His hair and eyes were surely as dark as the devil's
but his laugh made me forget
he was no saint -
was pretty sure 100 mph
with windows rolled down and speaker cranked
was a sin on any back country road...
I learned summer nights
could be exciting; even dangerous
for this Catholic girl.
I did fall in love that night,
but not with him. Just now,
had to think hard to remember his name,
but Billy Joel's still a favorite on my playlist.
by Margaret Bednar, January 9, 2015
I originally wrote this poem in 2015 but am posting again as this song came on the radio and I felt young (and reckless) again for a few minutes... sigh.
Today, linked with "Imaginary Garden with Real Toads - Tuesday Platform"
Also linked with "dVerse Poetics - Cry me a River" - I hope this qualifies - I don't cry over this poem, but I might have shed a tear or two over this boy... or at least wasted too many hours "yearning"...
The song was "Only the Good Die Young" by Billy Joel.
This is a true story - some details have been left out as I'm sure they would bore everyone :) … I do remember running out the door before he could get out of the car - I did not want my mom and dad to meet him.
If you love Billy Joel, you might find THIS l-o-n-g article interesting.
This is for "Imaginary Garden with Real Toads - Herotomost's Friday Challenge - Road Trip"
26 comments:
There are those music tied to cara.. Oh.. Riding 100 MPH with the wind in the hair.. Sounds so fine..
Love the memories this invokes.
ah... music seems to last an eternity while all else falls away... nice take
There are definitely songs that one associates with times and cars--wonderful. k.
that's awesome. :)
Music is at least as personal and as evocative of our pasts as our vehicles. Not to mention Billy Joel more worth listening to than the average conversation of a teenage date. ;_)
Billy Joel does bring back certain emotions and era. Wonderful job with the poem.
I think music ties us to so much, so many drives, boys we forget. I had a blind date once and most of what I remember was wanting to get out of his car and Frank Sinatra singing Strangers In The Night.
I love the way this sews together so many nostalgic threads. Music, cars, dating. That's the whole potato and it made me feel young again. Great job Margaret. Thanks for writing!
I like this "confession" of sorts— the thrill of dating the "bad boy!" I can relate. And the song by Billy Joel, one of my all-time favorites! Saw him in concert September 1978 at Boston Garden right after "The Stranger" album came out. 'Come out Virginia, don't make me wait…you Catholic girls all start much too late…" With "Virginia" and "Catholic"…swore he personalized that one just for me!! Enjoyed this Margaret, and thanks for taking me back to those days of my own youth!
I always liked that song, Margaret. Love even better your poem, it brings back all sort of memories. I'd like to have known you "back then", sounds like my theme (I had a VERY hopped up '52 Ford--it out ran '55 and '56 Chevy's). The theme continues, before I bought my used Mustang (GT Black '98 convertible) for my retirement gift I took it to 140 MPH on our Beltway to make sure it would run FAST. It did and it slows down fast too!
..
It's amazing how music ties to memory. You can't remember his name but you remember the song and the song reminds you of the feeling.
Never could resist those bad boys, eh? But then you look for someone more stable, and relatively boring, when you want to settle down. Nicely done.
What a coincidence this actually works at today's dVerse prompt.
Ah! It seems that we all have stories to tell about when we found or fell in love with our favourite songs.
It's lovely what feelings they evoke in us now, of a certain time and life.
Great little poem Margaret and very vool song! :-)
How this remined me of the foolishness of youth, no seat belts, drink, and that beloved speed on roads with little traffic...but I survived.
Ha, that's funny: "but I might have shed a tear or two over this boy... or at least wasted too many hours "yearning"..."
I remember those enthralled with the bad boy days. Good thing that didn't last, and that we came out alive. And with a killer soundtrack!
Trisha Yearwood once did a song called The Song Remembers When. I think that describes you poem very well. It is really sad when the good die young!
The memories on the other hand ...maybe not!
Very much worth posting again, Margaret. Of course I like it still, it fits.
Some of my crushes and sweet friends I remember their names, not necessarily all come in demand. A few I'll never forget, one I have never remembered her name. We were 'friends', chums. She worked at the sales desk at our Russell Stover factory. Then there's a close friend I still care a bit but she's dropped out of sight.
My abandoned memoirs start,
http://jimmielife1.blogspot.com/2006/01/to-all-girls-ive-loved-beforewho.html?m=1
I hope I haven't bored you too badly ot TMI.
..
I understand what you mean when you say that the music doesn't make you cry, nor do the memories, though they trigger something about us that we fear we might have lost.
What was it about those bad boys? Was it our way of rebelling? This is excellent Margaret.
It has been a while since I heard that Billy Joel song. Very memorable. I like the has three lines of your poem especially finding it hard to remember his name.
This song and your post take me back years.....to boys with tight levis and cigarettes ... yep, the boys I didn't want my mother to meet!
We always think we'll live forever when we're young...that's why it was so easy to tempt fate. Made me smile. (K)
An evocative ride down memory lane!
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