Livin In The 80s -------------------------------------------
I remember back to the days
When Billy Ocean found his Carribean Queen
And Bruce Springsteen left me happy
To be Born In The USA
John Cougar Mellencamp would tell Jack And Diane
To not let the pain Hurt So Good
Michael Jackson
Would tell all his enemys to Beat It
But they would always Wanna Be Starting Something
Nena would release 99 Red Balloons
As Falco would call Der Kommisar
And Culture Club would remind us that War Is Stupid
But What I remember most about those times
Is the song that influenced me more then ever
John Lennons perfect voice
Singing loud and clear
Just Like Starting Over
My God do I miss those days
The 45 of that song hangs on my wall today
Always there to remind me
That in the game of life
I will Never Give Up
holy smokes!
by the time i scrolled through all the comments i forgot what the poem was about
no. not really. but in the while its been up theres been a few visitors.
i was born in the 80s.
i was the queen of flannel. oh yes i was. [i am worshipped for this fact now haha]
the fashion was scary, as are the music videos but the music itself was dynamite and prolly why so many artists try to cover it these days.
the way you put the song titles throughout this piece was quite well done. at the start i felt it a little full on with the names and titles so close together but you seemed to find an equalibrium as the piece progressed.
the answering machine message at my old flat used to be me singing Jack and Dianne [though it was "heres a little ditty about jayde and dianne..." haha] people just rang my answering machine... they didnt wanna talk to me or anything
I really liked how you structured this poem. Speaking of days long past. It is a poem of happy memories, but it also tells of your strong will. Though I wasn't around when those songs came out (of course, I have heard them... : ) ) all I have to do is replace Micheal Jackson, with Nickelback, or Mellencamp with Korn, or Springsteen with 3 Days Grace. You catch my drift. I really enjoyed reading this! Thanks for sharing.
hi...i liked this write because it was true, honest and direct...while being very intelligently written. i know what it's like to remember times long passed and what meant a lot to you then...sometimes all we have are our memories and keepsakes.....being a child of the '80's i don't remember a lot of what happened but i can identify with that feeling of wanting to remember a special time.
hmmm...Ron...nothing quite like dating ourselves...so I can relate to those well written lines intertwining the music of the 80's, but you know the 80's are not complete without speaking of .38 Special's Hold On Loosely (as so many of us did in those times), some mention of Working For The Weekend with my Loverboy, Prince's 1999 & Purple Rain...gosh one could go on for at least a decade covering some of that stuff...sometimes it's nice to take a walk down memory lane and I feel, (much like someone from the 50's, 60, or 70's), that the 80's were some of the best days for me - thanks for a well written walk down memory lane...Party On Dude!
Being a child of the 50's I can't say that the era of the 80's resounds greatly in my ears but I can agree to the assignation of glory you have chosen for Just Like Starting Over. In fact I still have the LP that contains that song, as well as, Beautiful boy.
Sometimes it is good to look back over things that shaped and pleased us.
First one is that I was born in the later side of the 80s so never had a chance to experience them,even though Ive heard most of the songs you mention this illustrates how different things are if your actually THERE when they come out.They make much m,ore of an impact Id say.
You could say I live in my 80s now,were the music that is made now will somehow impact me the same way(though there is a lot of crap on the airwaves).
But Yeah also I just liked the fond rememberence you seem to have of that era,it comes across genuinely and
without too much glorification.
As well of that the way you describe Micheal Jackson is important in making this piece authentically about the 80s.Its hard to think of him now without all the scandals hes been involved in but back then yolu can really see why he was a legend,this poem kind of shows him when he had that clean slate which enforces the fact that you are not talking about the 90s etc.
From what Ive read of your work so far it comes across to me that you are not a negative person and you like to reflect that in your poetry(even in what could be described as sadder or darker work it usually
carries also a message of inspiration or hope).To say that that message ALWAYS works would be lying to you,but I think it does work in many of your poems.
Especially the one I commented on last time.This also has that quality and pulls it off pretty well.
I myself am not concerned with positiveness at all in my poems because it would betray who I am,but I do try to avoid self-pity as much as possible and always have some kind of artistic quality.
Your style of writing differs a lot from mine but I do enjoy it,its nice to see a different approach and on a site were depressing "I'm gonna kill myself and tell you all about it" poetry is dominant I think that your writing has a lot of value.
powerful, thats what I thing of the last two lines. You tie in the lines in a way that grabs your attention and holds it there while forming a message on life...
That in the game of life
I will Never Give Up
...how true are those words! Okay, so what I really like about this is that I actually know what bands your talking about. Strange for my generation but its true, I'm a classics junkie! I liked being able to relate.
