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16,
a Bombshell... and My Friend
Sixteen,
a bombshell… and my friend
Brown flowing silk for hair
Chocolate eyes and a natural tan
A candy cane smile, pure as snow and love
Somewhere along the way
I guess I fell in love
You
said you’re gonna miss me
And I just laughed
But then you just disappeared
And left me only with
The re-runs of the past
Looking
back at the times
We once had
Sixteen, a bombshell, and my friend
Laughing, having fun
Just you and me
Take me back to the time when we were friends
You
wanted to ditch
But I felt bad
Small town values, colliding with big city demands
Got so high off the bliss you’d inject into me
We both thought we were the beginning
Of a good thing
You
said you’re gonna miss me
I wanted to cry
And then you just disappeared
Left me waiting there
All alone and in the rain
Looking
back at the times
We once had
Sixteen, a bombshell, and my friend
Laughing, having fun
Just you and me
Take me back to the time when we were friends
You
said you’re gonna miss me
That night I cried
Thought about what we had
Why did it have to end
Who took the you out of I
Looking
back at the times
We once had
Sixteen, a bombshell, and my friend
Laughing, having fun
Just you and me
Take me back to the time when we were friends
Story
about 16, a Bombshell... and My Friend
Sixteen,
a bombshell, and my friend.
What more is there to say?
It was a time when everything seemed a little
simpler, life just a bit more calm.
An era in which everything you did surrounded
your friends, without the need for special occasions.
Lunches came in brown paper sacks, and crushes
filled crowded hallways.
The bone-chill of early morning runs, the
whipping heat of mid-day runs, the sheer exhaustion of
late-afternoon runs—a fate to be inflicted by
Admissions and Records. It was a phase in which innocence faded, yet innocence still
remained. They
were the days in which “Those were the days”
remember, the days of high school, when we were young.
I met her in 2nd period.
It was the first day of the last semester of my
last year of high school.
Off Tech/WP 1A was what they called it,
but official administrative-sponsored titles never
seemed to make much sense.
So we called it Keyboarding.
The first day of a class was always exciting for
me. It was
fun to see who would be in the class, what the teacher
would be like, and what kind of experience that class
would offer. I
already figured this class was going to be fun because
my brother and my best friend were in it, and since I
had the teacher the semester before, I knew she would be
pretty cool. But
after the seating chart took effect, only the lucky ones
prevailed.
I found myself sitting next to her.
I didn’t know who she was at the time, and
didn’t really pay her much attention.
I was more concerned with the fact that I was
across the room from where I wanted to be—with my best
friend and my brother.
But like most of the others around me, I accepted
my fate.
When she turned around to talk to
me, it was only to ask if I had a brother.
I told her I did and pointed to him.
When she asked if I had another, I told her I had
none. She
told me I looked just like a guy she knew the year
before. When
I asked her who it was, she told me his name.
I didn’t recognize the name, but the girl to my
left did. It
was her brother.
Twists of luck and fate brought us
all together. The
seeds of friendship were planted, and it wasn’t long
before the bonds grew.
Throughout the next 4 ½ months, many memories
were written—memories that remembered a moment, a
moment that defined a period. That moment was that class.
That period—high school.
The class ended, and just like
that, everything was gone.
Not one at a time, but all at once.
A new life was unfolding before me, and I
didn’t like it. Instead,
I felt old and abandoned.
I was considered an adult now.
School was over.
All that was left was a succession of classes to
be completed that would lead me to an eight-hour-a-day
career. The
fun of youth was gone; the party was over.
And then I would think back, back
to those times not so far back in time, but generations
away in reality, and I would realize how much I missed
them, and how much they meant.
And in the forefront of this memory, still fresh
from the experience, there stood Keyboarding.
And before I knew it, Keyboarding turned
from being that last great experience of high school, to
becoming an untouchable sort of phenomena.
