In April of this year, I saw The Eagles in concert for the first time. I've always had a list of groups I wanted to see before they call it quits, and they just happened to come into town at the perfect time for me to add another check mark. One of These Nights is probably my favorite song, and surprisingly, I've never written about it! Video results on Youtube were quite sparse (why?!), so the attached video will have to do!
One of These Nights was released as a single on May 19, 1975, from their album of the same name. It went to #1 on the US Billboard, their second number 1 hit, and the album became first their first number one. According to Don Henley, "We wanted to get away from the ballad syndrome with "One of These Nights...With Don Felder in the band now, we can really rock"(Rolling Stone Magazine, 1975).
At the time, the band was listening to a lot of disco and R&B, and Glen Frey began putting together the music, and Henley added the lyrics. Frey stated, "I just went over to the piano, and I started playing this little minor descending progression, and he comes over and goes, 'One of these nights'" (Rolling Stone Magazine, 1975).
In the liner notes of the Eagles' 'Very Best' cd, Frey states that it is also his favorite Eagles song. In terms of the lyrics, Frey stated, "...the song is about putting things off. "We've all said, 'One of these nights, I'm gonna do something - get that girl, make that money, find that house.' We all have our dreams - a vision we hope will come true someday. When that 'someday' will come is up to each of us" (Super Seventies).
I personally like this song for the sound, the exact reason they wanted to be different at the time from their previous releases. The guitar riffs are great, Henley's voice melds perfect with the mood of the song, and you just never get tired of hearing it. My favorite line is, " you got your demons, and you got desires, Well, I got a few of my own..." What is your favorite lyric?