This poem started out great for me. It was interesting the way you combined titles and bands together to make sort of abbreviated storylets. The poem kind of fell apart for me when you changed emphasis to the "moral" part of the poem:
But What I remember most about those times Is the song that influenced me more then ever John Lennons perfect voice Singing loud and clear Just Like Starting Over My God do I miss those days The 45 of that song hangs on my wall today Always there to remind me That in the game of life I will Never Give Up
Maybe you could find a more concise way to convey this message. These two lines bother me the most.
"But What I remember most about those times Is the song that influenced me more then ever"
They seem considerably more verbose than the rest of the lines in this poem. I think some creative editing would help alot.
My greatest memory, the song that influenced me the most.
perhaps or something similiar.
Very interesting write. I think you could have something great here!
...Ron, how i enjoy this....even though I am not old enough to even know what it felt like to live in that era. i am sure it was one hell of a time...stories from my father, I don't know if people will be sayin' the same things about the new era...seems it's full of horror anyways... but, yea the tunes from the 80's, aren't they just rememberable. t'is great how you put the details of certain songs in the poem, especially John Lennon...how i wish i could live in those times, but gotta take it as it comes... thanks for commenting me... much appreciation. take care.
livin the 80s man that must of been cool you make it sound like it is tells about what you remember and what song you liked it preatty cool to write about something like that good write, ty
Great, great, GREAT! I was just a little thing back in the 80s, but my childhood is full of this music, and all of it takes me back to a happier time. This is a poem that is fun and nostalgic at the same time. I think you did a great job on it.
Ron, as I read this poem all of my vivid memories of this time period come flooding my mind with images. The MTV logo, boomboxes, break-dancing, and all the promise the future seemed to hold, so as an afterthought I feel rather sad that those promises were empty. I also very much miss being young during the 80's, And most of all I miss John Lennon, I think alot of the promises died with him. Thanks for the look back, good work. Critique-y things, you mispelled enemies, thats it though. Thanks again_devoted
Great use of these titles to convey ideas you wanted to keep. It's strange to me how a particular song can act like a deja' vu experience and put us right back in the same era.
I think what is missing for me in music is the encouraging lines we heard and that is a fine theme you've showed us here.
Gee, am I getting old? Yeah, but when you talk to younger folks here, you find that classic rock is still listened to along with new artists too.
I enjoyed your write, and a clever use of these titles Ron, thanks for sharing.
I feel like I stepped back in time. This was so good Ron. You did a great job with this one. I wish sometimes we could bring those 80's back and have good music again. This was a treat. Great work!
thank you for bringing back my memories of the 80's. i grew up through that era and hearing you mention songs i listened to all those years ago brought it all back. there was an.......atmosphere then that we just have today. i never really thought about that. this is an ispirational poem, i like it a lot. thank you for sharing this one with us. whirl**
I like this one (of course, also being a child of the 80s). Good job with the iconicimagery here, and mixing it up with some lesser known things.My only suggestion would be to delete the last 2 lines - I like my readersto get to the conclusion on their own rather than spelling it out for them. That's just me though. Nice work here.
I never lived in the 80s but it doesn't sound as bad as I thought it would be. In fact, it sounds pretty good. But I think this is more of a personal write and you managed to makes this very nostalgic.
Sometimes, change can be sad but when a memory leaves your brain; a new one comes in
Hehe, being just old enough to remember all of these things it makes me smile...I really like the last bit...the record on the wall and the never giving up...I think we all have a longing for simpler times and easier places but alas, we must progress...I really enjoy your ability to take every day things and make the reader appreciate the significance and appreciate the past. <3 Domenica
I never lived in the 80s but i thought it was pretty good. I couldn't really relate or anythig. Jeeze, im just learning aboutt WW1 now, the influence of my newer poems. I thought it was pretty well written, not one of your best though. ~Caotic~ And thanks for your comment on my poem.
I liked this one a lot, speacilly about the record hanging on the wall,and I agree with Roberto, that the last three lines are really what brought it all home well done Ron, its always nice to look back on yesterday once in a while adnil
I regularly tell anyone who will listen that I was born in the wrong era. Being born in '83 and growing up during the 90's I hated the music of my era, I love listening to the golden oldies such as the Beatles, Elvis, KISS and lots more from the 60's, 70's and 80's, luckily though I can proudly say I never wore a balloon skirt, unluckily though I do have several photos of me in a parachute jump suit *shuffers* lol
Submission Name: Livin In The 80s