And Jami, that girl I met in class that semester,
her being the main reason that class had such an impact
on my life, became this sort of person that I felt a lot
of feelings for. 16,
a Bombshell… and My Friend is about that girl
I met in class that semester, about the times we shared,
and about the four-year journey of high school that
experience represented.
When I sat down to write this song,
I already had the words for just up to the first chorus
complete. This
was because over the previous few weeks, as I sang the
tune in my head, I would end up stumbling upon lyrics.
I didn’t intend for these lyrics to be
permanent, and when I decided to seriously begin writing
this song as the rest of my class took a quiz on that
early Wednesday morning, December 2, 1998, I wondered if
I should instead write about the Summer of ’89.
Both subjects meant a lot to me, but I always
wanted to write a song about the Summer of ’89, and at
that time, had not done so yet.
However, I finally realized I really wanted to
write a song about Jami, Keyboarding, and high
school, so that’s what I did… while the rest of my
class took a quiz.
I’m not sure what the true end
date for this song is.
That day in class when I finally started writing
this song down on paper, I basically only ended up
writing down what was already in my head.
Then, as the next few weeks went by, I revisited
my previous habits of singing the song, thinking of
lyrics, and storing them in thought.
On December 31st, about 20 minutes
before midnight, I realized I had not finalized this
song yet. I
wanted to do that before the year ended, so I pulled the
paper out and wrote down everything I had in my head so
far. I
basically had the entire song written at that point, and
only revised a couple words since then, so I guess that
can serve as the song’s end date.
I got to pick one of the 15 songs
to sing on this album.
It was the first song I would ever record
singing, and it would appear on our very first album, so
I wanted it to be a song that really meant something to
me, and a song that would represent a big part of my
life years down the road looking back on everything.
Also, I wanted a song that would represent where
this band has come from… seven years in the making.
I thought long and hard about which song to pick,
and wrote down a list of the songs that meant the most
to me. Days
of thought narrowed the list down further and further,
till I finally chose the song I felt represented a big
part of what was really important to me—16, a
Bombshell… and My Friend.
If I could have it all back again,
I would. The
entire experience.
But of course, that’s not possible.
Over the years, I have learned that every moment
in life is special, and looking back on anything from
down the road will end up meaning more to you than it
ever did when you were there.
So while I miss the past, I realize it’s
important not to ignore the present, and to look forward
to the future. One
day, I will look back on this very moment, 2:01AM, early
Wednesday, October 17, 2001, as I sit here typing my
last song description, and I will miss the days we spent
preparing this album… over a year now.
Days when we worked hard on adding backgrounds,
changing guitar riffs, and moving octaves.
The daily practice sessions we swore would lead
us to perfection, and the tense moments I erupted,
swearing all my frustrations to hell.
The lunch breaks that always served as our excuse
to slack off, and later, as an example of what can’t
happen again. The
months of work that led to here, all behind us—I
can’t believe we’re almost there.
I hated being there, yet thinking back, I can’t
remember why. And
now here I am, longing to finish this final touch, so we
can finally release our album, and I can finally get
some sleep… which some people call “shut
eye”—don’t ask why.
Yet still I sit here typing away on this tangent.
But I remember this.
That life is full of hidden treasures and sneaky
scene changes, and missed opportunity is full of regret.
And missing what you have is a much greater loss
than ever missing what you had, what you did.
But still my bed, it calls, I’m so tired.
I wish I were finished—I’ve had enough of
this. And
besides, I’ll enjoy right now much more from down the
road, so here’s my excuse: “Rush tomorrow with
sleep!” A
good excuse, but it’s no use, I can’t shake off that
guilt I feel… if I don’t stop to appreciate this.
And ironically, the day I look back and do truly
appreciate, I’ll wish I were here again, writing
this—though I can’t imagine why.
But it’s late, I’m tired, and I’ve had it.
So let’s not worry about tomorrow tonight, but
rather tonight tomorrow. And with that I’m finally finished; I’m so happy.
Sweet dreams and GOODNIGHT!!!!
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