Our Bodies Are Oh So Close

‘Paradise by the Dashboard Light’ was written by Jim Steinman and it was released in 1977 on the Bat Out of Hell album, which became one of the best-selling albums of all time.  Jim Steinman said that this song was his attempt to write “the ultimate car/sex song in which everything goes horribly wrong in the end.”  This song is about a teenage boy who is trying to convince a girl to have sex with him in a car.  The girl is concerned with romance, intimacy and a long term relationship, but this guy only seems to be interested in having sex.  Guys have this thing about sex where they compare how far they get with a girl in terms of a runner being on base in the sport of baseball.  There’s no “official” definition of what the bases represent, but there seems to be a general understanding of the certain steps being involved with the runner being able to advance to the next base.  In other cultures that don’t follow baseball, the 4 bases are represented with the four ‘F’s, which are French, Feel, Finger, Fuck.

Reaching First base with a girl is more than holding hands, it means that you were kissing, maybe French kissing.  Getting to touch a girl’s breasts is a very important step for a man and this is considered getting to Second base.  Touching, feeling, and fondling a woman’ breasts, and her nipples is thrilling for a man, as every young man has dreams of doing this, getting their hand under her bra for the first time and finally being able to feel those forbidden mounds of flesh.  This is a very rewarding experience, but it always makes them crave more.  Third base is touching or oral stimulation that is below the waist, fingering or fondling a girl’s vagina, or her clitoris, or it could be her giving you a hand job by stroking your penis, or massaging your testicles.  It is pretty clear that Home base is reached when you have sexual intercourse and this is also called going all the way.

So, if this guy was permitted to go all the way and have penetration sex with this girl, that would be his way of getting to “paradise”, but she holds out until he says he loves her and that he will stay with her forever.   This part always cracks me up as it shows the power that women have over men, as he is overcome by passion, he is forced to give in to whatever she wants, and he honors his word to spend the rest of his life with her, even though he can’t stand her.  A desirable woman can effortlessly obtain what she wants from any man, getting the love, respect, and relationship she wants by holding out on sex, leaving the man in a trance like state till she has them firmly under her control.

It charted #39 in the US and it features vocals by Meat Loaf along with Ellen Foley.  This was an uncommonly long song for a single, it has become a staple of classic rock radio.  Two members of Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band played on this track, as Roy Bittan played keyboards and piano and Max Weinberg played drums.  The song’s composer Jim Steinman also contributed keyboards and is credited with “Lascivious Effects”, which is assumed to be some of the lovemaking sounds during the baseball narration.  The song opens with the High School couple parking by a lake.  The guy is reminiscing about how lucky he is to be on a date with this beautiful girl, and because they are young and alone with each other and they are barely dressed, he feels doubly blessed.  They are having fun, experiencing “paradise by the dashboard  light”, but he is getting all excited and starts “glowing like the metal on the edge of a knife’ and then he insists that she will not regret this big surprise that he has in store for her.  He tells her that they’re “gonna go all the way tonight” (then the music that they were listening to on the radio suddenly switches over to a Baseball broadcast).

Phil Rizzuto the announcer for the New York Yankees is broadcasting a play-by-play portion of a baseball game that serves as a metaphor for the guy’s attempts to achieve his goal of going all the way with the girl, and this is accompanied by funk instrumentation while the two characters are talking in the individual left and right channels.  Holy cow was a popular catch phrase often used by Rizzuto that he used to express surprise and excitement in a non-vulgar way.  For those of you that don’t understand baseball, a suicide squeeze is a play where the runner who has reached third base takes off as soon as the pitcher begins the windup to throw the pitch, and before he releases the ball, this runner is heading home.  If properly executed, and the batter bunts the ball nearly anywhere in fair territory on the ground, a play at home plate is extremely unlikely.  Rizzuto’s broadcast cuts out, just when it looks like the runner is going to score.

The girl bursts out telling him to “Stop right there!”  She refuses to go any further unless the boy first promises to love her forever and marry her.  Reluctant to make such a long-term commitment, the boy repeatedly asks her to continue on for the time being and promises if she lets him sleep on this decision, that he would be able to give his answer in the morning.  However, she is not giving in that easily, and she keeps on insisting that she has to know right now.  The guy is in between third base and heading for home base, so he caves because he is so close to reaching what he considers to be paradise.  He gives her his promise, swearing to his God and on his mother’s grave, that he will love her to the end of time.

It is assumed that they did go all the way and the guy is an honorable man, who would never break his promise, but now he feels like he is stuck with this girl in his life, who he has presumably been married to for a number of years.  She is getting on his nerves, so he starts “praying for the end of time” to relieve him from his obligation.  The song fades out on the situation, juxtaposing his gloomy “it was long ago, it was far away, it was so much better than it is today!” in the left channel with her nostalgic “it never felt so good, it never felt so right, we were glowing like the metal on the edge of a knife” in the right channel.

