“It’s your world now”: Glenn Frey described the meaning of life
Of all the themes and messages that can inspire great music, one of the most common is the passage of time. Throughout history, many musicians have captured the poignancy of lost time, reflecting on how failure to appreciate the present can leave you feeling wistful and nostalgic, and not always in a good way. For Glenn Frey, learning the tricks of time-related mindfulness is the key to enjoying life.
Emerging on the scene in the early 1970s, Frey has no doubt lived a thousand lives. From learning the ropes alongside his musical comrade and mentor Linda Ronstadt to forming one of the greatest rock groups of all time, Frey emerged as though he had always been destined for a life in the business, initially exchanging ideas with Don Henley before curating a sound that would define the entire legacy of the Eagles.
During these early years, Frey excelled at landing on a sound that swirled from his keen eye for studying the best of the best and knowing how to create the kind of music that would resonate with a mix of past and future. Henley would frequently say he owed much of the Eagles’ success to Frey’s knowledgeability and know-how, admiring his ability to transition old American tropes into new, Eagles-sounding ones while maintaining an overtly fresh relevance.
However, for Frey, living a full and rich life wasn’t always about technicalities, capabilities, or even achievements. In his world, having fun, not taking yourself too seriously, and enjoying the moment are some of the most powerful concepts so long as you exercise rationality and sensibility at the same time. While there’s “joy in music at all levels,” Frey exercised gratitude when viewing his entire life story.
As he put it during an interview with Louder: “I believe in age-appropriate behaviour. All the time I spent partying in the Eagles in the late-1970s didn’t seem so strange to me because everybody was doing the same things. But it’d look awfully stupid of me now to still be acting like I did when I was 28.” For many reasons, this is also why he regarded music as a “good choice” for his expression, saying, “It’s like skiing – you don’t have to go down the black runs with the hairiest turns to get the thrill.”
Granted, Frey had his share of hardships—a marriage breakdown and addiction being just two—but the determination to welcome a slower, more considered pace into his life enabled him to transition from constant erraticism to gratefulness without too much of a compromise on mindful presence and enjoyment. Perhaps this is also why, when asked about the meaning of life in the same interview, he doubled down on his appreciation for acknowledging and understanding the passage of time, no matter how difficult it may seem.
Referring to a previous remark made by James Taylor, he said: “Well, [the meaning of life is] certainly not about fame or making money or American Idol. James Taylor isn’t too far off when he said the secret of life is enjoying the passage of time.” He continued: “And it’s about doing good things for other people. That’s what makes you feel the best.” Discussing what he’d like on his tombstone, he added: “Maybe just ‘It’s your world now.'”
