I Got a Name - Jim Croce

I Got a Name - Jim Croce

3:14

I Got a Name, 1973

Written by Charles Fox and Norman Gimbel

A slightly funky folk melody, that burst out into a little folk-rock at the very end of the song.  The cheeriness of the music belies the lyrics, which are fairly poignant.  In the song, the narrator declares he has a name like all the plants and animals, but that he also has a dream.  "And I carry it with me like my daddy did / But I'm living the dream that he kept hid."  He's going to go and follow his dreams, and if he fails, he'll be proud he tried.  Unlike his father.

Hey Tomorrow - Jim Croce

Hey Tomorrow - Jim Croce

2:46

You Don't Mess Around With Jim, 1972

Written by Jim Croce

In this gentle acoustic ballad, the narrator apostrophizes tomorrow, vowing to really change this time.  "Hey tomorrow you've gotta believe that / I'm through wastin' what's left of me."  Set against a sparse acoustic guitar, Croce's voice is tender and weathered, delivering each line with the quiet gravity of someone who's been through it.  He just needs a little more time to begin again, and don't we all?