I remember every little thing
As if it happened only yesterday
Parking by the lake
And there was not another car in sight
And I never had a girl
Looking any better than you did
And all the kids at school
They were wishing they were me that night
And now our bodies are oh so close and tight
It never felt so good, it never felt so right
And we’re glowing like the metal on the edge of a knife
Glowing like the metal on the edge of a knife
C’mon! Hold on tight!
C’mon! Hold on tight!

Thought it’s cold and lonely in the deep dark night
I can see paradise by the dashboard light

Ain’t no doubt about it
We were doubly blessed
‘Cause we were barely seventeen
And we were barely dressed
Ain’t no doubt about it
Baby got to go and shout it
Ain’t no doubt about it
We were doubly blessed
‘Cause we were barely seventeen
And we were barely dressed

Baby doncha hear my heart
You got it drowning out the radio
I’ve been waiting so long
For you to come along and have some fun
And I gotta let you know
No you’re never gonna regret it
So open up your eyes I got a big surprise
It’ll feel all right
Well I wanna make your motor run

And now our bodies are oh so close and tight
It never felt so good, it never felt so right
And we’re glowing like the metal on the edge of a knife
Glowing like the metal on the edge of a knife
C’mon! Hold on tight!
C’mon! Hold on tight!

Though it’s cold and lonely in the deep dark night
I can see paradise by the dashboard light
Paradise by the dashboard light
You got to do what you can
And let Mother Nature do the rest
Ain’t no doubt about it
We were doubly blessed
‘Cause we were barely seventeen
And we were barely

We’re gonna go all the way tonight
We’re gonna go all the way
And tonight’s the night…
We’re gonna go all the way tonight
We’re gonna go all the way
And tonight’s the night…

OK, here we go, we got a real pressure cooker going here,
Two down, nobody on, no score, bottom of the ninth,
There’s the windup, and there it is, a line shot up the middle,
Look at him go. This boy can really fly! He’s rounding first and really
Turning it on now, he’s not letting up at all, he’s gonna try for
Second; the ball is bobbled out in center, and here comes the
Throw, and what a throw! He’s gonna slide in head first, here he
Comes, he’s out! No, wait, safe-safe at second base, this kid
Really makes things happen out there. Batter steps up to the
Plate, here’s the pitch-he’s going, and what a jump he’s got,
He’s trying for third, here’s the throw, it’s in the dirt-safe at
Third! Holy cow, stolen base! He’s taking a pretty big lead out
There, almost daring him to try and pick him off. The pitcher
Glances over, winds up, and it’s bunted, bunted down the third
Base line, the suicide squeeze is on! Here he comes, squeeze
Play, it’s gonna be close, holy cow, I think he’s gonna make it!

Stop right there!
I gotta know right now!
Before we go any further!
Do you love me?
Will you love me forever?
Do you need me?
Will you never leave me?
Will you make me so happy for the rest of my life?
Will you take me away and will you make me your wife?
Do you love me!?
Will you love me forever!?
Do you need me!?
Will you never leave me!?
Will you make me happy for the rest of my life!?
Will you take me away and will you make me your wife!?
I gotta know right now
Before we go any further
Do you love me!?
Will you love me forever!?

Let me sleep on it
Baby, baby let me sleep on it
Let me sleep on it
And I’ll give you an answer in the morning
Let me sleep on it
Baby, baby let me sleep on it
Let me sleep on it
And I’ll give you an answer in the morning
Let me sleep on it
Baby, baby let me sleep on it
Let me sleep on it
And I’ll give you an answer in the morning

I gotta know right now
Do you love me?
Will you love me forever?
Do you need me?
Will you never leave me?
Will you make me so happy for the rest of my life?
Will you take me away and will you make me your wife?
I gotta know right now!
Before we go any further
Do you love me?
And will you love me forever?

Let me sleep on it
Baby, baby let me sleep on it
Let me sleep on it
And I’ll give you an answer in the morning
Let me sleep on it

Will you love me forever?

Let me sleep on it

Will you love me forever!

I couldn’t take it any longer
Lord I was crazed
And when the feeling came upon me
Like a tidal wave
I started swearing to my god and on my mother’s grave
That I would love you to the end of time
I swore that I would love you to the end of time!
So now I’m praying for the end of time
To hurry up and arrive
‘Cause if I gotta spend another minute with you
I don’t think that I can really survive
I’ll never break my promise or forget my vow
But God only knows what I can do right now
I’m praying for the end of time
It’s all that I can do
Praying for the end of time,
So I can end my time with you!

It was long ago and it was far away
And it was so much better that it is today

It never felt so good
It never felt so right
And we were glowing like
A metal on the edge of a knife

Written for Eugi’s Weekly Prompt – Paradise.

