The Progressive Poem is Here! - Day 26

There's a lot of personal stuff that can go into songwriting, but there's also a lot of dramatization and fictionalization. You have to do that to make a good song.  - Nora Jones

As our poem moves from blog to blog, I've been enjoying reading the backstory of how contributors chose their line. Songs are very personal. They not only connect us to our past but also to each other. Song lyrics have the power to speak to all of us no matter who we are or where we come from. 

Growing up, we had maybe one or two book (Little Golden Books) in our house. The stories I grew up on came from songs. Every afternoon, my mother would put a big stack of 45s on the stereo.  She loved all types of popular music: The Supremes, Elvis, The Beatles, Stevie Wonder, Johnny Cash, The Statler Brothers, and many others.  We would sing along and dance across the living room floor.  We didn't have a lot of material possessions, but our house was always filled with music.  

Songs have always been a huge part of my life.  They bring back happy memories and sometimes sad ones too. They remind that I'm not alone and keep me singing even in hard times.

For my line today, I wanted to honor one of my teenage crushes, David Cassidy.  I never missed an episode of THE PARTRIDGE FAMILY.  David was not only dreamy, he was very talented.  It breaks my heart that his life was so tragic.  He brought so much joy to lonely young girls like me while he struggled to find happiness in his own life.  I chose a line from "Summer Days".

Hold my hand and we'll be free

Endless summer; I can see for miles…
Fun, fun, fun – and the whole world smiles.
No time for school- just time to play,
we swim the laughin’ sea each and every day.

You had only to rise, lean from your window,
the curtain opens on a portrait of today.
Kodachrome greens, dazzling blue,
it’s the chance of a lifetime,

make it last forever–ready? Set? Let’s Go!
Come, we’ll take a walk, the sun is shining down
Not a cloud in the sky, got the sun in my eyes
Tomorrow’s here. It’s called today.

Gonna get me a piece o’ the sky.
I wanna fly like an eagle, to the sea
and there’s a tiger in my veins Oh,
won’t you come with me waltzing the waves, diving the deep?

It’s not easy to know
less than one minute old
we’re closer now than light years to go
To the land where the honey runs

…we can be anyone we want to be…
There’s no stopping curiosity.
What’s so amazing that keeps us stargazing
Looking for a sign of life

You’re simply the best

Hold my hand and we’ll be free

Up next,  our poem moves on to Sheila@Sheila Renfro

Here is a list of line sources:

L1 The Who, 'I Can See for Miles'/The Beach Boys, 'Endless Summer'
L2 The Beach Boys, 'Fun, Fun, Fun'/Dean Martin, 'When You're Smiling'
L3 The Jamies, 'Summertime, Summertime'
L4 The Doors, Summer's Almost Gone'/Led Zeppelin 'Good Times, Bad Times'
L5 Ray Bradbury, "Dandelion Wine"
L6 Joni Mitchell, "Chelsea Morning"
L7 Paul Simon, "Kodachrome," "Dazzling Blue"
L8 Dan Fogelberg, "Run for the Roses"
L9 Spice Girls, "Wannabe"/Will Smith, "Gettin' Jiggy Wit It"
L10 The Beatles, "Good Day Sunshine"
L11 The Carpenters, "Top of the World"
L12 Lin-Manuel Miranda, "Underneath the Lovely London Sky" from Mary Poppins Returns
L13 Carole King, "Hi-de-ho (That Old Sweet Roll)"
L14 Steve Miller, "Fly Like An Eagle"
L15 Don Felder, "Wild Life"L16 Nowleen Leeroy, "Song of the Sea" (lullaby)
L 16 Nowleen Leeroy, "Song of the Sea" (lullaby)
L17 Sara Bareilles, "She Used to Be Mine" from WAITRESS
L18 Stevie Wonder, "Isn't She Lovely"
L19 R.E.M., "Find the River"
L20 Carole King, "Way Over Yonder"
L21 Mint Juleps, "Groovin" by the Young Rascals
L22 Jack Johnson, "Upside Down"
L23 Kermit the Frog (Jim Henson) "Rainbow Connection" from the Muppet Movie
L24 The Foo Fighters, "Learning to Fly"
L25 Tina Turner, "The Best"

L26 The Partridge Family "Summer Days"

A big thank you to Carol for hosting today's Poetry Friday!