Come Sail Away
By
While I was at the gym this morning (I threw that in there because I want you all to know I go to the gym) I was on the Treadmill listening to my handy dandy iPod and “Come Sail Away” by Styx popped up, I certainly enjoy the song and I let it play even though the beginning is a tad too slow for treadmill work. Memory bubbles (or I had an aneurysm) started bursting in my head as I thought back to this song and the music I was listening to in High School.
One album I enjoyed immensely when I was young was an album that was ruined for me with two simple sentences. I had borrowed Pink Floyd’s The Wall album from a friend of mine and since I had just borrowed it I was listening to it over and over since I knew I’d have to return it shortly (I didn’t yet have a tape recorder, remember those?). As I was listening I walked out into the kitchen where my Dad was in his familiar seat at the head of the kitchen table surrounded by books. My father read more books than anyone I know, he read so fast that he often finished 3 or 4 books in a day, no kidding! I walked into the kitchen and my father asked, “Who is that?” meaning the music I was listening to. I replied it was Pink Floyd and My Father replied “I like HIM.” HIM! I explained Pink Floyd was a group not a him, and he said “well I like the music.” I immediately went into my room removed The Wall from the turntable and didn’t listen again for a few years. Silly? Absolutely. But it is nothing that I don’t see my own children doing today. I love The Killers, so really none of my kids will listen to them because it is “un-cool” because Dad likes the same music. So let me apologize to you Dad for depriving you of Pink Floyd and The Wall based solely on the fact that you liked the same music I did, but back then somehow someone who liked and listened to Mitch Miller liking the same music as me, well it didn’t cut it. But I understand now.
This brings me back to the song that originally got me thinking about this. “Come Sail Away.” this song was in the running to be our Prom Song in 1982. I mean seriously in the running. It came down to “Come Sail Away” and “We’ve Got Tonight” by Bob Seger. For awhile there it seemed as if “Come Sail Away” was going to win the prize, I lobbied against it for obvious reasons. The song is about ALIENS! Why do I want to celebrate my prom to a song about Aliens?
I thought that they were angels, but to my surprise
They climbed aboard their starship and headed for the skies
Singing come sail away, come sail away
Come sail away with me
Come sail away, come sail away
Come sail away with me.
Nice quaint little song there Dennis DeYoung, a song that had prom goers in the 70s and early 80s celebrating their graduation from High School dancing to a song about Aliens, reminds me of Heaven‘s Gate. Sneaky Dennis Sneaky!
“We’ve Got Tonight” won, thank goodness, and we all slow danced and coped a feel to the smooth sounds of Bob Seger begging a girl to stay with him for the night. Seems desperate, but weren’t we all back then?
I think tomorrow at the gym, I’ll listen to that guy Pink Floyd and his record album The Wall.