Moving to the Beat

Sue approached Jim after class and told him that she was having a party and she would like him to come by.  Jim asked her what the party was all about and Sue said that her parents were going to Europe and she had the house all to herself and she felt like experiencing a euphoric feeling that might give her a temporary escape from her life.  Sue said that her cousin was going to bring some beer and wine and she hoped that Jim would be able to score some weed.  Sue winked at Jim and said, “Parties cab be a good place to hook up with somebody without having to build a meaningful relationship with them.”  Jim thought that he might get lucky, so he let her know that he would bring some weed, but he also made sure that she knew that he doesn’t dance.

Sue told Jim that was fine, but she added that he would be missing out on all of the fun by not dancing and she wondered why he is refusing to dance.  Sue understood that dancing was the epitome of being social and that it revolves around connecting and opening up to new people and getting more familiar with the people that you already know.  Sue was also very aware that dancing is inextricably linked to closeness which is a good way to lead into sex, or the very least looking sexy.  Sue surmised that Jim probably lacked confidence and by dancing this could help to build his confidence once he got good at it.

Sue really wanted to dance with Jim, but she had no idea how she would be able to pull that off.  Sue speculated that if Jim could only get over his intimidation of dancing, that would relieve the pressure of him having to feel awkward in front of others.  Sue reasoned that it would take a certain amount of bravery to get past this threshold, but eventually he would build up the self-confidence to put himself out there, as dancing can be a very scary thing for beginners.  Perhaps Jim had tried dancing and he thought that he wasn’t good enough, and it is also possible that Jim just had a bad experience and that took all the fun out of it for him.  Sue knew that Jim would be missing out, but if he doesn’t like to dance, she recognized that she won’t be able to change him.

Written for Eugi’s Weekly Prompt – Dance.

The Way Life Used to Be

‘Reflections’ was written by the Motown songwriting team of Holland-Dozier-Holland.  This is about a person looking back on a relationship that has ended.  It’s about a love that has gone bad, because things have changed over time.  Life is always changing, and tomorrow is always going to be different from today.  The singer is angry because of the way that things have changed, and the only way that you can be happy in life is when you learn how to adapt to the changes.  The singer reflects back on the man that she used to be with and she blames him for taking love out of her life.  He has left her all alone in a distorted reality and the memories only bring her sadness.  She wants to hold on to the happy times that they spent together, but as she looks back, she sees only anguish in this relationship that she now considers to be nothing more than wasted time.  She trusted this guy and now she realizes that her whole world has crumbled into dust, right in front of her.  Maybe things will work out better for her next time.

The track begins with unusual noises before the song actually starts.  The Holland-Dozier Holland team reportedly heard the recording engineer making these strange noises with an oscillator in the studio and they decided to keep them.  ‘Reflections’ was recorded in 1967 by The Supremes for the Motown label.  It was the last of their hit singles to be written and produced by Motown’s main production team Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier and Eddie Holland.  Holland-Dozier-Holland are one of the most accomplished songwriting teams in the history of popular music.  Out of the over 400 songs that they composed, 130 of them made it to the Pop Charts.  They wrote over 70 songs that were Top Ten Hits and more than 40 of their songs reached the number one chart position.  They wrote nine #1 hits for The Supremes and several for The Four Tops, as well as Martha & the Vandellas, and several other acts on the label.  After a few years of runaway success, the three writers demanded publishing rights to their songs, but were rebuffed by Gordy.  This was when they wrote ‘Reflections’, which pleased Gordy by providing yet another hit for The Supremes, but portended the departure of Holland-Dozier-Holland, who left a short time later, breaking their contract in the process.  The legal tussle between Gordy and his former star writers stretched on for many years.  In 1987, The National Academy of Songwriters bestowed upon these prolific composers its Lifetime Achievement Award.  In 1988, they were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

‘Reflections’ was the first Supremes record released under the new billing, Diana Ross & the Supremes, something the other Supremes were not happy about.  The song is also among the final singles to feature Florence Ballard, who recorded vocals for this song during one of her last studio sessions before she was fired on July 1.  It peaked at #2 in the US and it reached #5 on the UK charts.  ‘Reflections’ is one of the most popular examples of the influence of psychedelic rock on the soul genre.  Psychedelic soul would challenge the traditional Motown sound.  Sonically, this was a departure for The Supremes, with no saxophone or prominent electric guitar backbeat.  It retained the sturdy bassline of James Jamerson, but featured a Wurlitzer electric piano by Earl Van Dyke and tambourine by Jack Ashford.  Pistol Allen was the drummer and Joe Messina added guitar.  The trippy oscillator-generated sound effects were created with a custom oscillator designed by one of The Funk Brothers.

