From the album An Innocent Man
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Another clever music video from An Innocent Man. "They say justice is blind. I sure hope it ain't deaf." © 1983 Sony Music Entertainment.
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Now I told you my reasons for the whole
revival Now I'm going outside to have an ice cold beer in the shade Oh, I'm going to listen to my 45's Ain't it wonderful to be alive When the rock 'n' roll plays, yeah When the memory stays, yeah I'm keeping the faith The last song on the album is "Keeping The Faith" which wraps up Billy's homage to the music of the 50s and 60s. Musically I used to think the song did not resemble or recall any particular pop style or artist like the other songs on An Innocent Man did, but it had another infectious melody that you could not get out of your head. The song has a herky-jerky beat and is accented with horns throughout. It's not quite reggae or R&B. But apparently the rhythm was inspired by Betty Wright's 1971 R&B hit "Clean Up Woman." An eagle-eyed YouTube viewer noticed that in the music video for "Keeping The Faith" (at 0:46), Billy is spinning a 45 single of "Clean Up Woman." Ah-ha! Clever.
"Keeping The Faith" always reminded me of Stevie Wonder's "I Wish" as they both have a bouncy beat, beefy horns, and both songs' lyrics recall the days of the singers' wild youths. Stevie sings about "sneaking out the back door to hang out with those hoodlum friends of mine," while Billy sings "I'm not ashamed to say the wild boys were my friends." Billy fondly reminisces and gives colorful details about his youth growing up in and around New York in the 50s and 60s. He refers to the West Side Story "wild boys," the "matador boots," old man's "Old Spice after shave," and "late night drive-in food." His use of popular brand names like "Old Spice," "Flagg Brothers," and "Chevrolet" is reminiscent of some of the works of poet Frank O'Hara such as in "The Day Lady Died." The technique serves to ground the work in a particular place and era, while at the same time conveying a sense of wistful nostalgia of an America on the upswing.
And through it all, it was the rock and pop music of the time that was his salvation. That is why he is now paying homage to that music, he is keeping the faith. Few artists have crafted such a loving tribute to the music of their youth. But Billy also realizes that it's just nostalgia and one cannot "crawl back into yesterday" like the person he spoke to in "All You Wanna Do Is Dance" from Turnstiles. As Billy says in "Keeping the Faith, "[y]ou know the good ole days weren't always good, and tomorrow ain't as bad as it seems." |
If it seems like I've been lost in let's remember
If you think I'm feeling older and missing my younger days Oh, then you should have known me much better Cause my past is something that never Got in my way, oh no Still I would not be here now if I never had the hunger And I'm not ashamed to say the wild boys were my friends Oh, 'cause I never felt the desire 'Til their music set me on fire And then I was saved, yeah That's why I'm keeping the faith Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, keeping the faith We wore matador boots Only Flagg Brothers had them with the Cuban heel Iridescent socks with the same color shirt And a tight pair of chinos Oh, I put on my shark skin jacket You know the kind with the velvet collar And ditty-bop shades, oh yeah I took a fresh pack of Luckies and a mint called Sen-Sen My old man's Trojans and his Old Spice after shave Oh, I combed my hair in a pompadour Like the rest of the Romeos wore A permanent wave, yeah We were keeping the faith Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, keeping the faith You can get just so much from a good thing You can linger too long in your dreams Say goodbye to the "oldies but goodies" 'Cause the good old days weren't always good And tomorrow ain't as bad as it seems Learned stickball as a formal education Lost a lot of fights but it taught me how to lose okay Oh, I heard about sex but not enough I found you could dance and still look tough anyway (oh yes I did) I found out a man ain't just being macho Ate an awful lot of late night drive-in food Drank a lot of take-home pay I thought I was the Duke of Earl When I made it with a red-haired girl In the Chevrolet, oh yeah We were keeping the faith Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, keeping the faith You know the good ole days weren't always good And tomorrow ain't as bad as it seems Now I told you my reasons for the whole revival Now I'm going outside to have an ice cold beer in the shade Oh, I'm going to listen to my 45's Ain't it wonderful to be alive When the rock 'n' roll plays, yeah When the memory stays, yeah I'm keeping the faith Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, keeping the faith I'm keeping the faith, yes I am You know I'm keeping the faith Oh yes I am You know I'm keeping the faith Oh you are
Billy on "Keeping The Faith" from SiriusXM.
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