Long ago and far away, in a time and place that lives in the recesses of memory and the deepest longing of the heart, we once had freedom, dreams, hopes and ambitions and a restlessness for knowing what the future holds. Time passed and we found a bittersweet nostalgia for who and what we once were. All of that is embodied in the spirit of Summertime and Saturday night.
In my late twenties I came to realize that some of the dreams I had were no longer relevant to where I was in life or where I was going and I set out to capture that mood in song. This was one of those songs that really wrote itself in a few minutes. It was effortless and flowed without any thought, relying on pure spiritual connection to the human condition and knowing that at some point we all experience that longing for the past.
This is an old original that we pulled out of the hat on an acoustic gig at the Garden Grill in Smithtown, NY 6-23-17. Bill was back in town and was sitting in on our regular duo gig. Mikey has been preparing to record this and wanted to get a feel for doing it live so he asked me to sing it. I always liked the lyrics to this because they bring me back to a time and place that was really special. While this is a very personal song it’s also universal in a way.
I hope you enjoy this clip. The audio is live and the video is captured on an iPad on a shelf so don’t mind the woman who had her back in the way for about 10 seconds lol.
Well I’ve been thinking about the road to glory
I guess I need something to call my own
So I sing my songs and I tell my stories
While my woman sleeps alone
Bluesman talking about the life he’s living
He works all day he never sleeps at night
he needs something to believe in
He says now Hank you know it just aint right
So put some music on and lets drink some beer
’cause there aint nothing ever happening here
It’s a dull existence and there aint no end in sight
won’t you take me back again to Summertime and Saturday night
There’s a mad dog howling at the midnight shadows
and that old moon is a shining up in the sky
and like a cowboy sleeping in the saddle
this old bluesman he’s still riding high
So put some music on and lets drink some beer
’cause there aint nothing ever happening here
It’s a dull existence and there aint no end in sight
won’t you take me back again to Summertime and Saturday night