Through the mirror of my mind
Time after time
I see reflections of you and me

Reflections of
The way life used to be
Reflections of
The love you took from me

Oh, I’m all alone now
No love to shield me
Trapped in a world
That’s a distorted reality

Happiness you took from me
And left me alone
With only memories

Through the mirror of my mind
Through these tears that I’m crying
Reflects a hurt I can’t control
‘Cause although you’re gone
I keep holding on
To the happy times
Oh, when you were mine

As I peer through the window
Of lost time
Looking over my yesterdays
And all the love I gave all in vain
(All the love) All the love
That I’ve wasted
(All the tears) All the tears
That I’ve tasted
All in vain

Through the hollow of my tears
I see a dream that’s lost
From the hurt
That you have caused

Everywhere I turn
Seems like everything I see
Reflects the love that used to be

In you I put
All my faith and trust
Right before my eyes
My world has turned to dust

After all the nights
I sat alone and wept
Just a handful of promises
Are all that’s left of loving you

Reflections of
The way life used to be
Reflections of
The love you took from me

In you I put
All my faith and trust
Right before my eyes
My world has turned to dust

Written for Eugi’s Weekly Prompt – Reflections.

How Do Butterflies Do It

Having butterflies in your stomach could mean that you’re falling in love, or that you’re attracted to someone.  One of the easiest ways for butterflies to find a mate is by being as colorful as possible and this technique comes natural for them.  Species that fly in the day can afford to rely heavily on colors, and their colored wings are a signal to other butterflies.  This color coordination allows insects to recognize their own species in a complicated habitat.  Colors also distinguish between males and females which is vital when you are looking for a partner.  There is clear evidence for color playing a role in sexual attraction among butterflies, as most males and females have distinctly different appearances.  Obviously, to mate successfully, individuals must be able to determine whether other butterfly belongs to their own or is of the opposite sex.  Once this part is worked out, the rest can be thought of as fine-tuning.

Male butterflies find females by sight, and use chemicals called pheromones at close range.  Both males and females give off scent to communicate with each other, releasing specific pheromones to attract the right type of mate.  During the first stages of finding a partner, males optimistically chase after almost any small, moving object.  This includes leaves, bees, and butterflies of any species of either sex.  When they get closer, they can start working out if they’ve found the right match, by judging colors, pheromones and behavior.  Some female hormones are so powerful that a male butterfly can sense them 10 miles away.

Butterflies mate through sexual reproduction, and mating begins when the male butterfly detects a female butterfly  releasing pheromones at close range.  Once a pair of potential lovers has found each other, the courtship can start.  In many species, the female requires the male to perform a playful dance which is sort of like a short courtship in flight, before she will allow him near enough for fertilization.  The male will delicately fly around her, whirring his wings in the hope that more pheromones waft in her direction.  If she is impressed enough to accept, she will change her posture, letting the abdomen protrude from between her wings.  If the female accepts the male, the male attaches to the female’s abdomen, injecting a sperm packet into her stomach that she stores until she decides to lay eggs.  The male will grasp the female’s abdomen with a pincerlike organ called a clasper, and then insert his aedeagus (analog of a penis) into the female’s copulatory opening reproductive tract to gradually pass his sperm (or spermatophore) to her.   They may remain coupled for an hour or more, and sometimes they will be coupled together overnight.

Males are frequently rejected by picky partners, so they must remain determined if their advances are refused.  Only the luckiest butterflies are successful on the first attempt.  In some species, females prefer to wait several days after mating before looking for another partner.  The odds may be stacked against butterflies, as successful courtship relies on finding the right balance between sight, sound, smell, luck and mood.  Many male butterflies will secrete long-lasting mating plugs to prevent their mates from copulating with other males, thus ensuring their sperm will fertilize all future eggs laid and this seals their mate’s genitalia, so it is sort of like deploying a chastity belt.  The female butterfly reproductive system has separate openings for both mating and birthing offspring, so this plug can remain in effectively prohibiting females from having other mates and still allow them to have offspring.

The female butterflies understand that they benefit from having multiple mating partners, because having more mates means that they will have an increased chance of receiving higher-quality sperm and this will boost the genetic diversity of their offspring.  Thus, females have developed various kinds of countermeasures to resist these mating plugs.  Some females will grow a hardened, smooth plate around their exposed genitalia, which would make it more challenging for the male to attach the plug.  In others, they tuck their genitalia inside of a large cave-like structure to make it more difficult for a male to insert this plug completely.  Females have evolved these adaptations of genitalia, which forces the males to have to allocate a lot of resources to plug them. or else they’re just going to have to give up.  The adult male butterfly dies six to eight weeks after all of the sperm has been depleted from their body.  Thankfully, for most males, little else beyond mating matters over their short lifetimes.

Written for Eugi’s Weekly Prompt – Playful.

