Under the Iron Bridge, We Kissed…
Per the theme for today’s Friday Flashback, which is “how (insert band name/artist here) changed my life,” I give you a slight departure — The Music of My Youth: Boys and Boyfriends Edition
After my mother died, I had to move in with my dad, stepmom and her kids. I’d had a major growth spurt that summer. I grew about 2 inches and lost all my baby fat. I was suddenly tall and thin instead of average and pudgy.
A new girl in a new city trying to make new friends, life was about to change quite a bit for this formerly chubby duckling.
You see, it wasn’t long after 9th grade started that I found myself going out with one of the most popular boys in my high school (well, among us lowly freshmen). He plucked me from obscurity and that was that. I was his girlfriend.
He said we had to have a song.
A song?
I didn’t have much experience in the boyfriend department and I had no idea we were supposed to have “a song”. I let him decide and he picked Open Arms by Journey (which was fine with me because I looooooved Journey) and I felt like Cindefuckingrella.
Well, it turns out our song should have been Victim of Love by The Cars because after about two months, when he figured out I wasn’t going to give up ye olde virginity to him anytime soon, he dumped me for someone that would. Ahhh…young love. Ain’t it grand?
A couple years later I was into this guy that I worked with at a local grocery store. We had a big gang o’ friends and we had parties every single weekend. It was a really fun time in my life.
Well, one weekend when my parents decided I was mature enough to be left at home while they took my stepsibs out of town over night, I decided to prove my parents wrong and have a party at my house. And HE was there.
He found me in my garage checking on the dogs while complete madness ensued in the house. We had a “moment” out there and as the party started to wind down and people left (passed out Jack Daniels drinking fools notwithstanding) we ended up in my bedroom. Door closed.
On cassette, Pink Floyd Dark Side of the Moon played over and over (through the miracle of auto-reverse) while we groped and dry-humped and generally did everything you could do and still have your clothes on — on my sister’s bed.
We peeled ourselves apart when the sun came up and after I was done being grounded for throwing that party, we were all BFGF TLA for the next year and a half. To this day, I can’t listen to that album or Pink Floyd Wish You Were Here without thinking about him.
After we broke up, I became pretty close friends with this guy that I’d had a mad crush on a few years earlier. He used to ride my bus and he was gorgeous, with the most amazing blue eyes, and totally mysterious in his strangeness and differentness. He wasn’t like other guys and when I finally got to know him, I really, really liked him.
We were just friends but there was always something else, this undercurrent, between us that we didn’t ever acknowledge.
Until one summer night when I was 17 and he was 18. I’d just graduated from high school.
His parents were out of town and we were hanging out at his house and decided, probably out of boredom, to drink some vodka. But one shot of Absolut turned to two. And three. Maybe more. Obviously, intoxication ensued…
In his kitchen we sat, having a really deep conversation about something while listening to The Smiths, a band that I loved then and still do. In our drunkenness, we started singing to “Still Ill”.
Under the iron bridge..we kissed. And though I ended up with sore lips…it just wasn’t like the old days anymore…
And then we kissed. And that kiss turned into making out.
As you may have guessed, we had sex to that album and even though we were both pretty lit, it was amazing; both tender and sweet and urgent and hot. Obviously, I’ve not yet forgotten that night.
I still can’t listen to The Smith’s Hatfull of Hollow without thinking of him. I moved later that year but we still kept in touch until he, very uncharacteristically, joined the Army.
He did write me a letter when I was in college. He was stationed in Germany. I always intended to write him back but I never did. I still have his letter and often wonder how he’s doing; how his life turned out.
There’s so much more I could share with you but you’ll forgive me, I hope, for not delving into the music and boyfriends of my college years. There’s just not enough time and honestly, I think I’d rather get on MySpace and start looking up old friends and boyfriends instead ;)
*Note to self: Remember to DELETE this post before the kids start reading your blog*
You are please to be wanting more Friday Flashbacks, yes?
Then check out these fine and foxy ladies:
Sweetney
Her Bad Mother
Oh The Joys
Whoorl
Mamalogues
Mrs. Flinger
Mom-101
Girls Gone Child
27 Responses
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Okay you tricked me. I was so excited that ohmigod we BOTH chose Open Arms…but no. Then you had to go and be like all the other cool kids who picked the Smiths.
Funny how many of us alternachicks grew up to blog.
And I love how those “our songs” manage to pick you, whether you picked them or not.
You mean I didn’t have to sleep with the first guy that asked?
[Kidding!]
