The composition Summer of ’69 from the album Reckless is one of the most famous in the work of Bryan Adams. He co-wrote it with Jim Vallance in 1984. People love to reminisce about happy childhood.
Not surprisingly, the groovy song, in which Adams talks about how he bought the first guitar, played it, rubbing his fingers into blood, founded a rock band and fell in love, is still popular to this day.
History and meaning of the song Summer of ’69 – Bryan Adams
Something else is much more interesting. For some time now, Bryan Adams began to say in interviews that the listeners did not fully understand what he was singing about with the guitar in Summer of ’69. Say, in fact, the name implies making love in the summer in the position of the same name. Such is the unexpectedly piquant story of the song.
But it is unlikely that such statements can be taken seriously. Rather, it is a joke or an attempt to draw attention to a forgotten track. This is confirmed by the words of Jim Vallens, early interviews with Adams and some facts.
Jim says his memories of making Summer of ’69 are different than Brian’s. He claims that the song was originally supposed to be called Best Days of My Life (“The Best Days of My Life”), and the summer of 69 was mentioned only once in it.
In addition, the lyrics of the song are clearly saturated with Jim and Brian’s memories of their youth (although some of the lines were simply made up). Doesn’t it seem strange that a nine-year-old boy (Adams was nine in the summer of 1969) is already interested in oral sex?
It is unlikely that Adams, when writing Summer of ’69, originally had sexual relations and the notorious stance in mind. Rather, such an idea came to him much later. He did not hesitate to use it to return the popularity of the song. It must be admitted that he succeeded.
Video clip of Summer of ’69 by Bryan Adams
And now you can watch online video clip Summer of ’69 performed by rock musician Bryan Adams.
Interesting Facts
- Five and Dime, where the songwriter allegedly bought the guitar, is a common name for cheap shops that sell goods at a single price. But Adams got his first instrument from a pawnshop, and Vallance got it from his parents for Christmas.
- When Vallance got a guitar, he actually played the first night until his fingers bled.
- The Jody sung about in Summer of ’69 is Jody Perpick, Adams’ sound engineer. Who was meant by the name Jimmy is not exactly known.
Summer of ’69 Lyrics Bryan Adams
I got my first real six-string
Bought it at the five-and-dime
Played it till my fingers faded
It was the summer of 69
Me and some guys from school
Had a band and we tried real hard
Jimmy quit and Jody got married
I shoulda known wed never get far
Oh when I look back now
That summer seemed to last forever
And if I had the choice
Yeah – I always wanna be there
Those were the best days of my life
Ain’t no use in complainin’
When you got a job to do
Spent my evenin’s down at the drive-in
And that’s when I met you
Standin’ on your mamas porch
You told me that you’d wait forever
Oh and when you held my hand
I knew that it was now or never
Those were the best days of my life
Back in the summer of 69
Man we were killin’ time
We were young and restless
We needed to unwind
I guess nothin’ can last forever – forever, no
And now the times are changing
Look at everything that’s come and gone
Sometimes when I play that old six-string
I think about ya wonder what went wrong
Standin’ on your mamas porch
You told me it would last forever
Oh the way you held my hand
I knew that it was now or never
Those were the best days of my life
Back in the summer of 69
