Seriously.
I go ga-ga for that freakin' song!! It just gets the best of my emotions. Hell, I even cried when they played in during the Sopranos finale!! Don't ask me why. It just makes me melt. Thank G-d, I'm not alone.
True story: I was in this dank, depressing Irish bar (okay...it was the Dubliner, but seriously, people were really quiet, that night. For the love of G-d, people!! When I go to an Irish pub, I demand stereotypes, dammit!! I'm talking leprechauns, lilts, jigs and pots o' gold...the works!!) and being the music lover that I am, I threw a couple of bucks into the juke box and entered in "Don't Stop Believing" as one of my songs.
And then, after a few minutes, it happened.
That famous detuned piano opening and then...
Just a small town girl, livin' in a lonely world
She took the midnight train goin' anywhere
Just a city boy, born and raised in south Detroit
He took the midnight train goin' anywhere
A singer in a smokey room
A smell of wine and cheap perfume
For a smile they can share the night
It goes on and on and on and on
Strangers waiting, up and down the boulevard
Their shadows searching in the night
Streetlights, people living just to find emotion
Hiding, somewhere in the night
Working hard to get my fill,
everybody wants a thrill
Payin' anything to roll the dice,
just one more time
Some will win, some will lose
Some were born to sing the blues
Oh, the movie never ends
It goes on and on and on and on
(chorus)
Don't stop believin'
Hold on to the feelin'
Streetlights, people
****
So, yeah. Bat shit, man. Bat shit
Seriously, people who had had their heads previously lying on the table were alive, animated, thumping their fists on the table and singing it at the top of their lungs. I couldn't help but beam with pride because I had picked the perfect song to get everyone out of their doldrums, their fears, their worries. It was like fucking Cheers!!
People. Were. Happy.
Because of this song!! And that, right there? That's one of the gazillion reasons why I love music: One song--just one!--can bring a group of strangers together.
And that night, Steve Perry's velvety-smooth vocals were there for us, in all their glory.
Whatever sins that had been committed were instantly forgotten, any beefs that one man (or woman) had for the guy (or gal) sitting next to them instantly...disappeared.
Well, okay...I take that back.
There are some things that can never, ever be forgiven. Mr. Perry, we will never stop believing in "Don't Stop Believing," but "Oh Cherie?"
Really????
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