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“End Of Summer” Song Contest.

Well, it’s September 21st and summer is officially over. There are two great songs that capture the narrative nicely. The first is the more popular “Boys Of Summer”, released by Don Henley in 1984. Classic tune, about a guy who loses his girl to the boys of summer, but not that summer is over he’s going to try to win her back. Toward the end of the song, Henley sings:

I never will forget those nights
i wonder if it was a dream
remember how you drove me crazy?
remember how i made you scream?

now i don’t understand what happed to our love
now baby gonna get you back
gonna show you what i’m made of…

i can see you
your brown skin shining in the sun
you got your top pulled down,
radio on baby

and i can tell you
my love for you will still be strong
after the boys of summer have gone.

The video got tons of play on MTV.

The next song on my list is not nearly as well know, but it’s fantastic just the same. It’s Squeezes “Footprints” from their 1987 album Babylonandon. As is the usual from Squeeze, it’s a very clever and superbly crafted tune. The subject of the song is not a broken love affair, but simply the end of the party.

I spent too much money, I looked far too glad
Now I have so little of what I once had
I had too many parties, I had too much time
I got so lazy and fell well behind

Now the summer is over, I can count the cost
Footprints on the beaches are now footprints in the frost
The summer is over, I can count the cost
Footprints on the beaches are now footprints in the frost

We did so much damage deep in our insides
The party’s over it’s goin’ home time
The cathedral is empty, no one’s at home
Winter’s approachin’ paradise postponed…

This song really speaks to me as I spent many a summer during my 20’s on the beach while living in San Diego. I didn’t party as much as some of my friends (or my little brother) but I do remember more than a few nights hanging out at one beach house or another in Pacific or Mission Beach! Renting a beach house is not cheap, and the cost of all the beer consumed I can’t even imagine. And then, the summers would end, and “poof” no more endless all night socials. Back to school, or work, or just life.

Here is a video. The music quality is crappy. I’ll try and add a better version of the song to the post. That’s better. I put this together in a hurry, pulling pictures from my computer. It features Avila and Shell beach, the dogs – Odo and Judy, Sloan & Ashley, Wayne & Em, some snow, random people on the beach, the spaceship from 1999, and some festivities. That’s the Sonic-Mate on the beach… and posing by the gold Mercedes.

So, which song better captures the end of summer for you?