While listening to Foreigner's "Juke Box Hero" one day, I realized that I had a few questions about this man's "hero" status. So, I asked my source for all that is classic rock (and good music in general). What I got was one of the most thoughtfully considered analytical answers ever. And you know, he was able to answer my question.
Email from Me:
What amazing feat does it take to acquire the status of Juke Box Hero?
What sort of fantastic act must one perform? From what did this newly
appointed "Hero" save others?
Email from Brother:
Well, we have to analyze this to glean the answer to your question...
FIRST VERSE
Standing in the rain, with his head hung low
Couldn't get a ticket, it was a sold out show
Heard the roar of the crowd, he could picture the scene
Put his ear to the wall, then like a distant scream
He heard one guitar, just blew him away
He saw stars in his eyes, and the very next day
Bought a beat up six string in a secondhand store
Didn't know how to play it, but he knew for sure
That one guitar, felt good in his hands
Didn't take long, to understand
Just one guitar, slung way down low
Was one way ticket, only one way to go
So he started rockin
Aint never gonna stop
Gotta keep on rockin
Someday hes gonna make it to the top
---I see this a lot in action flicks, our hero, outside in the rain,
standing there, head hung low. I've seen it in Batman, X-men, and the
like. Rambo stood there in the rain in First Blood Part II, ready to
kill anything & everything to get the POW's 'cause they ("charlies")
killed his woman. Frank Reynolds and Charlie ??? let it rain on them
though, but those are just comedic heroes. I think even Chuck Norris
has allowed it to rain on him, just for effect though. Although I will
say, Jack Bauer would never be caught in the rain. Neither would Agent
Jack Bauer, cats don't like rain. So, I guess the first part of heroism
is standing in the rain. Check that box, we've got it here.
Now we look at his response time. He heard a "distant scream" through a
wall. Could be concrete, if so, that's impressive. If it's sheet rock,
still pretty good. But, he's responding to a scream. Always a need for
some type of hero if there's a scream.
Then he heard one guitar blow him away and he was seeing stars
afterward. That's a pretty strong punch, even from a "D" chord. But he
goes to a pawn shop and buys a guitar of his own, and it felt pretty
good in his hands. I equate that to a kid getting antsy and buying his
first gun. It feels pretty good in his hands. Know what other hero had
a gun. The Punisher.
CHORUS
And be a juke box hero, got stars in his eyes
Hes a juke box hero
He took one guitar, juke box hero, stars in his eyes
Juke box hero, hell come alive tonight
Not a lot going on here that we didn't cover beforehand. It just lets
you know he's a hero, to someone.
SECOND VERSE
In a town without a name, in a heavy downpour
Thought he passed his own shadow, by the backstage door
Like a trip through the past, to that day in the rain
And that one guitar made his whole life change
Now he needs to keep rockin
He just cant stop
Gotta keep on rockin
That boy has got to stay on top
Here we have a nameless, lawless town our "hero" has come through,
probably rode in on a tour bus with some groupies. It's still raining,
for effect. "Like a trip through the past...," hey, every hero has a
bad memory they don't want to visit. Batman didn't want to think about
falling into what would later become the Batcave. Max Payne didn't want
to think of his wife & kid. Rambo didn't want to think about "the old
Vietnam," nor Rocky about Apollo Creed. But it happens, it has to, so
they know what they're fighting for.
And be a juke box hero, got stars in his eyes
Hes a juke box hero, got stars in his eyes
Yeah, juke box hero, got stars in his eyes
With that one guitar hell come alive
Come alive tonight
Yeah, hes gotta keep rockin
He just cant stop
Gotta keep on rockin
That boy has got to stay on top
And be a juke box hero, got stars in his eyes
Hes a juke box hero, got stars in his eyes
Just one guitar, put stars in his eyes
Hes just a juke box hero, aah aah aah
Juke box hero, juke box hero, hes got stars in his eyes
Stars in his eyes
I think what we have here is someone who has drastically tried to become
a hero in someone else's eyes, which is sad really because if someone
else wants you to become a hero, and you can't, then you're a failure.
And failures never win. But, this Juke Box Hero has become a hero to
someone, defeating Juke Boxes all over the world apparently. He just
forgot to mention it, because he has succeeded quite well actually. I
haven't seen a Juke Box in ages.
No comments:
Post a Comment