Story Behind The Song

Birthday gift to my sister, 1999

Song Description

Remembering one's introduction to rock and roll, teen years

Lyrics

My first record
Was Beethoven's Fifth
My second record
Was Miles and Philly Joe
Everything was new
So I sat down on the floor
Put them under Mickey's arm
Played them over and over

Then one evening
With all the windows open
I thought I could hear
The voices of angels
They were singing
In a room just down the hall
And all of a sudden
I felt nearly five feet tall

Radios, cars, and beaches
And gorgeous harmonies
Ponytails and lipstick
Guitars and pounding drums
These are the simple things
That we were living for
These things I heard
Through my sister's door

A few years later
My voice began to change
The lion was sleeping
Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
Judy and Johnny
Could never work it out
What with surfing and racing and dreaming and
Learning how to twist and shout

And then it all happened
In 1964
The man on the radio said
You won't believe this
And in that moment
The sky began to glow
That song grabbed me by the hand
And I won't ever let it go

Radios, cars, and beaches, etc.

A thin man from the Village
Got us thinking about Mr. Jones
We knew he wasn't talking about us
A sweet aroma
Began to fill the air
Our folks weren't the only ones freaking out
When we all jumped on the Magic Bus

First term in college
I heard an awful rumor
Four friends who'd changed the world
Had decided to let it be
And in that summer
With guns ringing in our ears
We all realized
How precious were those few short years

Radios, cars, and beaches, etc.

Copyright 1999 Harold Howland Music (BMI)
All rights reserved