"Here Come Those Tears Again" is a song co-written and performed by American singer-songwriter

Jackson Browne Clyde Jackson Browne (born October 9, 1948) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and political activist who has sold over 18 million albums in the United States. Emerging as a precocious teenage songwriter in mid-1960s Los Angeles, he h ...

and included on his 1976 album '' The Pretender''. Released as a single, it reached #23 one year to the week after the death of Browne's wife, Phyllis Major, spending nine weeks on the chart, after entering the

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on February 5, 1977 at position #64, the highest debut of the week. It also reached #15 on the

Adult Contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quie ...

chart. The single was the eighth-highest charting of his Hot 100 career. It was also released as a single in the United Kingdom, Germany and Japan.

History

The song was credited as being co-written with Nancy Farnsworth, the mother of Browne's wife, model/actor Phyllis Major. Major had died in March 1976 of an overdose, an apparent suicide, during the period of the recording of the album. According to the Internet Movie Database, Major's mother visited with Browne and Phyllis on vacation in Paris following the ''

Late for the Sky ''Late for the Sky'' is the third studio album by American singer–songwriter Jackson Browne, released by Asylum Records on September 13, 1974. It peaked at number 14 on ''Billboards Pop Albums chart. In 2020, the album was deemed "cul ...

'' tour. Farnsworth "asked Jackson to peruse an unfinished song she had written. Jackson liked the lyrics and incorporated them into a song." The lyrics concern a lover who had left because that person "needed to be free" and "had some things to work out alone," and the narrator's reaction to that return, with the lover claiming they had "grown:" :''...When I can look at you without crying, :''You might look like a friend of mine.'' :''But I don't know if I can'' :''Open up enough to let you in.'' :''Here come those tears again.'' The song concludes with an apparently final rejection of the lover: :''I'm going back inside and turning out the light,'' :''And I'll be in the dark, but you'll be out of sight.

John Hall John Hall may refer to: Academics * John Hall (NYU President) (fl. c. 1890), American academic * John A. Hall (born 1949), sociology professor at McGill University, Montreal * John F. Hall (born 1951), professor of classics at Brigham Young Unive ...

of Orleans plays the guitar solo, although the arrangement is dominated by

Billy Payne William Porter Payne (born October 13, 1947) is the former chairman of Augusta National Golf Club, having served in that position from 2006 to 2017 and overseeing the introduction of the first women to the club's membership rolls. He was Managin ...

's piano and

Mike Utley Michael Gerard Utley (born December 20, 1965) is a former American football player. He played for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League from 1989 through 1991, when he was paralyzed during a game. Early life and college career A gra ...

's organ, as well as

Bonnie Raitt Bonnie Lynn Raitt (; born November 8, 1949) is an American blues singer and guitarist. In 1971, Raitt released her self-titled debut album. Following this, she released a series of critically acclaimed roots-influenced albums that incorporated ...

and

Rosemary Butler Rosemary Ann Butler (born April 6, 1947) is an American singer. She began her career playing bass guitar and singing in an all-female band named the Ladybirds while attending Fullerton Union High School in Fullerton, California. The band appeared ...

's harmonizing backup vocals. Tim Powers from Waltham, Mass. and a voice talent for WBCN Boston just happened to be in the studio when the song was recorded and was asked to play drums when the studio drummer never appeared for the session. Producer

Jon Landau Jon Landau (born May 14, 1947) is an American music critic, manager, and record producer. He has worked with Bruce Springsteen in all three capacities. He is the head of the nominating committee for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and recei ...

is credited in the album credits with "random notes."

Reception

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'' described "Here Come Those Tears Again" as a "archetypal love-lost adult ballad" and praised Browne's vocal performance and the "memorable" melody in the chorus. ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' said that "Browne's lyric explores frustration in love, through some memorable turns of melody."

Chart positions

Notes

{{authority control 1976 songs 1977 singles 1970s ballads Asylum Records singles Jackson Browne songs Rock ballads Songs written by Jackson Browne Songs inspired by deaths