Not in an entirely dissimilar vein to the previous post, thanks to John Jackson (who has writing of his own at this link) for forwarding his recent reflections on Bob Dylan’s song Summer Days.

… I made a discovery yesterday, about Love And Theft’s song “Summer Days”. More literate people will probably have already noted this, but the song seems related to The Great Gatsby, F.S. Fitzgerald’s novel about a newly rich, romantic man who is pining for a long-ago lover and makes himself conspicuous to her by throwing lavish parties.

House on a hill (no hogs out in the mud, though).

It struck me when this character, Gatsby, strongly objects and is bewildered by someone’s suggestion that “you can’t relive the past”.

He says, of course you can repeat the past! Like , whatever would give anyone the idea they couldn’t?

Here are a few lyrics I cherry pick to remind you of the song.

My pockets are loaded and I’m spending every dime
How can you say you love someone else when you know it’s me all the time?

She’s looking into my eyes, she’s holding my hand
She says, “You can’t repeat the past.” I say, “You can’t? What do you mean, you can’t? Of course you can.”

Where do you come from? Where do you go?
Sorry that’s nothin’ you would need to know
Well, my back has been to the wall for so long, it seems like it’s stuck
Why don’t you break my heart one more time just for good luck

Gatsby is spending every dime.
No one has any idea where he comes from, where he got his money.
The woman he is trying to lure back is married. He wins her back but she breaks his heart again.

Anyway, this realization gave me such pleasure I wanted to share. The singer in “Summer Days” is comically different from Gatsby, in a way that suggests a deliberate juxtaposition. This is all truly American literature, the song and the novel.

I don’t recommend the novel, mind you. lol. I recommend enjoying “Summer Days” again today as I am about to turn up the speakers full blast myself…

John wrote back later to say he noticed that the “can’t relive the past” quote had already been tallied at the Bob Lit website, where many such things are tallied indeed.

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