Jim’s theme for Song Lyric Sunday this week put me in a bit of a quandary. He is seeking a song that contains my name.

Here’s the thing(s): Firstly, I don’t use my actual name on this blog and never have. In previous prompts it has been elicited that my initials are BC, but that’s as far as I’m going. The second thing is that there really are no songs including my name (ether of them, come to that). It’s not a wildly unusual handle, but it clearly holds no attraction for songwriters.

So what to do? Well, I’ve decided to use my blogging name, i.e. ‘deadhead’. Again, it’s not a word that features in song lyrics on a regular basis. However, I do recall hearing a reference to it some years back in a song that cropped up on the radio for a while. I had absolutely no idea of either the title or artiste who deployed it.

However, a quick search of that interweb thingy was soon able to tell me that it’s a line from ‘The Boys Of Summer’ by Don Henley. So there you go…

Nobody on the road
Nobody on the beach
I feel it in the air
The summer’s out of reach
Empty lake, empty streets
The sun goes down alone
I’m driving by your house
Though I know you’re not home

But I can see you-
Your brown skin shinin’ in the sun
You got your hair combed back and your sunglasses on, baby
And I can tell you my love for you will still be strong
After the boys of summer have gone

I never will forget those nights
I wonder if it was a dream
Remember how you made me crazy?
Remember how I made you scream
Now I don’t understand what happened to our love
But babe, I’m gonna get you back
I’m gonna show you what I’m made of

I can see you-
Your brown skin shinin’ in the sun
I see you walking real slow and you’re smilin’ at everyone
I can tell you my love for you will still be strong
After the boys of summer have gone

Out on the road today, I saw a DEADHEAD sticker on a Cadillac
A little voice inside my head said, “Don’t look back. You can never look back”
I thought I knew what love was
What did I know?
Those days are gone forever
I should just let them go but-

I can see you-
Your brown skin shinin’ in the sun
You got that top pulled down and that radio on, baby
And I can tell you my love for you will still be strong
After the boys of summer have gone

I can see you-
Your brown skin shinin’ in the sun
You got that hair slicked back and those Wayfarers on, baby
I can tell you my love for you will still be strong
After the boys of summer have gone

Written by Don Henley

As regards the accompanying Youtube video, I chose not to go with the official one, mainly because it has onscreen lyrics, which is something that sets my teeth on edge. However, this is a very pretty cover by a group called First Aid Kit, who I confess are new to me. In fact, I find it more listenable than the original.

(That there interweb tells me that First Aid Kit is fronted by two Swedish sisters who could be described as a ‘folk duo’. Lovely harmonies, though.)

Song Lyric Sunday 2 March 2025