The End of the Innocence (song)

"The End of the Innocence" is the lead single and title track from Don Henley's third solo studio album of the same name, released in 1989. Henley co-wrote and co-produced the song with Bruce Hornsby, who also performed piano. Both artists regularly include the song in their live performances. The single peaked at number eight on the US Billboard Hot 100, becoming his fifth solo top-10 hit on the chart. "The End of the Innocence" also became his fourth number-one single on the Album Rock Tracks chart. In Canada, it reached number three on the RPM Top Singles and Adult Contemporary charts. The song received Grammy nominations for Record of the Year and Song of the Year.

Music video
The black-and-white music video for the song was directed by David Fincher and earned Henley an MTV Video Music Award for Best Male Video in 1990.

Henley ensured there would be two political comments in the video:
 * At the line "they're beating plowshares into swords, for this tired old man that we elected king," a series of campaign posters of U.S. President Ronald Reagan is shown.
 * At the line "lawyers clean up all details," a television set playing the congressional testimony of Oliver North appears on-screen.

Personnel

 * Don Henley – vocals, drums
 * Bruce Hornsby – acoustic piano, additional keyboards
 * Jai Winding – keyboard bass
 * Michael Fisher – percussion
 * Wayne Shorter – soprano sax solo