FAWM: "In 1965"

In 1965

1 week ago by @jeff9

Liner Notes

#acousticonetake (well, at least it's all done in one sitting. Took several takes not to flub it totally) #americana
Actually written in November for @unknownbecky's weekly song circle to a prompt for writing one set in a different decade. I'd recorded a sort of slicked up, full production version but never got around to recording it as a live acoustic take which I wanted to do for this month's "1+1" song contest on the Muse Songwriters forum. Finally got around to capturing an acceptable take and thought I'd share it even though that's not exactly within the FAWM tradition or guidelines. Maybe I'll do a couple of skirmishes to try and make up for cheating 😇.

Lyrics

In 1965

V1
In ‘65 I turned twelve years old
For Christmas my brother gave me Rubber Soul
Played it on our old console stereo
Over and over…
Til the grooves wore out

V2
In My Life was my favorite song
But it didn’t mean as much then as it would later on
When many lovers & friends had come and gone
And I learned…
What that song was all about

CH
Oh life was sweeter then
No truer words ever spoken
Take me back there again
With a heart still unbroken
Thought we’d be young forever
And and love would stay alive
In 1965

V3
On summer nights we’d try to catch fireflies
And some of the girls had a certain look in their eyes
Took me a minute til one day I realized
We were all chasing…
Our own little dreams

V4
My brother got sent off to Vietnam
Four years later he came home a different man
By that time he just didn’t give a damn
About much…
Or that’s how it seemed

CH
Oh life was sweeter then
No truer words ever spoken
Take me back there again
With a heart not yet broken
Thought we’d be young forever
And love would stay alive
In 1965

BR
Nostalgia is another word
For memories without the painful parts
So looking back is bittersweet
No matter what we try to keep
In our hearts

CH
Oh life was sweeter then
No truer words ever spoken
Take me back there again
With a heart still unbroken
Thought we’d be young forever
And love would stay alive
In 1965

Thought we could live forever
And love could always survive
In 1965

Comments

@mattmeade 2d

I love the hook of this song - each verse, moving through time, so perfectly sets up the chorus. Such a nice arc -- made poignant by the anchor that the chorus provides. Guitar playing is so nuanced and sounds so rich - but still leaves room for the emotive vocals to connect. Great song!

@jeff9 4d

Jeff--thanks much for the connect and kind words on In 1965. I'm just getting around to checking out your always fabulous material and I already see that I've got my work cut out for me because I definitely wanna hear 'em all.

@tjeff 5d

Great memories - sure brought back some for me. Killer guitar playing and singin' - and well-produced track too overall. I was 5 in '65 - I remember my mom buying me the single of "I Want to Hold Your Hand" (with "I Saw Her Standing There" on the B side). My dad hated it and got mad at mom for buying it! Super chorus, I love that tag line of "In 1965" - so nice! Great song, I enjoyed listening.

@jerrypettit 5d

And apparently, I'm ONE year older than you--so yeah, these memories speak to me. And nobody had more influence on me as a musician than The Beatles, of course--which, probably, most of our generation would have to acknowledge.

Great song! ❤️

@gm7 5d

I remember that Beatle album..one of my favs. Thx's for the memory Jeff. We are of the same vintage and I reflect on the past more than ever these days. Wonderful job...as usual.

@raspberry33 1w

I didn't have an older brother to give me Rubber Soul (though I did give my brother Led Zeppelin's In thru the Out Door when he was 10 or 11). Definitely resonates! Love your vocals and guitar work.

@billwhite51 1w

if that opening line is autobiographical, then im two years older than you. This is an excellent song. Receiving Rubber Soul on the Christmas of 1965 is a perfect reference point for the era, and the song In My Life a good choice of a song to bridge the present and past for the nostalgic theme. You are hitting some resonant low notes here that I havent heard you sing before, and they are the vocal highlight for me, and the vietnam verse is my favorite in a song filled with lyrical gems.

@unknownbecky 1w

I love this live acoustic version! This is all the song needs, in my view. It's so great.

@conuladh 1w

I'm on my 3rd listen to this excellent song. A beautiful reflection on 'the good days', and the memories we carry. I enjoyed your delivery and the clever observations in the lyrics.

@ohljazz 1w

Beautiful words, structure and performance - and I love that self-aware line about nostalgia in the bridge

@sbs 1w

Always enjoy a song with a date in the title. I think you've just written my life story. So many great things in my life that year. Going steady, my first love letter. No brother in VietNam but a few years later I wrote to a few guys over there. No fireflies in SoCal, just bonfires on the beach. Ah... nicely done!

@mdavisto 1w

I can't decide if it's country or folk, but it's lovely. You see the #acousticonetake tag, you don't expect something this clean. What a delight your performance is.

Thank you, sir, I enjoyed that immensely, especially diddly flourishes - that guitar has such a lovely tone.