I was chatting with our administrative assistant today at work, and she was telling me that she had just bought the Amazon Echo, and was enjoying listening to music on it.
She told me some of the songs that she had played, and then she mentioned a Springsteen song that I had never heard of – “Girls in Their Summer Clothes”, saying it was probably her favorite Bruce song.
So natually I couldn’t wait to get home and check it out, and here is what I found (courtesy of Wikipedia of course).
“Girls in Their Summer Clothes“ from Springsteen’s album Magic. Matched with a pop-oriented melody, Springsteen’s full-throated singing, and a pop-orchestral arrangement, the lyric portrays a series of warm small-town vignettes:
- “Girls in Their Summer Clothes” has been cited as a singularly “breezy” song on the album, though A. O. Scott of The New York Times notes: “Not that ‘Girls in Their Summer Clothes’ is untouched by melancholy. Its narrator, after all, stands and watches as the girls of the title ‘pass me by.'” Jay Lustig of The Star-Ledger writes that the song “unfolds gradually and at its own eccentric pace, with the music, and Springsteen’s vocals, getting progressively more intense.”
- The song garnered two nominations for the Grammy Awards of 2009, Best Rock Song and Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance, and ended up winning for Best Rock Song. (Again, how did I miss all of this???)
- The music video (shown below) for the song was directed by Mark Pellington. Filmed on the Jersey Shore on a cold winter day, it showed girls and women of various ages, interspersed with shots of Springsteen strumming his vintage Gibson J-45 acoustic guitar. The backing E Street Band was not shown. Parts of the video mirrored the song’s imagery, especially the diner scene.
- So here are some videos related to this song. The first is the music video mentioned above, followed by a video that offers an interesting behind the scenes look at filming part of this video. It’s kind of boring, but I guess that’s what makes it interesting, finding out how much work is involved for just a few seconds of video (like the jukebox in the sand).
- The third and final video is a live performance of the video, because like with most things Springsteen related, you’ve got to see him live to really appreciate him and his music.
- I’ve also included the lyrics at after the third video.
- Watching the video makes me want to got to the shore!
- Enjoy…
Lyrics
Well the street lights shine
Down on Blessing Avenue
Lovers they walk by
Holdin’ hands two by two
A breeze crosses the porch
Bicycle spokes spin ’round
Jacket’s on, I’m out the door
Tonight I’m gonna burn this town down
And the girls in their summer clothes
In the cool of the evening light
The girls in their summer clothes
Pass me by
Kid’s rubber ball smacks
Off the gutter ‘neath the lamp light
Big bank clock chimes
Off go the sleepy front porch lights
Downtown the store’s alive
As the evening’s underway
Things been a little tight
But I know they’re gonna turn my way
And the girls in their summer clothes
In the cool of the evening light
The girls in their summer clothes
Pass me by
Frankie’s Diner’s
Over on the edge of town
Neon sign spinnin’ round
Like a cross over the lost and found
Fluorescent lights
Flicker above Bob’s Grill
Shaniqua brings a coffee and asks “fill?”
And says “penny for your thoughts now my poor Bill”
She went away
She cut me like a knife
Had a beautiful thing
Maybe you just saved my life
In just a glance
Down here on Magic Street
Love’s a fool’s dance
I ain’t got much sense but I still got my feet
And the girls in their summer clothes
In the cool of the evening light
The girls in their summer clothes
Pass me by
And the girls in their summer clothes
In the cool of the evening light
The girls in their summer clothes
Pass me by
Borden's Blather 