I met a dude, his name was Powered Solar
He fancied himself a radical but he was a rock’n’roller
I asked him to fly with me on a mission circumpolar
He just said Hang on, I’m not sure if I wanna get any colder
I’m hangin’ out with a character who calls himself Truman
Whenever life begins to wilt, he comes around and it’s bloomin’
I’m just about to shut down the town but he comes and says business is boomin’
Man, y’know, sometimes I wonder if he really is human
There’s a party goin’ on
There’s a party goin’ on
There’s a party goin’ on, tonight is the night to see and be seen
There’s action goin’ down
There’s action goin’ down
There’s action goin’ down, let’s kick some life into this played-out scene
I played in a band with a man named Dizzy Priefer
He had his feet on the ground but he always looked high on reefer
He wanted to put the Shock back together but everyone’s ears got deefer
‘Cause when practice time came around the musicians were gone with the zephyr
I went to school with a gang of cool guys and girls from Miami
They were looking for their missing piece and I told them, I am he
They totally lit up the scene and gave life a triple whammy
‘Cuz the senior year with them was an emmy, an oscar, and a grammy
There’s a party goin’ on
There’s a party goin’ on
There’s a party goin’ on, tonight we’ll get these people together again
There’s action goin’ down
There’s action goin’ down
There’s action goin’ down, let’s kick some ass now like we wanted to do then
It’s Independence Day, everybody’s coming out
Dancing in the street, do the twist do the shout
This, my friend, is what living’s all about
Come on, come on, it’s time to freak out
So hi hi, fly your flag high
Soar above the world, rise up to the sky
The old ways are over, kiss ‘em all goodbye
Freedom is priceless—live free or die.
Rena the queen of the scene is out strutting her stuff
But the guys in town tonight are smart enough to call her bluff
Some 'cousins' in from the other side try playing tough
But the MGs see this and decide it’s time to get rough
I think I’ll walk the streets in my snakeskin shoes
I think I’ll take center stage and sing the blues
I think I’ll get a car and take it on a cruise
I think I’ll just be myself, what have I got to lose
There’s a party goin’ on
There’s a party goin’ on
There’s a party goin’ on, people boppin’ each other’s heads tonight
The boys are back in town
The boys are back in town
The boys are back in town, they’re gonna play the fool but play it right
There’s a riot goin’ on
There’s a riot goin’ on
There’s a riot goin’ on, a little bit louder now, yell scream and shout
There’s action goin’ down
There’s action goin’ down
There’s action goin’ down, it’s the Independence Day Freak-Out
©2023 The Hesh Inc.
In the mid-1980s, shortly before I started my army service, I wrote this tune, a depiction of the revelry going on in Jerusalem on the evening of Yom Ha'atzmaut, Independence Day. It was one of a whole bunch of upbeat piano-based power-pop gems I had been writing at the time, a departure from the usual epics and heartbreak songs I was partial to. This one epitomized them, but there was always something "off" about the original lyrics, not least of which that I mentioned assorted friends by their actual names. However, I never ceased banging the song out on the piano—one of my "go to" tunes when warming up. As of March 2023, I finally edited the lyrics to what you see here. I also tightened up the arrangement, and it is my hope to be able to record it (along with the other gems from this era) if/when I go to Israel as planned in the coming year.