Wish I didn’t know now what I didn’t know then...
Best. Line. Ever.Seger said of this song: "My old friend Glenn Frey of the Eagles had an idea that our guitarist Drew Abbott should play along with the piano solo. He and I then went out and did the background vocals together. The line 'Wish I didn't know now what I didn't know then' bothered me for the longest time, but everyone I knew loved it so I left it in. It has since appeared in several hits by other artists, so I guess it's OK."
Seger later clarified: "The only thing that bothered me about that phrase was the grammar. It sounded grammatically funny to me. I kept asking myself, 'Is that correct grammar?' I liked the line, and everybody I played it for – like Glenn and Don (Henley) – were saying, 'That's the best line in the song,' but I couldn't shake the feeling that it wasn't right. But I slowly came around. You have to understand that songwriters can't punctuate anything they write. I work in such a narrow medium that I tend to second-guess things like that. As a matter of fact, I've seen that line in a few other songs since I came up with it, so I guess it was okay after all."
Seger won the 1980 Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocal Grammy award for this song.
The Highwaymen, a country supergroup consisting of Waylon Jennings, Kris Kristofferson, Johnny Cash and Willie Nelson, remade this song for their debut album.