Misty Swirling Sea

‘Lost Sailor’ is a Grateful Dead song that has lyrics written by John Barlow and the music was composed by Bob Weir and it was first recorded on Oct 27, 1979.  This recording came out on the 4CD compilation box set issued to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Grateful Dead 30 Trips Around The Sun: The Definitive Live Story 1965-1995 which was released on October 7, 2015.  ‘Lost Sailor’ and ‘Saint of Circumstance’ were written in Mill Valley in July 1979.  They both mention sails and navigation, and reference the Dog Star, and they were both released on the Grateful Dead’s eleventh studio album Go to Heaven.  ‘Lost Sailor’ was performed 145 times, with 112 of these occurring during the song’s first three years in rotation.  ‘Lost Sailor’ was performed only four times as a solo song before being paired with ‘Saint of Circumstance’.  That pairing was first performed on August 31, 1979, and lasted seven years until ‘Lost Sailor’ was dropped from the repertoire for good.  ‘Lost Sailor’s’ last performance was on March 24, 1986.  After that, the Dead continued to play ‘Saint of Circumstance’ as a separate song until the end of their run in 1995.

This song is a conversation between two sailors, where one of them is completely lost and the other is not helping matters much.  In this song one sailor seems unsure where he may be going, but he also seems willing to keep going.  Odysseus was a lost sailor on his journey and a line in this song says, “Ooh, lash the mast”, which makes me think about Odysseus having himself bound by his crew before his encounter with the sirens, so he would not succumb to their call.  The ocean beckons some of us, because of the freedom that you get from being out there, but there’s always price for being free.  ‘Lost Sailor’ is a song for those who are adventurers, those who are continually searching for that next great thing.  Some of us have been tethered to a world which we do not fit in and we yearn for new horizons.  These are the explorers, the ones who will wanderer the sea to escape.  But when you hear the call, you must be ready, “Till the chains of your dreams are broken.  No place in this world you can be.”

It must have been frightening for the early sailors, not knowing where they were going, or when, or if they would return and they might end up drifting and dreaming.  Around 3000 BC, early Polynesians sailed thousands of miles for exploration and trade.  These vast ocean voyages between Hawaii and Tahiti show that the early Polynesians were skillful sailors and explorers.  Using an open ocean navigation called “wayfinding”, which is based on sea and sky observations, they crossed the vast Pacific on their trans-ocean voyages.  Wayfinding navigation involved an intricate knowledge of the stars, such as memorizing a 32-point star compass by Micronesian navigators, knowing where stars rose and fell over the horizon, reading ocean swells, cloud formations and bird flight patterns.  Charts were made of sticks that recorded ocean swells and attached sea shells depicted islands, allowing a navigator to judge the distance he had sailed.  The Polynesians went to Taiwan and many Pacific Islands through the Philippines, Solomon Islands, New Guinea, Fiji, Tahiti, Hawaii, New Zealand and Easter Island.

Unlike the Northern Hemisphere, the Southern Hemisphere currently doesn’t have a bright pole star not even a moderately bright star to mark the south celestial pole.  This point in the sky is directly over the Earth’s South Pole, where the entire southern sky turns around it, like a great wheel.  However, Sirius the “Dog Star” is moving in the sky and some 60 thousand years from now, it will become our South Pole Star.  Sirius is in the Canis Major constellation which is close to Orion’s belt and it is also the single brightest star in the night sky and the fifth closest star system to Earth.  The Ancient Polynesians used this for navigation.  Later, around 675 BC, Phoenician sailors conquered the eastern Mediterranean and they used the pole star Polaris, which is also called the North Star, as a navigational aid because its position in the sky was so close to the northern end of the Earth’s axis that it appeared static throughout each night and became a reliable indication of due north.

Compass card is spinning
Helm is swingin’ to and fro
Ooh where’s the dog star
Ooh where’s the moon
You’re lost sailor
You’ve been too long at sea
Some days the gales are howling
Some days the sea is still as glass
Ooh reef the mainsail
Ooh lash the mast
You’re lost sailor
You’ve been too long at sea

Now the shore-lights beckon
Yeah there’s a price for being free

Yeah the sea birds cry
There’s a ghost wind blowin’
It’s calling you to that misty swirling sea
Till the chains of your dreams are broken
No place in this world you can be

You’re lost sailor
You’ve been way too long at sea
Now the shore-lights beckon
Yeah there’s a price for being free

Drifting yeah drifting
Yeah drifting and dreaming

‘Cause there’s a place you’ve never been

Maybe a place you’ve never seen
You can hear her calling on the wind
Go on and drift your life away
Yeah just drifting and dreaming
Maybe drift your life away
Drifting and dreaming
Yes I’m going on a dream
Maybe going on a dream
Maybe going on a dream
Maybe going on a dream

Written for Eugi’s Weekly Prompt – Swirling.

