Summertime and young love

Those crazy nights, I do remember in my youth
I do recall, those were the best times, most of all
In the heat with a blue jean girl
Burnin’ love comes once in a lifetime
She found me singing by the rail road track
Took me home, we danced by moonlight

Journey - Stone In Love

I love to think back to my summers growing up in Chicago Heights. Great friends, great times! Music was always a big part of it, too. One summer, I got to see Journey three times in a two-month span. Isn’t young love grand? There is so much more this memory brings, but I’m not ready to share it all yet. Gotta leave some for future posts…

Old school -- written by hand

And we waited for sirens that never come
And we only write by the moon, every word handwritten
And to ease the loss of youth and how many years I’ve missed you
Pages plead forgiveness, every word handwritten

The Gaslight Anthem - Handwritten

I’m not sure why this verse appeals to me so much. I guess it is because it seems so pure and honest to write something by hand. I don’t consider myself a “writer”, I’ve been know to pen a letter, but it’s been many years since I wrote anything by hand. I’m a geek; I use a keyboard.

Savor every moment

Let’s pretend our days are numbered
And live them out
We’ll live them in the order given
By those who gave them out
Because there is no… reason to run
There is no reason to run

The Inventors - Beehive

The Inventors are rising stars out of Chicago. They are a very tight 4-man band with intelligent lyrics. This song is off their 2015 EP The Procedure Room. It’s my favorite song on the EP and I just love the opening verse. I’ll admit I have some bias, my son Grant used to be the drummer and appears on this EP, but these guys are AWESOME!

Not the typical Santana song

When you just wanna feel good
Like the doctor said
One good dose of loving
It’s gonna straighten out your head

You got an open invitation
On that you can rely
You got a prepaid reservation
And that’s the only way to fly

Santana - Open Invitation

There are a lot of Santana songs more popular than Open Invitation, but this is one of my favorites; reminds me of days long past. For me, this song represents that person who may come and go throughout your life, but will ALWAYS be welcomed back. They have an “open invitation” to return at anytime.

We all get lonely sometimes

When you need somebody around on the nights that try you
I was there when you were a queen
And I’ll be the last one there beside you;
So you can call out my name

When you’re only lonely;
Now, don’t you ever be ashamed;
You’re only lonely

J.D. Souther - You’re Only Lonely

There’s nothing fancy or flashy about this song, but the music and melody are smooth and real. For me, this is one of those songs that you can’t turn off or change channels when it comes on; it is a must listen to.

Excess and Wanting More

I don’t know how to stop, I give it all I’ve got
It’s like my brakes are shot, I gotta have too much
I don’t know how to stop, Gets crazy but so what
You know it’s what you want so give it up
And don’t be scared of how good it feels

Halestorm - Don’t Know How to Stop

I like several different genres of music, but Hard Rock/Heavy Metal is one of my favorites. Halestorm is an amazing band and Lzzy Hale can sing with the best of them. She has the range to do the sultry ballad as well as the in-your-face rocker. There will be several posts with Halestorm lyrics as a lot of their songs reach inside and grab me. I have been fortunate to see them a couple of times at Carolina Rebellion (2015 & 2018), and again in 12/8/2021 at the Rialto Square Theater in Joliet.

Reminicing -- an elusive relationship

She was a friend to me when I needed one –
Wasn’t for her I don’t know what I’d done
She gave me back something that was missing in me
She could of turned out to be almost anyone
Almost anyone…
With the possible exception
Of who I wanted her to be

Jackson Browne - That Girl Could Sing

I really liked Browne’s album Hold Out, and this was one of my favorite songs from it. I’m not a musician, but I was somewhat obsessed with the simple guitar riffs and the tones created. There’s a portion of the song where you can hear the fingers slide up and down the strings. I can’t explain it, but for me it accentuated the impact of the song.

This song resonates because most people can relate to a relationship like this. Sometimes your projection of who you want your partner to be, overshadows who they really are.