1
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- I was writing with Don 
Schlitz. MCA was his company.

2
00:00:03,236 --> 00:00:06,239
And he said, "They're 
sending Janis Ian here

3
00:00:06,239 --> 00:00:07,774
to write with a few people."

4
00:00:08,942 --> 00:00:09,876
And he said, "Would 
you like to meet her?"

5
00:00:09,876 --> 00:00:12,979
And I said, yeah, of course.

6
00:00:12,979 --> 00:00:16,449
- If you're a songwriter, 
you know Janis Ian.

7
00:00:16,449 --> 00:00:17,650
If you're a songwriter,

8
00:00:17,650 --> 00:00:21,421
you know the integrity 
of her writing.

9
00:00:21,421 --> 00:00:26,092
And so the opportunity to 
sit in a room with this woman

10
00:00:26,092 --> 00:00:29,696
and co-write with 
her was an honor.

11
00:00:30,764 --> 00:00:33,800
- Janis's friend, 
her name was Mary,

12
00:00:33,800 --> 00:00:36,202
she had a restaurant 
called Options.

13
00:00:36,202 --> 00:00:38,772
And we would go there 
for lunch every day.

14
00:00:38,772 --> 00:00:42,442
And wasn't doing 
well. Tough business.

15
00:00:42,442 --> 00:00:44,711
- [Janis] We walked in one 
day and Mary was really down

16
00:00:44,711 --> 00:00:46,012
and I said, what's wrong?

17
00:00:46,012 --> 00:00:47,847
And she said, "I'm gonna 
lose the restaurant.

18
00:00:47,847 --> 00:00:49,049
"Why should I stay alive, man,

19
00:00:49,049 --> 00:00:50,917
"I'm not doing 
anything in the world."

20
00:00:50,917 --> 00:00:54,521
- She started talking about 
committing suicide and I knew

21
00:00:56,189 --> 00:00:58,291
that Janis and I were both 
feeling the same thing.

22
00:00:58,291 --> 00:01:01,027
It was like, what do we do here?

23
00:01:01,027 --> 00:01:02,595
- [Janis] We said, 
the usual platitudes.

24
00:01:02,595 --> 00:01:05,031
And she said, "No, no. 
It's different for you."

25
00:01:05,031 --> 00:01:08,068
Whether you have children or 
not. Your work's gonna live.

26
00:01:08,068 --> 00:01:09,936
But I haven't left a mark.

27
00:01:09,936 --> 00:01:11,471
- What do you say after that?

28
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What did we need to say to Mary?

29
00:01:14,841 --> 00:01:17,510
(guitar music)

30
00:01:20,847 --> 00:01:22,382
- I was sitting 
there with a guitar

31
00:01:22,382 --> 00:01:24,851
and I said, man, some people's 
lives just, I don't know,

32
00:01:24,851 --> 00:01:27,320
some people's lives 
just run down.

33
00:01:27,320 --> 00:01:30,490
And Kai said, "Some people's 
lives run down like clocks."

34
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♪ Some people's lives ♪

35
00:01:35,361 --> 00:01:40,433
♪ Run down like clocks ♪

36
00:01:41,267 --> 00:01:45,438
♪ One day they stop ♪

37
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♪ That's all they've got ♪

38
00:01:50,343 --> 00:01:55,048
♪ Some lives wear out ♪

39
00:01:55,048 --> 00:02:00,019
♪ Like old tennis shoes ♪

40
00:02:00,687 --> 00:02:05,058
♪ No one can use ♪

41
00:02:05,859 --> 00:02:09,729
♪ It's sad but it's true ♪

42
00:02:09,729 --> 00:02:14,434
♪ Didn't anybody tell them ♪

43
00:02:14,434 --> 00:02:19,005
♪ Didn't anybody see ♪

44
00:02:19,005 --> 00:02:24,077
♪ Didn't anybody love them ♪

45
00:02:24,777 --> 00:02:27,313
♪ Like you love me ♪

46
00:02:28,948 --> 00:02:31,417
- We were looking 
for this clincher

47
00:02:31,417 --> 00:02:33,386
that we just hadn't found.

48
00:02:34,654 --> 00:02:37,624
And one day we were 
driving down the interstate

49
00:02:37,624 --> 00:02:39,325
and it just popped in.

50
00:02:39,325 --> 00:02:43,730
♪ Some people's lives ♪

51
00:02:43,730 --> 00:02:48,801
♪ Are as cold as their lips ♪

52
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♪ They just need to be kissed ♪