How Can You Think Love Will End

I have been looking for an excuse to write about ‘Never My Love’ by the Association, because I think this is one of the real jewels of the 60’s.  This song goes back to 1967 and it was recorded on their Inside Out album and the single charted #2.  It sold a million copies in America and was held out of the top spot by The Box Tops’ song ‘The Letter’.  This was written by the songwriting team of Don and Dick Addrisi.  The Addrisi Brothers had several hits which they recorded including ‘We’ve Got To Get It On Again’ that peaked at #10 in 1972 along with ‘Slow Dancin’ Don’t Turn Me On’ which reached #34 in 1977.  This beautiful romantic song is perfect for any wedding, as it deals with unrelenting devotion.  An interesting fact about this song comes from Broadcast Music, Inc. better known as BMI, which keeps track of this type of data, is that ‘Never My Love’ was the second-most played song on American radio and television in the 20th century, trailing only ‘You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’’ by the Righteous Brothers.

This is such a timeless classic and there cannot be a more perfect love, than one where you find that special someone who you will never grow tired of being with.  You will never lose desire for them, because your whole life depends on being there for them.  You’ll never change your mind, never stop loving them and want to spend your whole life with this significant other, making this a love that will never end.

The Association were an American sunshine pop band from California and their original members included Jules Alexander, Russ Giguere, Brian Cole, Terry Kirkman, Larry Ramos, Ted Bluechel and Jim Yester.  They are one of the most successful bands to come out of the 60’s, having sold millions of records, tapes, CDs and DVDs as well as earning a number of other achievements and they made history at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967, for being the first band ever to open a rock festival.

The Association received RIAA certifications for 6 gold and 3 platinum records and they had big hits with ‘Cherish’ and ‘Windy’.  Among the many albums released by the Association, Goodbye, Columbus stands out as a definite oddity.  Many listeners aren’t even certain as to whether they should classify it as an Association album or a movie soundtrack.  The group was credited as the performers on four of the cuts, but the rest of it consisted of excerpts from Charles Fox’s score on which the Association were not present at all.  However, the single reached #80 in the pop charts and the album did actually make #99 in the charts, but it probably ranks as the rarest of their full-length releases.

You ask me if there’ll come a time
When I grow tired of you
Never, my love
Never, my love

You wonder if this heart of mine
Will lose its desire for you
Never, my love
Never, my love

What makes you think love will end?
When you know that my whole life depends
On you (on you)

Ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba (ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba)

Never, my love
Never, my love

You say you fear I’ll change my mind
I won’t require you
Never, my love
Never, my love

How can you think love will end
When I’ve asked you to spend your whole life
With me? (with me, with me)

Never, my love (never, my love)
Never, my love
Never, my love (never, my love)
Never, my love
Never, my love

Written for Eugi’s Weekly Prompt – Jewels.

Magic In the Air

The Three Degrees is an American female vocal group, which was originally formed in 1963 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with the line up comprised by Fayette Pinkney, Shirley Porter, and Linda Turner.  The line-up from 1967 to 1976 of Fayette Pinkney, Valerie Holiday and Sheila Ferguson, would go on to sing lead on most of the group’s best-known songs including their most famous song ‘When Will I See You Again’, that was written by Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff, which catapulted the group into the mainstream and certified them as the 1st all-female group since the Supremes to top the UK Charts for two weeks.  Although 15 women have been members over the years, the group has always been a trio.  The current line-up consists of Valerie Holiday, Helen Scott and Freddie Pool.  Sheila Ferguson, Valerie Holiday and Helen Scott recorded the song ‘Magic In the Air’ which was written by Italian electro-dance composer Giorgio Moroder and Pete Belotte and it was released in 1978 on their New Dimensions album.

They made their silver screen debut in the 1971 Academy Award Winning film, The French Connection and in 1973 they were featured in an episode of Sanford and Son as well as on Soul Train, for which they provided the show’s theme song.  The Three Degrees met Prince Charles in 1978, and they were invited to perform at Buckingham Palace for his 30th birthday party, because were known as his favorite group and the press nicknamed them ‘Charlie’s Angels’!   Later, they met Princess Diana, and they were invited to the wedding reception for her marriage to Charles.  The Three Degrees are listed in the 2006 Guinness World Records book as the longest running female vocal group in history.

