Speeding down I-195 with the car top down and the wind in my hair
The music was loud and I could feel the summer in the air
I could see the ocean on the horizon and Belmar on the coast
The wide black ribbon leading there turned by the July sun to a roast
After spending half the day getting centrifuged on great adventure machines
I’m headed for the boardwalk to chase sweet summer dreams
Carnival sounds of the amusement park mingle with the raving DJ on the airwaves
Bodies on the sand melt fried by coppertone heatwaves
The last of the beachgoers say goodbye in the last of the saved daylight
The scene shifts up a block brought on by the night
The video game sounds segue into full blown rock’n’roll
From Pac Man to the Big Man body spirit and soul
Riders poised on daredevil surfboards glide into the seashore
A cool gentle breeze filters through my screen door
And as the sunlight fades away a song comes in on the breeze
It’s a mellow song, a summer song, and it’s all I’ll ever need
©2023 The Hesh Inc.
Not so much a song as some scratched-out lyrics that I thought to include in a larger piece, I wrote these lines when I was doing my army service in Israel and remembering the summer I had visiting the Jersey Shore several years earlier. I had been aiming to capture the late-afternoon summer vibe ... very much on my mind on a late-August weekend with the end of season looming large ahead of me. Never rehearsed, let alone recorded or performed.