Rainy day music
"Well, she's kind of prettyDrives a big car too
and when I hold her in my arms
I never know what to do...
As a kid, few things made me happier than going to the grocery store. But that was back in the '70s when I didn't have to pay for anything and got to ride in the shopping buggy. Now that I have to actually make the list, drive to the store, do the shopping, pay for the stuff and haul it into the house, the supermarket has lost whatever allure its bright lights and miles of colorful aisles once had for me. I hate grocery shopping now.
"If she's got everything she needs
what does she need me for?
I'm just a crazy fool
comin' back for more...
These days, the only benefit I find while doing the troll stroll for deep discounts is the occasional lost hit of yesteryear that only I seem to remember from what Cinnamon and I like to call That '70s Childhood that's piped in over the store's speaker system, some song that we never heard on my mom's scratchy old AM-only truck radio but something sweet, savvy, rockin' and cool - something magically FM and clear - that drifted out of my sister's car stereo in the summertime when she took us around with her to run errands on those long days that never seemed to end.
"and I know
she's no good
Can't leave her
but I know I should
everybody says watch out boy
she'll break your heart like it was a toy...
But it's not the Muzak I remember from days gone by. Until I was 18, we usually shopped on post at Fort McPherson and the Commissary didn't pipe in music. And thank God, because who wants to hear "Reveille" over and over while you're pricing Frosted Flakes? On the odd occasions my mom got lazy and we headed off to A&P, where Cinnamon and I could go wild and ride shopping carts and tear up things and try to act like we, little angels that we were, didn't do it, the piped-in music was that weird, freaky "beautiful music" you only heard (and again, thank God for that) back in the '70s. Or else you'd hear some instrumental by The Ventures, like "Telstar." Try squeezing the Charmin on the sly to that.
"You better Save it for a Rainy Day
You better Save it for a Rainy Day...
So today, while I was quietly fuming as I debated the merits of Fab over Cheer, Stephen Bishop's "Save It For A Rainy Day" started playing and you know -- there was a sudden spring in my step. This was one of the sweet songs of a '70s summer that Cinnamon and I used to love as kids, cruising around with my sister, feeling so much older and cooler than we were.
"Well I'd leave in a minute
If I only could
But when she touches me
It makes me feel so good
My heart's in her hands
This is a sure a mess
There's no way I say no
when she says, "yes yes yes"...
And I rolled my squeaky-wheeled cart over to aisle 4B (Coffee/Tea/Sugar/Spices), wondering if I should take a chance on buying one of the wiggier-named "exotic" coffees I always see but never pick up.
"Take me, shake me
and tell me this ain't a dream
Everybody says watch out boy
She'll break your heart like it was a toy...
Back at home, putting up the day's haul, I was glad I stuck to the original plan and bought the Folgers. I'm just not adventurous enough for Cafe Bustelo or Pilon yet.
"You better Save it for a Rainy Day
You better Save it for a Rainy Day...
posted by rekkidbraka @ 9:00 PM
3 Comments:
Hi Chris. Stephen Bishop fan much? Or do you just like grocery shopping? :-)
I'm afraid my musical appreciation missed much of the Seventies and early Eighties. I was exposed by my father to a LOT of crooner music and Beatles when I was a child. I didn't really start getting my own music until I bought my first Poison album (yes.. laugh away) back in junior high (or was it high school?). I've done a lot of catching up but I've never been fully intrgrated into the love of classic bands such as Hendrix, Zeppelin and such. I know it's blasphemy but it's the truth.
So, if it's memories of being a child and dancing to a classic seventies track I have little if any. But, when Sinatra comes on... I can sing almost every word.
(Sorry if I hijacked the post a bit)
Hey, I bought that Poison album too. Except that it was a cassette when I just had to have it.
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home