In the Southern sky
Southward as you go
There is moonlight
And moss in the trees
Down the Seven Bridges Road
Now I have loved you like a baby
Like some lonesome child
And I have loved you in a tame way
And I have loved you wild
Sometimes there's a part of me
Has to turn from here and go
Running like a child from these warm stars
Down the Seven Bridges Road
There are stars in the Southern sky
And if ever you decide
You should go
There is a taste of time sweetened honey
Down the Seven Bridges Road

The Eagles are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1971. With five number-one singles and six number-one albums, six Grammy Awards and five American Music Awards, the Eagles were one of the most successful musical acts of the 1970s in North America and are one of the world's best-selling bands, having sold more than 200 million records worldwide, including 100 million sold in the US alone. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998 and were ranked number 75 on Rolling Stone's 2004 list of the "100 Greatest Artists of All Time". Founding members Glenn Frey (guitars, vocals), Don Henley (drums, vocals), Bernie Leadon (guitars, vocals), and Randy Meisner (bass guitar, vocals) were recruited by Linda Ronstadt as band members, some touring with her, and all playing on her third solo album, before venturing out on their own on David Geffen's new Asylum Records label.
Their debut album, Eagles (1972), spawned two Top-20 singles in the US and Canada: "Take It Easy" and "Witchy Woman". The next year's follow-up album, Desperado, peaked at only number 41 in the US, although the title song became a popular track. In 1974, guitarist Don Felder joined, and On the Border produced the Top-40 hit "Already Gone" and the Eagles' first number-one song in the US and Canada, "Best of My Love", which made the top 15 in Australia, their first hit overseas. In 1975, the album One of These Nights became their first number-one album in the US and a top-10 album in many countries. It included the US number-one hit "One of These Nights", which was their first top-10 hit outside of North America, and US Top-5 songs "Lyin' Eyes" and "Take It to the Limit". Also in 1975, Leadon left the band and was replaced by guitarist and vocalist Joe Walsh.
Their Greatest Hits (1971–1975) (1976) is the best-selling album in the United States, with 38 million copies sold, and primed the public for the late 1976 release of Hotel California, which would sell more than 26 million copies in the US (ranking third all-time for US sales), and more than 32 million copies worldwide. The album yielded two number-one singles in the US and Canada, "New Kid in Town" and "Hotel California", the latter of which became their only Top-10 hit in the United Kingdom, while also reaching the top 10 in New Zealand and many European countries, including number two in France.
Meisner was replaced by Timothy B. Schmit in 1977. The Eagles released their last studio album for nearly 28 years in 1979 with The Long Run, spawning the North American number-one song "Heartache Tonight", which became their biggest hit in Australia (number 13), and the North American Top-10 hits "The Long Run" and "I Can't Tell You Why". The Eagles broke up in 1980 but reunited in 1994 for the album Hell Freezes Over, a mix of live and new studio tracks, and toured consistently. In 2007, the Eagles released Long Road Out of Eden, their sixth number-one album in the US, and in 2008 launched the Long Road Out of Eden Tour. In 2013, they began the extended History of the Eagles Tour in conjunction with the documentary release, History of the Eagles. Following Frey's death in January 2016, the Eagles re-formed in 2017, with Glenn's son Deacon Frey and country singer Vince Gill sharing lead vocals for Frey's songs. Deacon Frey left the band in 2022, but returned in 2023 to participate in the band's ongoing final tour. Founding member Meisner died in 2023.
On my favorites playlist, I just heard Seven Sisters by Tori Amos, Seven Veils by Elbow and now Seven Bridges Road by The Eagles!!!
(Keep 'em coming Bill!)
Years and years later, finally hearing it again and my original thought was spot-on
they had many more songs that were better in my humble opinion. I encourage all haters to give their book of work a solid listen before dismissing it as nothing more than top 40 pablum
In any case, it got me to dig around wikipedia on a few things, including the original Seven Bridges Road by Steve Young, which refers to a place in Montgomery Alabama. Steve's version is more like a soft, slow, straight country ballad, complete with airy strings in the background. And it's just Steve singing, without any acapella multi-part harmony. Here it is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZpV83ovYAyY
The surprise for me was that an Englishman named Ian Matthews was the one who decided to take Steve's song (for whatever reason) and create an arrangement with six/seven part harmony. Here's what Ian's version sounds like: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mt2IFaCwTKk Now *that* is exactly the version we all know, exact same harmonies, same cadence, same guitar pickin'. But compared to what we're used to, it sounds stiff, and about 4,000 miles away from Montgomery, Alabama, USA.
Long after the Eagles had performed and recorded Seven Bridges Road, Ian found himself hanging out with some of the Eagles at the Troubadour and ended up at Don's place where people were playing music. Don Henley had a copy of Ian's "Valley Hi" album, no doubt the source of the Eagles cover.
does anyone know the actual lyrics at the ending?
on rp they are:
a) there is a taste of time sweetened honey
i have also seen
b) there is a taste of thyme sweetened honey
c) there is a taste of time sweet and honey
i am actually inclined to believe (b), but (a) is reasonable as well.
I vote "a".
Honey that sits in the honeycomb gets sweeter as time passes. (Chemistry, baby!) Honey doesn't change much after harvesting.
Test it yourself: get bottled honey and "chunk" honey still in the comb or bottled with honeycomb wax.
Years and years later, finally hearing it again and my original thought was spot-on
The baritone is exceptional. Like a bass guitar, anchors all the higher harmonies and makes everything work.
Anyone know who that is?
Don Felder it seems.
Anyone know who that is?
I'm pretty sure this is the US version of The Eagles. You know, the ones Jeffrey Lebowski hates.
The angels (the ones in heaven), The Ink Spots, The Maguire Sisters, The Four Freshmen, The Lettermen, The Beach Boys, Eagles, Huey Lewis and The News, Boyz To Men, Zack Brown Band - are ya seein' the trend here bucko? Hubris? Really?
And yes...Eagles played this tune while you were obviously still in the womb or a fever dream - no worries...the rest of us loved it. Only fools like you believe bands (like Eagles) begin and end with their biggest hits. Hubris? HA! you're a hoot...dude. Long live country rock - especially POCO!
No single song destroyed the Eagles. Your argument is ridiculous.
The follow up album to Hotel California was The Long Run which is easily as good, if not better, than Hotel California. The Long Run doesn't contain the song Seven Bridges Road. This version of Seven Bridges Road is a live cover from the Eagles Live in 1980. The Eagles sang this song their entire career. Yes... this would include the time of Hotel California as well as the time before and after the album.