Weekend Song – Howard Jones

Here’s a great song from the 80s with trademark romanticism. I think teenagers in the 80s had it great because music had a mushy defiance that teenagers don’t have now. Vampires? Please.

I love the chord sequence in this. I play this on acoustic guitar because like any good song it works across a lot of style and (ahem) performers’ ability.

It’s got your key change and nice bit at the end and the riff at beginning and middle. It’s just nice, and nice gets is an overlooked value it art, underrated in merit and devalued by a lack of talent when nice is not only all these is, but most of what you need.

It’s a piece of pop slowcooked to perfection. It’s about unrequited love, and that distance is brought out because it’s even further removed by lines like “And you want her and she wants you.” He’s not singing about himself. Like The Beatles did in “She Love You” or Leonard Cohen with “Suzanne”, previously a weekend song of its own right here.

It’s like he’s consoling a friend. He’s saying “It’ll all work out”. Maybe he’s saying “Look, man, it might never happen.”

I had the same feelings when I was a teenager. We all did, and we all thought we were unique. There may be teenagers now reading this now thinking: “How does he know?” Why would you think I don’t?

Good song. I hope it works out for the guy.

She probably ends up with Chad Hoffritz. Don’t get me started on that guy.

Listen – No One Is To Blame

Weekend Song archive