Don’t you think it’s time you came out from behind
that mask you wear that hides your heartache
If you follow me, I promise you will see
The pain will disappear before the daybreak

Feel it everywhere there’s magic in the air
and the night’s full of love from the fire we started
Listenin’ to the sound of music all around
there’s magic in the air.. Magic, Magic
Magic in the air. Magic, Magic

Now, don’t regret mistakes like every lover makes
while searching for his happy ever after
Every time you cry, you hide out of sight
a place that one can feel with love and laughter

Feel it everywhere there’s magic in the air
and the night’s full of love from the fire we started
Listenin’ to the sound of music all around
there’s magic in the air.. Magic, Magic
Magic in the air. Magic, Magic

[interlude]

Feel it everywhere there’s magic in the air
and the night’s full of love from the fire we started
Listenin’ to the sound of music all around
there’s magic in the air. Magic, Magic
Magic in the air. Magic, Magic

Now, it was no surprise I feel into your arms
It’s simple and sweet and sets me burnin’
When you spoke my name, my heart went aflame
I knew a special love was just beginning

Feel it everywhere there’s magic in the air
and the night’s full of love from the fire we started
Listenin’ to the sound of music all around
there’s magic in the air.. Magic, Magic
Magic in the air.. Magic, Magic
I feel it everywhere. Magic, Magic
‘cause there’s magic in the air. Magic, Magic

[guitar solo]

Feel it everywhere there’s magic in the air
and the night’s full of love from the fire we started
Listenin’ to the sound of music all around
there’s magic in the air. Magic, Magic
Feel it everywhere there’s magic in the air
and the night’s full of love from the fire we started
Listenin’ to the sound of music all around
there’s magic in the air. Magic, Magic
Magic in the air. Magic, Magic
I feel it everywhere. Magic, Magic
‘cause there’s magic in the air. Magic, Magic

In the air…in the air…in the air
In the air…in the air…in the air (fade)

Written for Eugi’s Weekly Prompt – Magic– July 27, 2020.

More Than I Need

I had enough toilet paper to last me till Thanksgiving and I was not worried when all the shelves were empty at the store, but yesterday when I went out, I saw that they had toilet paper available on the shelves again, and I bought more.  It is taking up the whole bottom space in my pantry and I can barely close the door and I figure that now I will be good through Easter and my pantry could be called the cupboard of abundance.  I certainly don’t want to run out of toilet paper and it looks like we have a long way to go with this Covid-19 pandemic, as it doesn’t seem to be going quietly away.  I wonder if I was stocking up, or have I become a hoarder.

It seems simple enough, wash your hands, avoid touching your face and when you are out in public, wear a mask and practice social distancing.  Trump came up with a deeply flawed argument, dismissing the severity of the pandemic, downplaying the effect of the disease even as infections continue to spread across the US.  He falsely claimed that 99% of the virus cases are totally harmless and I heard on the news that 4% of the people who get Covid-19 in the US, end up dead.  Almost 130,000 people have already died here from this so-called “harmless” virus and at about 2.9 million people have tested positive for the infection, so a simple observation along with some easy math says that it is closer to 4.5% of the people that contract this virus will end up dead.  These statistics don’t even account for the thousands of people who have spent weeks in the hospital or weeks at home with mild to moderate symptoms that caused debilitating health problems.

In Florida where many people are aging, test results showed that by July 3, that there has been a total of 190,052 positive COVID-19 cases with 3,702 of these resulting in death from the virus.  Since July 3rd, 18 more Florida residents have died from this pandemic.  It is not just the older populations and those with underlying health conditions that are at risk, as Covid-19 is having a severe impact on young people now.  In Florida, the median age of positive Covid-19 cases in March was 65 years old, but within the last week, it has dropped to 35 years old.  Florida has reopened and maybe this was done by Governor Ron DeSantis to oblige the Republican president, but if that is the case, this was done in bad taste.

A significant portion of Covid-19 patients are asymptomatic, so that means that there are a lot of people who are walking around with the virus, but since they are unaware of having it, but they are passing this infection on to others, so the transmission is still spreading.  The Novel Covid-19 is a silent killer and you may not know that you are infected, until it is too late.  The world is different now, especially in the stillness that was created by social distancing, quarantine, and isolation.  Many people feel loneliness and this is apparent in those who wear their heart on their sleeve, but everyone copes differently and you can’t tell a book by its cover.  It is not like we can put on a pair of ruby slippers and tap our heels together like Dorothy did in The Wizard of Oz and have everything go back to normal again, as the genie is not getting back in the bottle.

Written for Sheryl’s Daily Word Prompts – Oblige, for the Daily Spur prompt – Loneliness, for Eugi’s Weekly Prompt – Observation, for Reena’s Exploration Challenge #Week 142 prompt – The genie is not getting back in the bottle, for FOWC with Fandango – Taste, for Midwest Fantasy Devereaux Frazier and Beth Amanda Tuesday Writing Prompt Challenge – to write a poem or piece of prose around the words “in the stillness”, for Jibber Jabber by Sue – Quietly, for July Monthly Writing Prompts – The cupboard of abundance, for Ragtag Community – Ruby, for Di’s Three Things Challenge prompt words – Available Book Sleeve, for Linda G. Hill Life in progress What Day is it Anyway? July 7th, 2020 and for Word of the Day Challenge Prompt – Aging.

