1973 Classic, Written When the Artist Was Just 16, Became a Timeless Ode to Lost Love ...Saudi Arabia

There are some songs that bore into your soul and nestle into your heart. They feel like a sort of magic, one that shapeshifts for each person who hears it. They somehow encapsulate a universal experience that transcends class, age, and race. We expect that from many prolific artists like Leonard Cohen, James Taylor, and Stevie Nicks. And while it is more than fair to expect it from Jackson Browne, I don't think anyone would have expected him to be able to craft such a song at the tender age of 16.

But that's exactly what he did when he penned "These Days," according to American Songwriter. The song itself is an ode to lost love, as well as the passage of time, which is such a mature theme for a boy Browne's age. Originally, it was known as “I’ve Been Out Walking” for a 1967 demo tape for Elektra’s Nina Music publishing. They gave it to Velvet Underground singer Nico for her 1967 solo album, Chelsea Girl. Browne ended up even playing guitar on her version.

Related: Bob Dylan, 85, Blows Fans Away With 'Absolutely Spectacular' Performance of Beloved Classic

By 1973, Browne had changed a few things about the song, and "These Days" ended up on Gregg Allman’s 1973 solo album, Laid Back. Browne also released his own version of the song that same year, but his success was eclipsed by Allman's, as he had just released "Take It Easy" with the Eagles (which Browne co-wrote with Glenn Frey).

Browne hailed from Orange County, California, which was where he fell in love with folk music, he once told the Library of Congress. He took inspiration from the likes of Joan Baez and Bob Dylan.

"I encountered folk music which was again a very… it was a world full of historical songs that really reflected the lives of people who were immigrants, many of them slaves, and there was just this whole deep history and deep culture of folk music that I was drawn into and then, of course, there was also a bunch of these scruffy young people that played it," Browne explained. "It was old, old men and women and young people journeying through life, and I was really drawn to Bob Dylan’s first record and Joan Baez’s first records."

It was there he'd hang around spots like the Troubadour Hoot, and would sign up to perform four songs for the evening, though as he explained to Route Magazine, it wasn't his favorite thing to do.

"The cool thing is that my friends played my songs," he explained. "I didn’t sing very well. They would sing my songs, but it was an odd thing for me to try to do, because I wasn’t that comfortable on stage, but it was fun. I started doing it fairly regularly."

Speaking of "friends" singing his songs, "These Days" has been covered by a multitude of artists across a staggering number of genres aside from the famous folks already mentioned:

It's ironic to me that Browne never considered himself a good singer, because among all the versions of this song, I'd argue his is the most emotional and compelling. And the fact that he was only 16 when he wrote it makes it all the more astonishing.

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