“And lovin' a music man ain't always what it's supposed to be”
Ok, so I may be taking some liberties with what Steve Perry meant here but I also feel safe calling Larry a music man. More importantly substitute music man with anything because love in general isn’t always what it’s supposed to be or rather what we think it will be like, especially when we are young.
When I listen to this song now as a 53-year-old I hear it much less literally than I did when I was younger. Now it’s really more about the passage of time in a relationship over the many seasons of life. Because of that the line that jumps out to me is “I get the joy of rediscovering you.” After 30 years and kids grown and flown,we now get the pleasure of rediscovering each other and our relationship.
P.S. I think it is important to let you in on a few things. Over the course of the project our song writeups are not always done at the same time and this one is of those. Larry wrote his first, early this morning before I was even up and I wrote mine right before we published this, without reading a word that Larry wrote. I truly love when this happens and it reminds me how much we are on the same wavelength at times.
I'm not going to lie - I get extremely emotional listening to this song and watching this video. There's a lot to unpack so get comfortable.
Easy stuff first - I've preached and preached about 1983 being the best year for music and guess when this song came out? This absolutely is one of those era defining songs, and is probably top five in my book.
I also appreciate the video is only 10% cheesy and 90% true to the song which for 1983, it was usually the exact opposite. This video was also pioneering in the fact that it showed touring life, per se. After this came out, everybody jumped on the touring video band wagon. I also appreciate Journey is pretty much dressed like normal guys that just love to jam and play music.
For the rest of this entry, just operate under the assumption that I (along with Jonathan Cain who wrote the song, not Steve Perry) am the "music man".
I haven't visited the video for quite some time, and it's probably a good thing. Back when I was part of the Delivery Agent team for Lbrands, I don't think there was a trip I went on where I didn't listen to this song. There are so many lyrics and visuals from the video that I experienced first hand while I had that role. I traveled from the farthest Southeast of Florida to the farthest Northwest of Washington and everywhere in-between. No, I didn't have my own tour bus or private jets but I did have Hertz rentals and commercial airlines. I would say 80% of these trips were solo. I'd fly in, meet with the DA team, visit some mall stores and meet store and district managers...
and then go back to my hotel alone...
Meanwhile, Shannon was home alone with two toddlers.
That role was bittersweet and extremely hard on both of us. The first few years of marriage are not easy - then throw in a couple of toddlers - then throw in a husband that it constantly traveling - and all the corporate wining and dining that goes along with that.
But whether the trip was one day down to Louisville, KY or two weeks out to Los Angeles, CA
And being apart ain't easy on this love affair Two strangers learn to fall in love again I get the joy of rediscovering you Oh girl, you stand by me I'm forever yours Faithfully
And as we're closing in on the full year of this project, how can you not appreciate the slow dance scene?
Just like Shannon's sentiment for Everything - I could never express the sentiment in Faithfully any better than Jonathan Cain. It is all 100% true for me as an individual. Made all the more incredible that the lyrics and song were pretty much written in a 24 hour period.
P.S. I encourage you to read this Billboard article - but cliff notes are: Prince called Jonathan Cain to get his blessing for the song Purple Rain because they had similar chord changes.
P.P.S. This song is just magical - it took every member of Journey to make it happen - so however the string of fate brought them together, I'm glad it did. Steve Perry is just fucking amazing and I'm glad they captured him belting out "Forever yours" at the end of the video.
P.P.P.S. This is between Shannon and I - I'm taking it back...
Faithfully Journey
Highway run into the midnight sun Wheels go 'round and 'round, you're on my mind
Restless hearts, sleep alone tonight Sendin' all my love along the wire
They say that the road ain't no place to start a family Right down the line, it's been you and me And lovin' a music man ain't always what it's supposed to be Oh, girl, you stand by me I'm forever yours Faithfully
Circus life under the big-top world We all need the clowns to make us smile
Through space and time, always another show Wonderin' where I am lost without you
And being apart ain't easy on this love affair Two strangers learn to fall in love again I get the joy of rediscovering you Oh girl, you stand by me I'm forever yours Faithfully
Ghost of a Chance 