YOU ARE HERE: zharth.net / Zharth's Music Log / Week 81 (Coming of Age)
(Originally finalized on June 28, 2024)
Preface: While scouting story songs, I noticed a common theme cropping up again and again, and I thought it could form the basis for a good spin-off. So many of those songs tell a story about a youth, or frequently two young lovers, their heads filled with dreams, going out into the world and finding that life is tougher than they expected. So this week we're going to explore songs that broach that umbrella of bittersweet experiences that accompany one's coming of age - young love and the loss of innocence, bright prospects turned to disillusionment, and the nostalgia of looking back at a time of life when childhood fantasies - as David Gilmour once sang - merge with harsh realities.
Monday: Neil Young - Sugar Mountain [released as a single, 1969]
Comments: While I usually go for Neil's more electrified material, this is one of his most hauntingly beautiful acoustic numbers - a wistful ode to the simple joys of childhood (personified in the form of an amusement fair), as viewed by a man just on the cusp of adulthood, looking back at what he's leaving behind, before turning forward (one imagines) to face the life that's ahead of him. "You can't be twenty on Sugar Mountain, though you're thinkin' that you're leavin' there too soon."
Tuesday: Bob Seger - Night Moves [Night Moves, 1976]
Comments: I'm not sure what it is, exactly, but some songs are really effective at evoking a sense of nostalgia for one's youth. This song does it spectacularly, and has to be one of the best songs in Bob Seger's repertoire. I wasn't even alive in the '70s when this song was recorded, and it's not as though it's a song I remember listening to from my own childhood. Yet the comforting timbre of Bob Seger's voice, accompanied by the relatable lyrics, has me reminiscing about a time in my life that is now long past. "Workin' on our night moves, tryin' to lose the awkward teenage blues."
Wednesday: Meat Loaf - Paradise By The Dashboard Light [Bat Out Of Hell, 1977]
Comments: Surely one of Meat Loaf's most enduring hits; somehow it's impossible not to like it. Humorous and relatable, with a catchy rhythm and cadence, it's a lot of fun to sing along to. And despite being a rather simplistic ode to a teenage love affair (and its unfortunate fallout), the theatrical arrangement ensures that in eight and a half minutes, it never feels like it overstays its welcome. "Though it's cold and lonely in the deep, dark night, I can see paradise by the dashboard light."
Thursday: Billy Joel - Scenes From An Italian Restaurant [The Stranger, 1977]
Comments: Most of Billy Joel's musical oeuvre doesn't quite rock hard enough for my tastes, but you can't deny his skill as a musical story-teller. I saved this song, despite very nearly choosing it for the Story Songs theme, because - even though it's framed by the device of a divorced couple catching up over dinner - the biographical account of two high school sweethearts (Brenda & Eddie), whose innocence is shattered by the logistics of married life, synergizes well with some of the other songs in this theme. "They started to fight when the money got tight, and they just didn't count on the tears."
Friday: Bruce Springsteen - The River [The River, 1980]
Comments: Switching back to a more somber tone, this is one of the few Springsteen songs I can say that I actually like. It's a melancholy ballad dedicated to the working class, for whom the American dream is more of a taunt than a promise. I can also recommend the live version with extended spoken intro, that fleshes out the story and adds a little more context. I had a little spot of my own down by the river, where I'd go during college whenever life got a little too heavy. "Is a dream a lie if it don't come true, or is it somethin' worse?"
Saturday: John Mellencamp - Jack & Diane [American Fool, 1982]
Comments: We're creeping into the '80s now, with one of John Mellencamp's biggest hits. It's a song that epitomizes the mold of the story about two young lovers (the titular Jack & Diane) with the world laid out before their feet, only to find that life has a way of disappointing your expectations. Whereas Springsteen manages to imbue The River with a sorrowful pathos, here Mellencamp seems to have given in to the malaise of acceptance. "Oh yeah, life goes on - long after the thrill of livin' is gone."
Sunday: Bryan Adams - Summer of '69 [Reckless, 1984]
Comments: I'm embarrassed to admit that there was a time when I thought this was a Bruce Springsteen song - but you have to acknowledge the similarities. I don't listen to a lot of Bryan Adams, but who hasn't heard this one at some point? It's a classic ballad filled with nostalgia for youth, almost to the point of becoming a cliché. In addition to reminiscing about young love, the singer also recalls his dead end dreams of playing in a band - which, given the success of this song, is probably more an attempt at relatability than autobiography. "When I look back now, that summer seemed to last forever; those were the best days of my life."
Honorable Mention: Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers - Into The Great Wide Open [Into The Great Wide Open, 1991]
Comments: Relegated to an honorable mention because I waffled on it one too many times, I saved this story song for this theme because it's about a young man striking out on his own after high school, moving to Hollywood to become a rock star. But after further thought, it's as much a cautionary tale about the entertainment industry (in the vein of Bad Company's Shooting Star) as it is a coming of age story. But the sentiment embodied by the title is right on track for this theme. "Into the great wide open, under them skies of blue. Out in the great wide open; a rebel without a clue."