A Cautionary Tale and the First Call to Action of Its Kind: The Meaning Behind Jackson Browne’s “Before the Deluge”

The ‘70s featured the rise of the singer/songwriter to prominence, and few artists in that genre from that era are as revered as Jackson Browne, and rightfully so. Browne displayed a knack for writing, with passion and sensitivity, about concerns that touched a nerve with the wider listening audience. And he didn’t stop with that decade, as he has sustained that excellence throughout a Hall of Fame career.

One of the issues that worked its way into Browne’s songwriting pen was concern for the environment, most notably within the brilliant track “Before the Deluge.” What were the song’s worries? Why was the album that contained it so special? And was this the first pop song that focused on the environment being mistreated by humankind? All the answers below, as we look back to a time when Jackson Browne was hitting his creative peak.

Third Album’s the Charm

So many of the leading lights of music managed a kind of creative breakthrough with their third album, and Jackson Browne was no different. He came out somewhat fully-formed as a songwriter of rare insight and eloquence on his 1972 self-titled debut album, in part because he was already a veteran of the business, having written for and played with some major artists in the ‘60s.

His 1973 follow-up, For Everyman, felt more like a holding pattern than an advance. But Late for the Sky, released in 1974, reached a different level. Browne poured his heart and soul into eight songs about weighty topics like the struggles inherent in relationships, the mysteries of death, and the general disillusionment that transpires when youthful dreams are met with stark reality. 

Browne also largely found his sound as an artist on this record, in large part because he relied more heavily on the instrumental flourishes of David Lindley, whose playing always seemed to be in perfect emotional synch with the lyrics. There weren’t any hit singles on Late for the Sky, but the album sold better than any of his previous efforts. And it featured a closing song that expanded from the more personal topics of the other songs and looked outward.

In an interview with Big Issue in 2021, Browne talked about the motivation behind “Before the Deluge.” “My songs are a record of my encounters with ideas,” he explained. “I was at the demonstrations and manifestations of the environmental movement from the start. I don’t know if ‘Before the Deluge’ was the first environmental protest song, but it was an apocalyptic song about where we are heading. It was a warning.” 

What Does “Before the Deluge” Mean?

While “Before the Deluge” undoubtedly focuses on the fragility of the environment at a time when few songwriters were dealing with it, Browne also touches on the theme of how easily ideals can be compromised. That’s why it’s both a cautionary tale and a call to action. He’s suggesting that the individual has to make the choice before any kind of grand-scale change can be enacted.

“Before the Deluge” takes the form of a parable, albeit one that could easily come to pass if warnings aren’t heeded. The group of people at the heart of the song start with the best intentions: With the energy of the innocent / They were gathering the tools / They would need to make their journey back to nature. 

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The second verse is a stunner, as Browne recounts how these people encountered resistance and took the easy way out instead of fighting for their Utopia. Once their brave and crazy wings of youth grow torn and tattered, they settle: And in the end they traded their tired wings / For the resignation that living brings / And exchanged love’s bright and fragile glow for the glitter and the rouge. But their apathy turns out to be their greatest folly: And in a moment they were swept before the deluge.

In the final verse, Browne depicts the aftermath, as the people essentially try to close that metaphorical barn door as their horses go galloping. The men who learned how to forge her beauty into power have taken hold, and only doom remains when the Earth fights back: And they struggled to protect her from them / Only to be confused / By the magnitude of her fury in the final hour.

Browne interrupts this nightmarish bedtime story with touching messages to the survivors of this flood, telling them to play healing music as they huddle under shelter. In the end, all they can do is wait to see what truths are revealed at the end of days: Let creation reveal its secrets, by and by / When the light that’s lost within us reaches the sky.

At that point, like Nero as Rome burns, David Lindley fiddles his way through the carnage. “Before the Deluge” proved Jackson Browne was ahead of his time in voicing environmental issues in song. But the larger themes at play about the frailty of humanity are just as crucial to this song’s everlasting relevance.

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