|
The Stories Behind the Songs on Our 20h Single
Fri., Dec. 3. 2021 12:03am EST
J. Jackson, lead singer and lyricist for ApologetiX here again.
Here are the stories behind the songs on our 20th single of 2021:
SELECT ME AFTER YOU
This parody is based on Second Kings chapter 2, where Elijah is about to be taken up into Heaven, and his protégé, Elisha, boldly asks to receive a double portion of his spirit.
I wrote the first verse and chorus in May 2011 for possible inclusion in the 80's medley on Wise Up and Rock. Obviously, it didn't make the cut, but I've always wanted to do it. In the meantime, we did "Taken Up" in 2018 and "Flew Off the Handle" in 2020. "Select Me After You" makes a nice to prelude to those two songs.
I bought the "Electric Avenue" single when it was a hit, in the summer of 1983. Yes, I was listening to Eddy Grant before I started listening to Amy Grant. Come to think of it, I was also listening to Gogi Grant. You may have never heard of her, but in 1985 I purchased a used 45 of her big hit, "The Wayward Wind," which had been a #1 song for six weeks in 1956.
"Electric Avenue" never made it to #1, but it did spend five weeks at #2. In fact, it first reached the penultimate position on my 19th birthday. The song that kept it out of the top spot for the final four weeks was another song ApX has spoofed, "Every Breath You Take" by The Police. Moreover, for two of those weeks, a couple other songs we've spoofed were also in the Top 10 with them: "Too Shy" by Kajagoogoo and "Come Dancing" by The Kinks.
Eddy Grant had one other Top 40 single, "Romancing the Stone," which went to #26 in '84. ApologetiX has never spoofed that song, but we have spoofed The Romantics and the Stones.
I CAN'T GO BACK
My favorite film is the 1977 made-for-TV movie Jesus of Nazareth, and one of my favorite scenes shows Simon Peter late at night, second-guessing himself about leaving his fishing and old way of life behind. Then his former nemesis — the recently converted tax collector Matthew — says the following:
"You know very well; you'll never go back." When Peter protests, Matthew replies, "No, you won't. Never. You'll never fish again. You'll never get drunk again. And you'll never live in Capernaum again. None of us will. You'll never be the same."
My big brother in the Lord, Tim Hart, and I love that scene and often tell each other, "You'll never go back" ... not because either of us has doubts, but because those words sum up the way we feel.
Now, that conversation between Peter and Matthew isn't actually in the Bible, but the Apostle John does report on a time when many of Jesus' followers stopped following Him after He made a statement they found difficult to accept. Jesus then asked the 12 if they wanted to leave, too, and Peter said:
"Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God!" (John 6:68-69, NET).
The first time I heard "I Can't Hold Back" by Survivor was in September 1984 while watching music videos during a dreadful date with a girl I'd recently met. I'm sure she thought the date was equally awful; we just didn't click. It was a great song, though, and this parody provided a happy ending to that experience.
|