Oh, The Joys’s last blog post..Since You’re Gone
Wish You Were Here!! Holy shit, how did I forget to put that one on the list?!
Off to find Still Ill on YouTube and reminisce…
I don’t know what I’m doing on this site but it keeps pulling me back in. Now that that you’ve mentioned Journey and Pink Floyd, I might have to come back again. s**t LOL
Chris Austria’s last blog post..How To Kill The Environment: Eat Meat
Damn…that was hot. I thought I was reading Penthouse Forum for a minute. “Have I told you lately that I love” (the ‘effin Rod Stewart version) was the track that my ex and I got it on to and it was as boring as the song. I still hate her for disliking the Van Morrison original in favor of that audio-shit-fest by Rod.
Am I wrong to admit that I found that touching? I think it is cool that you remember the songs so well. Although Pink Floyd reminds me more of pot than dry humping. What is Friday Flashback? Do you do this every week?
Neil’s last blog post..Happiness Project, Day 2: Developing a Facebook Application
Hatfull of Hollow was a HOT album, regardless of whether hot things happened while listening to it (in my case, too, they did ;))
OMG - this brought back so many memories. The only song I could think of was Cool and the Gang’s “Cherish” playing over and over again (recorded consecutively until an entire A side of a blank cassette tape was filled) while jr high/high school boyfriend and I had sex in my room after school while his friend waited outside in the car. How romantic!
done!! http://thebratthebeanandbedlam.wordpress.com/2008/03/01/blast-from-the -past-or-music-from-my-misspent-youth/
the mad momma’s last blog post..Blast from the past or music from my misspent youth
Ahhh…the good ole days. I unfortunately did not have a good introduction to boys. I was with an abusive boyfriend fromt eh time I was 15 until I was 19. Sucked big time and I still have issues…
Tracey’s last blog post..My Kids are Famous!
Ohgod, and I chose Tiffany! And wrote about notes in class? Christ. You and your losing your virginity to a cool song. Hell, I don’t even have sex to cool music NOW. :-)
Aw that brought back such great memories even for this old 61 year old grandma…I remembered. So sweet so fun..glad I did those things..Never regretted a time…
My best,
Dorothy from grammology
remember to call gram
Dorothy Stahlnecker’s last blog post..Memory Lane with old family photographs
Oh, man. I love this idea. I will think about playing along but some of my songs are SOOOOOO cheesy, it’s embarrassing.
BTW: I HEART JOURNEY
Loralee’s last blog post..Last call for “Linky Love” from my blog
I love your flashback and this idea! My flashbacks would be R rated though. I was a wild thing.
slackermommy’s last blog post..I failed my daughter
Whoa…those are some hot stories. I love all those songs/bands, too! We must be close in age.
Your friend with benefits story reminds me of a similar time I had once. We were just friends, too. But one day we just decided to up and ‘do it’. We laughed and giggled the whole time. Well, not the whole time!! Awesome memories! Thanks for sharing and also taking me back.
Candid’s last blog post..Candid Roots
i’ve never heard of those. then again, if it doesn’t scream, i dont bother with it.
Jenny’s last blog post..The Media Makes Mom’s Look Unrealistic
Wow - sounds like some 80’s Molly Ringwald movie that never got made.
Ah yes…The Smiths. Many a snog to those mournful melodies.
And you aren’t kidding about deleting posts before your kids get to them. My daughter just “found” my blog the other day. She’s 9. I had some ’splainin’ to do.
These are some interesting posts to read! But why are they all about boys, I wonder?
Myself, when it comes to boys and music long ago, I seem to recall thinking some of the songs from INXS’s Kick album were pretty sexy snogging soundtracks, not to mention love & Rockets - that voice of Daniel Ashe’s…
“Good times at Izzy High” - I hope some producer reads your blog and develops a movie from your post. So I have a clearer image, who would play the military man in the movie?
I haven’t been around for a while, but I’d love to catch up soon. I hope all is well.
oh my god, we’re all separated at birth and shit. i’m a little frightened…
Gosh. You are one brave girl. Of course my sons are so far past that TMI stage that their FRIENDS read my blog, so there are things I just don’t say.
I loved the connection though. I am really one of those “sound track of my life” people - I hear a song and see a movie: Ilene Evans basement that literally had a picture window that looked out over the steel mills of Clairton, Lois Kincaid’s back yard, the high school community room, Barbara Morton’s father’s convertible. So I just loved reading this.
Cat Stevens. That’s all I can say.
Must go to myspace, facebook and linkin and start finding him.
the mama bird diaries’s last blog post..can’t we all be nice?