The Hold Steady - "Constructive Summer"

I'm not a fan of The Hold Steady, but I do love this song for two reasons:

1) The Springsteen influence - I mean, the piano solo in the bridge alone could be straight off of the Born To Run album.  The reference to the "savior" is, I think, a nod to Thunder Road.

2) I've always treated summer as a time to make way too many plans that I could never accomplish, and cram as much fun as possible into 3 too-short months.  When I was in school, it was a time to find myself and maybe grow up a little.  And even now, I feel the same way.  The lyrics describe that ambitious mentality, when in reality, we kind of end up goofing off and not really doing what we thought we would.  But I'm all stocked up on sunscreen, and I think this year, it's gonna be epic!

"Me and my friends are like
The drums on "Lust for Life"
We pound it out on floor toms
Our psalms are sing-along songs

This old town is lifeless
Been that way our whole lives, just
Work at the mill until you die
Work at the mill and then you die

We're gonna build something this summer
(Gonna build something this summer)

We'll put it back together
Raise up a giant ladder
With love and trust and friends and hammers
(This summer!)

We're gonna lean this ladder
Up against the water tower
Climb up to the top and drink and talk
(This summer!)

Me and my friends are like
Double whiskey coke no ice
We drink along in double time
Might drink too much but we feel fine

We're gonna build something this summer

Summer grant us all the power
To drink on top of watertowers
With love and trust and shows all summer
(Get hammered!)

Let this be my annual reminder
That we could all be something bigger

I went to your schools. I did my detention
But the walls were so gray that I couldn't pay attention
I read your gospel, it moved me to tears
But I couldn't find the hate and I couldn't find the fear

I met your saviour, I knelt at his feet
And he took my ten bucks and he went down the street
I tried to believe all the things that you said
But my friends that aren't dying are already dead

Raise a toast to Saint Joe Strummer
I think he might have been our only decent teacher
Getting older makes it harder to remember
We are our only saviours
We're gonna build something this summer"

Happy summer ya'll!

#YearlongMixtape

www.youtube.com/watch?v=xgBfoOJR6Rs