One Headlight

Wallflowers frontman Jakob Dylan wrote this song. He explained the meaning: "I tend to write with a lot of metaphors and images, so people take them literally. The song's meaning is all in the first verse. It's about the death of ideas. The first verse says, 'The death of the long broken arm of human law.' At times, it seems like there should be a code among human beings that is about respect and appreciation. I wasn't feeling like there was much support outside the group putting together the record. In the chorus, it says, 'C'mon try a little.' I didn't need everything to get through, I could still get through - meaning one headlight."

Jakob Dylan is Bob Dylan's son, but he went to great lengths to stay out of his father's aura. Jakob moved from Los Angeles to New York City, where he formed The Wallflowers. He tried hard to conceal his lineage, which meant playing small clubs, dealing with flaky bandmembers, and navigating the often predatory industry - all the stuff any other singer-songwriter would have to deal with. That self-imposed struggle paid off with songs like this one, which would be hard to write without getting some dirt under your fingernails.

"One Headlight" followed "Sixth Avenue Heartache" as the second promotional single from the group's second album, Bringing Down The Horse. These songs weren't sold as singles in America, so they weren't eligible for the Hot 100 (Billboard changed this rule a few years later), but they both got lots of airplay and made The Wallflowers a big name. It was redemption for the band, whose first (self-titled) album was released on Virgin Records in 1992 and stiffed. Virgin tried to use the Bob Dylan connection to promote it, which didn't sit well with Jakob, and the band left the label. They landed on Interscope, which was a much better fit. With T Bone Burnett (who used to back Bob Dylan on guitar) producing, everything clicked.