i go back to places where i was happy. places of past loves and joy but once there in situ and without the people that made it whatever it is i thought it was at the time, the place seems a shell. an empty one.i was deeply in love with a gal named Alison. we met thru mutuals when she came to visit from New York. ended up on a couple of annual trips with them to the northeastern seaboard and NYC and seeing Alison was a big part of it for me. one of those trips included a group going to Martha's Vineyard for a weekend after the tourist season. had a wonderful time. nothing happened between us, ever.
but in my mind i held this infatuation for some time after and went up East by myself the following year. after an awkward visit with Alison and our friends i went to the Vineyard by myself. with nowhere to stay i slept on the beach. however nostalgic or romantic, it just wasn't the same.
Sea and Sand by Peter Townsend
Here by the sea and sand
Nothing ever goes as planned,
I just couldn't face going home
It was just a drag on my own.
They finally threw me out
My mother got drunk on stout,
My dad couldn't stand on two feet,
As he lectured about morality.
Now I guess the families complete,
With me hanging round on the street
Or here on the beach.
The girl I love
Is a perfect dresser,
Wears every fashion
Gets it to the tee.
Heavens above,
I got to match her
She knows just how
She wants her man to be
Leave it to me.
My jacket's gonna be cut slim and checked
Maybe a touch of seersucker with an open neck
I ride a G S scooter with my hair cut neat
I wear my wartime coat in the wind and sleet.
I see her dancing
Across the ballroom
U V light making starshine
Of her smile.
I am the face,
She has to know me,
I'm dressed up better than anyone
Within a mile.
So how come the other tickets look much better?
Without a penny to spend they dress to the letter.
How come the girls come on oh so cool
Yet when you meet 'em, every one's a fool.
Come sleep on the beach
Keep within my reach
I just want to die with you near
I'm feeling so high with you here.
I'm wet and I'm cold
But thank God I ain't old
Why didn't I say what I mean?
I should have split home at fifteen
There's a story that the grass is so green,
What did I see?
Where have I been?
Nothing is planned, by the sea and the sand
anyone that is familiar with the '73 album Quadrophenia by The Who knows the story. a kid, too wrapped up in his past, facing the challenges of maturity. as a child of the late '60's/early '70's, letting go of the past is pretty challenging. why couldn't we be young forever?
it seems that with the exception of the Mod/Rocker riots in Brighton, and the Mod movement, the story line was pretty close to mine. lyrically and musically it was spot-on. a mixed up kid moving on from everything that made his youth exciting- a coming of age story that fit me like a second skin. Then in 1979 the movie was released and there was my youth splashed up on the screen. more accurately- blend Quadrophenia with Cameron Crowe's Almost Famous and that pretty well sums it up.
Almost Famous? that's a whole 'nuther post to be covered later.
