Today is Writer's Workshop day at Mama Kat's .
The prompt: Verse by Verse, dissect a favorite song you had in 7th grade. Now, you know, I couldn't pass up a prompt that was song related!
When I think of the 7th grade, one song plays in my head. I cried to it, thinking of that cute boy. I thought of it as a theme song for my friends and I who had big dreams of getting out of a small town. And, most importantly, me and my best girlfriends danced to it in a group circle, in the cafeteria, at the last dance of the year. It was the finale of a great year that would, too soon, come to an end.
Never Say Goodbye
by Bon Jovi
♪As I sit in this smokey room
the night about to end
I pass my time with strangers
but the bottle's my only friend♪
Wow! What an amazing visual! But probably not appropriate for 7th grade, but that's ok, we were probably busy talking and giggling through this part of the song, then someone realized it was on, and we'd get excited "Oh my gosh! It's our song!" Then lots of screaming, and swooning.
♪Remember when we used to park
on Butler Street out in the dark
Remember when we lost the keys
and you lost more than that in my back seat♪
Okay, so, obviously, not driving in 7th grade, but, yes, I certainly knew what was happening in that car! So scary, and weird for me now, because of my own daughters. I couldn't even imagine them thinking about that in 7th grade. Thankfully, they're not like me in that aspect!
♪Remember how we used to talk
about busting out- We'd break their hearts
together forever♪
And that was my favorite part of the song! The part that said it all! We'll show them! We'll run away and be stars. My mother will regret being so mean. And all those kids that called me "Carrot Top" and "Woody Woodpecker" they'll wish they were nicer when I'm the next Molly Ringwald! (Because, she was the best actress ever! Okay, really it was just because she had red hair and was in some good movies, but "She was the best actress ever!")
♪Never say goodbye, never say goodbye
you and me and my old friends, hoping it would never end
Never say goodbye, never say goodbye
holdin' on we got to try, holdin' on to never say goodbye♪
It was at this point that we would all begin crying, and promising one another to never stop being friends. It didn't matter that we were being split up between 3 schools for 8th grade, we would still talk and spend all our weekends together. And we did, well, for a month or 2, then we slowly grew apart. We all made new friends, played sports, joined drama, had boyfriends, got married...
As I listen to this song now, it has so much pain. While it always reminds me of the 7th grade dance, and that group of friends. I now think of many other people, and plans, met and made. We all have dreams, and loves, and friendships that have slipped away over the years. Some have been replaced by better ones, and others are just irreplaceable, but they live on in the sights and songs of those moments. These memories paint the pictures of our lives.
7th grade was an end of an era, and as we danced in that big circle, holding on to each other, making promises, we really were holding onto never saying goodbye. We just didn't hold on tight enough.
I love that song! I tagged ya in my blog.
ReplyDeleteAwww...This prompt so far has proved to be a sad one. I didn't do this one. Honestly though, I don't remember the songs from 7th grade. Hmmm?? I mean really, it was 22 yrs ago. I have a hard time as it is remembering last week...LOL!!
ReplyDeleteGreat post though!! :o) Stopping in from Mama Kat's.
I totally remember the, "Oh.my.gosh, guys! It's our song!!!" moments. There were far too many of them. :)
ReplyDeleteI have to second Kimmy - seems most of the bloggers of the female persuasion had pretty downbeat 7th grade memories. Maybe it is different for guys, but my memories of that period are all very happy (and perhaps mindless as the lyrics of my song proved). And my 7th grade was 40+ years ago.
ReplyDeleteWhat a really great way to think about old songs...
ReplyDeleteI love this blog..
Dorothy from grammology
grammology.com
"Rockin Roll Girls" by John Fogerty stays in my head when I'm exercising sometimes.
ReplyDeleteSecretia