Swinging With Eddie: "Summertime Blues" - Page 2

"Well, every time I call my baby,
Try and get a date
My boss says: 'No dice son,
You gotta work a late.'"

That's a complaint that many people the world over wish they had - to have a job where they are wanted and needed and successful enough to have to work late. What does "have to work late" mean, anyway? He doesn't really have to. He could say "no." He could quit. The singer already has such a sense of responsibility that to be asked to work late translates to "have to" in his mind. He feels compelled to say "yes." The singer's life is on a pretty straight path, but he's gotta let out the juice. The boy's just gotta rock 'n' roll.

"Sometimes I wonder, what I'm a gonna do
For there ain't no cure
For the Summertime Blues."

He knows exactly what he's a gonna do: he's going to sing this song. He's going to rock 'n' roll. That's the cure for the "Summertime Blues."

"Oh, well my Mom and Pop a told me
Son, you gotta earn some money.
If you wanna take the car
To go a riding next Sunday"

These are middle class teenage blues. There is a car to borrow, he just has to pay for gas. His parents have stressed responsibility as a character trait and it has obviously taken hold.

"Oh well I didn't go to work,
Told the boss I was sick,
Now you can't use the car
Because you didn't work a lick."

After all, he is a teenager. He has to screw up sometimes. Besides, the responsibility is starting to pile up on him. Working all of the time, staying late, a guy's gotta rebel once in a while.

"Besides, I didn't lie, I had a little bit of an earache."

"Earache? Earache my eye! You just didn't want to work, young man. Now the car is off for this weekend. Pull that again and you're grounded for a month! Now clean up this room and turn that damn music down!"

"I'm gonna take two weeks
Gonna have a fine vacation
Gonna take my problem to the United Nations
Well I called my congressman and he said quote,
'I'd like to help you son
But you're too young to vote.'"

This is one of the great verses in rock history. The problem is teenage obligation and repression. In pure teenage fashion, Cochran escalates the problem to one of global importance. This is one of the things that teenagers are supposed to grow out of when they become adults - a monomanical self-centeredness.

Article Author: Eric Olsen

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