1960
Written by Gerry Beckley, ©1979
Found on Silent Letter and Highway.

How 'bout a tear for the year of 1960
I watched the fins of the Cadillac fall
I remember Dad explained about the Berlin Wall

How 'bout a tear for the torment and the trouble
That was brewing in the Asian way
I wore a smile like the faces that surround L.A.

In the city of the lost and found
It's hard to get a break
Hard to stop from getting turned around
And make the same mistakes

My reputation's on the line
The final day of '59
But like the sun, just watch me shine
Today

How 'bout a cheer for the piano virtuoso
I practiced 61 minutes a day
I could never reach the keys
But it was all OK

How 'bout a cheer for the humour in my brother
That could brighten up the darkest nights
It's just another sign of love
Whenever we would fight

It's all the same twenty years ago
As it is right now
Like a tour at the closing show
When I take my bow

My reputation's on the line
At the start of '79
But like the sun, just watch me shine
Today
I've played this part so many times
Since the end of '59
But like the sun, just watch me shine
Today

Highway Highlight (from the box set booklet) "1960" offered a glimpse of Beckley's childhood, with snapshots of the Berlin Wall and Vietnam included for context. "It's really a song about becoming aware of one's surroundings, when you start to ponder those first times in your life when you remember iconic moments, and they come back with a variety of emotions, some terribly sad. I'm sure many a kid from my generation remembers things like where he was when Kennedy was shot. '1960' was really addressing that." Musically, the tune is firmly in the Beckley melodic-ballad mode: "George Martin knew that I would write a lot of ballads and that you have to be very critical of yourself. He said, 'You have to remember that there's a very fine line between a sad ballad and a bad salad.' And I don't think '1960' is a bad salad; I think it's a fine song. There's a way that the key of the song turns inside-out on itself; when you play that first chord, it sounds like you're in A, but you're really in the key of E descending down from A."