’ song “Take It Easy” …. the first Eagles’ single with Frey as its lead vocalist. His spirit and music will live on, largely due to his son, Deacon Frey, who followed in his footsteps as singer and guitarist with the Eagles along with Don Henley, Joe Walsh, Vince Gill, Timothy B. Schmitt, and Chris Holt.
Joe Walsh (Joseph Woodward Fidler), born November 20, 1947 in Wichita, Kansas, is a guitarist, singer, and songwriter and long-time member of the Eagles. His father, a U.S. Air Force pilot, died in a plane crash in 1949; Joe later took his stepfather’s last name, Walsh. He attended Kent State University, where he formed his early band, The Measles and rose to fame as the guitarist and primary songwriter for the rock trio The James Gang from 1968 to 1971. In 1975, Walsh joined the Eagles, bringing a heavier rock-and-roll edge to the grou. He made his studio debut with the band on their landmark 1976 album Hotel California, co-writing and performing now-legendary guitar solos and harmonies with Don Felder. Walsh has had a successful solo career with hits like “Life’s Been Good” and acclaimed albums such as So What and Analog Man. He has also performed with his brother-in-law Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band. Walsh battled alcohol and drug addictions for most of his early career, but has been sober since 1995 after experiencing an epiphany during a visit to Otatara Pa, an ancient Māori site in New Zealand. He founded VetsAid in 2017, a non-profit music festival and organization supporting military veterans and their families. Joe Walsh is ranked #54 on Rolling Stone’s list of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time.
The Eagles’ song “Life in the Fast Lane”, written by Glenn Frey, Joe Walsh, and Don Henley, is a cautionary tale about 1970s Los Angeles hedonism, excess, and self-destruction rather than a celebration of a glamorous high-speed lifestyle. Frey explained that he was riding in a Corvette at 90 mph on a Los Angeles freeway driven by a drug dealer known as “The Count”. When Frey anxiously told him to slow down, the driver grinned and said it was living “life in the fast lane”; Frey later brought that phrase to bandmates Henley & Walsh, and the rest is history. Driven by Walsh’s signature guitar riff, “Life In The Fast Lane” became one of the band’s signature classic rock anthems and remains a permanent fixture on radio and live setlists. The lyrics follow a wealthy, ruthless, and thrill-seeking couple who lose themselves in hard partying, casual violence, and drug abuse. The characters spiral deeper into excess, burnout, and moral emptiness, with the narrative implying an inevitable, violent crash. Although the band wrote the song as a warning about the vacuous and dangerous side of fame and hard-partying, it ironically became a classic rock anthem for the very decadence it criticized.
This is “Life In The Fast Lane” by The Eagles
LYRICS
He was a hard-headed man, he was brutally handsome
And she was terminally pretty
She held him up and he held her for ransom
In the heart of the cold, cold city
He had a nasty reputation as a cruel dude
They said he was ruthless, they said he was crude
They had one thing in common, they were good in bed
She’d say, “Faster, faster, the lights are turnin’ red”
surely make you lose your mind
(Life in the fast lane) huh
Are you with me so far?
Eager for action and hot for the game
The coming attraction, the drop of a name
They knew all the right people, they took all the right pills
They threw outrageous parties, they paid heavenly bills
There were lines on the mirror, lines on her face
She pretended not to notice, she was caught up in the race
Out every evening, until it was light
He was too tired to make it, she was too tired to fight about it
surely make you lose your mind
(Life in the fast lane) huh
(Life in the fast lane) everything all the time
(Life in the fast lane) uh-huh
Blowin’ and burnin’, blinded by thirst
They didn’t see the stop sign, took a turn for the worst
She said, “Listen, baby, you can hear the engine ring
We’ve been up and down this highway, haven’t seen a goddamn thing”
He said, “Call the doctor, I think I’m gonna crash”
“The doctor say he’s comin’, but you gotta pay in cash”
They went rushin’ down that freeway, messed around and got lost
They didn’t care, they were just dyin’ to get off and it was
surely make you lose your mind
(Life in the fast lane) uh-huh
(Life in the fast lane) everything all the time
(Life in the fast lane) uh-huh
Life in the fast lane
Life in the fast lane
Source: Musixmatch
Songwriters: Joseph Fidler Walsh/Glenn Lewis Frey/Donald Hugh Henley
Life in the Fast Lane lyrics © Reservoir 416, Cass County Music, Red Cloud Music, Wow And Flutter Music
Big thanks to Jim Adams for hosting another great Song Lyric Sunday this week and every week. Be sure to follow his link and check out his site.
Thanks for stopping by and listening to some great music. I hope you enjoyed the theme for this week as well as the information and music I featured.
That’s all she wrote, kids. See you on the flip side. 😎
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