Summer Of '69 (Bryan Adams)
I remember sitting in a dentist chair in the late 80s with this song (which came out in '84) playing on the radio. It seemed strange that he was singing of a time that was so long ago (it was only 20 years prior) and wondered if he was even alive in 1969 (he was 10). Our concept of time is sometimes faulty, and, well, I wasn't the brightest kid, either. Anyway, Bryan Adams started rocking in a band at the age of 15, and it's entirely possible he had a heckuva summer in the summer of '69. This guy continues to rock, and he's in his mid-60s now. We will forgive his being from Canada. He has an impressive string of hits, and even performed this song with Taylor Swift in her recent tour. Still relevant. Still rockin'. I won't even delve into his politics because it's sure to be a disappointing misadventure.
Little did I know when I sat in that dentist chair this seemingly wholesome and nostalgic hit song was actually about sex. Yes, Bryan said just that in interviews. And 69 means exactly what you think it means. It's not about the year. I didn't know that until I decided to write about it, so you'll have to forgive me. It makes me crack up a bit. And that's the power of belief. We can choose to believe whatever we want about this song and make it ours. If I want to believe it's about a rockin' summer long ago, that's what it means to me. That's art. How we perceive it reveals more about us than about itself. And rock and roll has always been subversive. You can imagine the whole world hearing this song and Bryan Adams knowing exactly what it's about and some of us not having a clue. Heck, your sweet and simple mama probably sang this song to herself at some point, not knowing it was about getting horizontal. Or maybe she had dirty thoughts! That's kind of funny. And now I feel uncomfortable.
It's such an iconic song. The sound is big, but it's also intimate. His voice, which has that raw rock character you hear from Springsteen and the like, carries the song. It's upbeat and seemingly has no flaws. It tells a story, with the girl intent on waiting forever, while the boy thinks it's "now or never." Given what I relayed above, feel free to lend any meaning to that exchange you feel is correct. The video ends abruptly and a bit strangely, but music videos weren't yet a big deal back then. Please note it features the same woman from his video for Heaven (strangely, there are multiple versions of Heaven). Overall, it's a fun song, even though Bryan played a trick on us.
***
Now a collection of various thoughts.
I stumbled upon an account on TikTok recently and immediately recognized the woman, whose name is Anastasia, as someone I talked to on an international dating site. She lives in Miami and is from Belarus, and when she went back to visit her family, she told them about me. I stopped communicating with her some time ago, but it was good to see she was doing well. Small world.
I had a thought about A.I. and how we're finding some social media accounts aren't actual people but artificial intelligence (yes, this is happening), and I recalled thinking a while ago how most accounts producing a lot of the content out there aren't people at all. Turns out I may be right. It's easy for me to believe many of the social media accounts I know and share are simply bots.
Another thought is more controversial. We all know women can insist on dating only tall men, for instance, but men can't insist on dating a certain type of woman. It's considered misogynistic or toxic to insist on dating women who aren't overweight, can we agree? (Yes, there are some chubby chasers out there.) Well, I spend a lot of time driving around town and occasionally have to go through the town's college campus and I'm simply amazed by how many women are overweight. I don't know the stats, but it's a little alarming. I mean, here we have young people who are putting great effort into securing a future for themselves by going to school and getting degrees and education and so forth, yet they are shortening their lifespans as well as their youth by being overweight. It's a health issue we aren't allowed to talk about but is a valid and alarming concern. Or, it should be. Ladies (and many men too), please consider your lifestyle and get healthy. It's easier when you're young. Take care of more than just your brain. Your body has to carry the rest of you into the future you are trying so hard to build for yourself.
This blog has over 33,000 hits now. Not sure what happened. But thank you. Regardless, I think I will take a break for a while. About the girl I'm seeing, she is extraordinary. She's a whole galaxy I get to explore. She's got a lot going on and still makes time to see me, which makes me quite happy. I'm ecstatic she chose me to try to move forward with, though I sometimes wonder if I'm worthy. For her, I will be. Actually getting to know her instead of admiring her from a distance is a treat. I knew we'd be good if we just gave it a chance, and it's definitely been good. I know her character. I know a few things about her, but now I know a lot more. She does not disappoint. And she likes to joke about my specious Spanish skills. Her ex is going through some stuff, so please pray for him. I don't know what else to do with the information I have about him, so all I can do is pray. The cynical part of me wants to say he's a narcissist who is now through the love-bombing stage with his fiancé and has moved to the stage where he's tearing her down and imposing demands, which she will either capitulate to or reject, depending on what she's made of. Either way, his behavior is bizarre and not at all what he should be doing. Prayer is needed, regardless of what that part of my brain says. Everyone needs love, and there are kids involved in this scenario and that makes me pray harder for their sakes.
I had the thought recently while watching football highlights that my seventh-grade football coach used to call me "The Hammer," referencing how I hit other kids when tackling. It was entirely too much fun and I had a perverse enjoyment of causing pain and taking other kids down. It was partially for that reason I never played football again after that year. I didn't want to feed that scary feeling in my gut that wanted to hurt people, which was probably an over-reaction to how I was treated as a child. Since then, my heart did a lot of healing. I simply have no desire to hurt anyone, including myself. God did a work. He can change anything, even how we see ourselves and those around us. We can go from hate to love, if we let Him change us. Thank God for His healing power. We all have aggression baked into our DNA, but we don't have to aim that at one another. We have a common enemy, and Jesus came to destroy his works. Let's take our aggression out on the devil instead of one another. He's the one pitting us against one another and making our lives hellish.
Just this week there was an arrest made in the murder of 2Pac. I mention this because I wrote about him recently. Maybe it will be put to rest.
Also, I came across this video that talks about eye contact, and it made sense. Hadn't thought about that. I've probably gotten used to not giving and receiving eye contact. It can be a rather intimate experience. Maybe that's why I like it. I don't get a whole lot of contact with people, though. More dogs than people. Which is okay, too.
Thank you for reading. And God bless.
Christian blog: a-better-hope.blogspot.com
Comments
Post a Comment