Back to School

Not the Rodney Dangerfield movie, this post concerns what it will be like for students going back after the Covid-19 outbreak.  Since the coronavirus is transmitted through direct contact with respiratory droplets of an infected person (generated through coughing and sneezing) and individuals can also be infected from touching surfaces contaminated with the virus and then touching their face (e.g., eyes, nose, mouth), precautions must be taken to protect everyone.  9 out of 10 children are out of school worldwide and a school shutdown on this scale has never been seen before.  Distance learning is only an option for those students that have computers and Internet access.  Normally schoolchildren commonly experience learning setbacks every year over their summer vacation which tends to wipe out one or two months of their academic growth, but this virus is unprecedented and it is likely to have major and long-lasting implications on the K-12 education system.

When schools eventually reopen it will be in a different place with respect to where and how kids will learn.  All of the schools were shutdown without a plan being in place for students to keep up with their coursework at home, so will they all have to repeat a grade?  This will probably only happen to the low-income, low-performing elementary students whose parents are not involved with their studies, but every student will be missing something.  Not every teacher has the knowledge, ability and qualifications to effectively teach online courses and some of the veterans that are more set in their ways may feel ambivalent about this type of setting.

A number of public health officials have indicated that they expect schools will likely be able to reopen this fall.  Schools connect students with peers and mentors, channel youthful energy into productive pursuits, teach essential academic skills and knowledge, and give overwhelmed parents room to breathe and work.  I am sure that somebody has already developed an App so that teachers can take roll call for students in a virtual classroom setting, but they may need many more tools to get their job done properly.  The importance of temperature checks cannot be understated and PPE requirements must be put in place, but I imagine that scenarios will need to be developed for every time a child is coughing in class.

The school nurse will need to be wired for more children being sent to them.  The school cafeteria may be a thing of the past as students might be eating their lunches inside of the classrooms.  I guess that more teachers will be required, especially is class size is going to be reduced, so that students can maintain proper distancing.  We are in uncharted waters, so some type of maneuver will have to be put in place to protect the students that go to school by bus.  We still don’t know enough about this pandemic to predict what will happen when the schools reopen and who will be at fault if a student get ill while in school.  We will all cherish the days before this virus changed everything and the frequent handwashing and sanitation procedures that will require us to wipe down all of the glass, metal, plastic and wood surfaces on a daily basis.

Written for Sheryl’s Daily Word Prompt – Maneuver, for the Daily Spur prompt – Fault, for Eugi’s Weekly Prompt – Cherish, for FOWC with Fandango – Ambivalent, for May Writing Prompts – Wired for more, for Ragtag Community – Call, for Di’s Three Things Challenge prompt words – Tools Wood Job and for Word of the Day Challenge Prompt – Understated.

Walking Down the Red Carpet

Ringlets and roses are a few of my favorite things, but since not all curls are made alike, one has to be trenchant by wrapping their hair in opposite directions, which will give them that much sought after withershins look.  This is the latest craze and it created a brouhaha on the red carpet this year with many starlets adopting this vogue statement.  It takes practice to get this right and no novice can do it, but the importance of being in style is the only way to reach the ceiling, especially in an industry that is known to cause so much grief.  Sure, you also need the right shoes that match your outfit, as that is the only way to achieve harmony, so you can remain composed.

Having the right jewelry will become the feather in your cap, as the competition never ends and it is better to have this done yesterday than having to scurry out like the engine that could, at the last minute to find something.  Everyone who is nominated should put some thought into what they will say at their acceptance speech.  Always remember that the term red carpet is not a thingamajig, as this dates back to Ancient Greece, where it was immortalized in the play Agamemnon, that was written by Aeschylus the Father of Greek Tragedy, when Clytemnestra, Agamemnon’s wife, speaks of a floor of crimson broideries to spread for the King’s path.  Clytemnestra is not a happy camper when her husband finally arrives home from the Trojan War, bringing his concubine Cassandra with him.  She rolls out the crimson carpet to convince King Agamemnon to walk into his death, feeling that he was evil and deserved to die.  She used heavy robes to trap him in his bath which held him like the tentacle of an octopus and then she hacked him up with an axe.  She also kills Cassandra and then she sits down to enjoy some tea.

Written for Sheryl’s Daily Word Prompt – Trenchant, for the Daily Spur prompt – Composed, for Eugi’s Weekly Prompt – Harmony, for FOWC with Fandango – Practice, for May Writing Prompts – Ringlets and roses, for Ragtag Community – Thingamajig, for Di’s Three Things Challenge prompt words – Speech Importance Thought, for Word of the Day Challenge Prompt – Novice and for Mindlovemisery’s Menagerie Wordle 189, hosted by Yves where the prompts are – Withershins Brouhaha Competition Yesterday Ceiling Shoes Feather Scurry Tentacle Grief Tea Engine.