Nostalgic track is a standout of the singer’s Number One album ‘Cass County’
By Stephen L. Betts October 9, 2015
CLICK HERE TO WATCH DON HENLEY PLAY “TAKE A PICTURE OF THIS” ON JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE!
Don Henley, who is currently enjoying the first Number One solo album of his career with Cass County, shared some nostalgia with viewers of ABC’s late-night Jimmy Kimmel Live. In addition to a raucous performance of the smash hit “Dirty Laundry,” (watch the performance below) from his very first solo effort, 1982’s I Can’t Stand Still, Henley offered the bittersweet, backward-looking “Take a Picture of This,” from his current LP.
Ostensibly a song about a simpler time worth documenting with treasured snapshots, things take a sad, bitter turn in the final verse. The singer holds an airline ticket and a packed suitcase, getting ready to make his exit while issuing one last request to “take a picture of this.” Cass County, Henley says, is built on songs that capture those memorable moments that are true-to-life, even if the memories aren’t always pleasant.
“It’s songs about the circular nature of life and how life is one big circle with a lot of smaller circles inside of it,” the singer-songwriter tells Rolling Stone Country. “I’m at an age now where I’m thinking about mortality, what kind of world my kids are going to inherit when they grow up, and how I can prepare them to be resilient of that in the face of that because, let’s face it, the world has gone batshit crazy.”
Henley is currently on tour, playing L.A.’s Forum tonight (October 9th). He’ll be in his home state of Texas on the 15th, before bringing the trek to Nashville — where much of Cass County was recorded — playing the Ryman Auditorium on October 18th. The tour runs through mid-November, with special guest Shawn Colvin opening.
