This song is the thinnest of metaphors. On the surface, it's about a 50s pop singer moving from Jersey to Florida and leaving behind his loved ones, but of course it's really about an 80s rock band moving from Jersey to LA and leaving behind their loved ones.
Somehow, that tiny level of abstraction makes the song more powerful. Not because it connects up with their obsession with Frankie, the Rat Pack, Steve & Edie, etc., but because it reminds you that going off to seek your fortune is universal. It's the same thing people did in the 50s, even the same thing the second son of a Duke did 1000 years ago.
It's the background of every great story every told--but the stories never include all the moments of homesickness in between the excitement of slaying dragons, blowing up the Death Star, or climbing the pop charts.
This song is the thinnest of metaphors. On the surface, it's about a 50s pop singer moving from Jersey to Florida and leaving behind his loved ones, but of course it's really about an 80s rock band moving from Jersey to LA and leaving behind their loved ones.
Somehow, that tiny level of abstraction makes the song more powerful. Not because it connects up with their obsession with Frankie, the Rat Pack, Steve & Edie, etc., but because it reminds you that going off to seek your fortune is universal. It's the same thing people did in the 50s, even the same thing the second son of a Duke did 1000 years ago.
It's the background of every great story every told--but the stories never include all the moments of homesickness in between the excitement of slaying dragons, blowing up the Death Star, or climbing the pop charts.