Mystery 80's Song!

August 18, 2006 11:40 PM

Probably the most idiotic question I've posted here, but I can't figure it out! Help me figure out the name of an 80's tune (Warning: My memory of the lyrics/theme in the song are close to nil).

I'll be incredibly happy if someone could figure this out from my extremely meager clues. Okay: - it is definitely considered a very popular 80's tune, - I feel like I remember it having something to do with kids/teens getting away/running off on their own, - something perhaps about the "night" or maybe a "hill" (one or both of these could be figments of my imagination I suppose), - I feel like there is some sort of mention of young vs. old in the song, -there's some sort of comradery in the song, like the singer is talking about a collective "we" (at least two people), - it definitely has a chorus that is repeated a few times throughout the song.

This is all I can really remember, which is quite obviously vague and somewhat general (and possibly even wrong). Still, maybe, just maybe, I've got some of my "clues" right and someone has an idea of what I'm talking about. I'm almost sure I'd recognize it in an instant if I saw it.

posted by Stauf to media & arts (57 comments total)

Tiffany's "I Think We're Alone Now"?
posted by tracicle at 11:50 PM on August 18, 2006

There's Pat Benatar's Shadows of the Night, which also has similar lyrics. Interestingly, the first song I thought of with your question was another Pat Benatar song, We Belong.
posted by anildash at 11:57 PM on August 18, 2006

Nope, it occured to me that I'm pretty sure the singer is male.
posted by Stauf at 11:58 PM on August 18, 2006

can you 'hum' it, textually?
posted by jak68 at 12:02 AM on August 19, 2006

Unfortunately, no. That's what's so frustrating. I remembered really liking the melody, but I can't remember one freakin' bar of it.
posted by Stauf at 12:09 AM on August 19, 2006

The running away association makes me think of Rod Stewart's "Young Turks" -- the girl gets pregnant by the boyfriend her parents hate, and they run away. (The chorus goes "young hearts, be free tonight / time is on your side / don't let them put you down / don't let them push you 'round" -- ring any bells?)
posted by scody at 12:10 AM on August 19, 2006

or possibly they run away first, then she gets pregnant. My knowledge of Rod Stewart lyrics is, frankly, limited.
posted by scody at 12:11 AM on August 19, 2006

I think the lyrics reflected more of a theme and less of a story/narrative.
posted by Stauf at 12:21 AM on August 19, 2006

do you remember any clues about the genre? country-ish? metal? pop? rock? blues? punk?
posted by jak68 at 12:21 AM on August 19, 2006

"Games Without Frontiers"
by Peter Gabriel

Hans plays with Lotte, Lotte plays with Jane
Jane plays with Willi, Willi is happy again
Suki plays with Leo, Sacha plays with Britt
Adolf builts a bonfire, Enrico plays with it
-Whistling tunes we hid in the dunes by the seaside
-Whistling tunes we're kissing baboons in the jungle
It's a knockout
If looks could kill, they probably will
In games without frontiers-war without tears
Games without frontiers-war without tears

Jeux sans frontieres

Andre has a red flag, Chiang Ching's is blue
They all have hills to fly them on except for Lin Tai Yu
Dressing up in costumes, playing silly games
Hiding out in tree-tops shouting out rude names
-Whistling tunes we hide in the dunes by the seaside
-Whistling tunes we piss on the goons in the jungle
It's a knockout
If looks could kill they probably will
In games without frontiers-wars without tears
If looks could kill they probably will
In games without frontiers-war without tears
Games without frontiers-war without tears

Jeux sans frontieres
posted by lekvar at 12:21 AM on August 19, 2006

How long has it been since you've heard this song on popular hits radio?
posted by ptm at 12:27 AM on August 19, 2006

Rod Stewart: Young Turks? "They held each other tight as they drove on through the night they were so excited."
posted by Pigpen at 12:43 AM on August 19, 2006

jk68, I'd say pop. Maybe rock. Definitely none of the other genres you mention.

ptm, I last heard it at a karaoke place, actually, though I've also heard it on the radio a long time ago (because I recognized it when someone started singing it).
posted by Stauf at 12:44 AM on August 19, 2006

Kim Wilde's Kids in America?
posted by RoseovSharon at 12:53 AM on August 19, 2006

Sorry, didn't read the part about you thinking it's a male...
posted by RoseovSharon at 12:54 AM on August 19, 2006

My guess would be a Bruce Springsteen song.

Maybe Thunder Road or Born To Run.
posted by veedubya at 1:04 AM on August 19, 2006

While it doesn't match any of your specifics, something made me think of Melt With You.
posted by Zed_Lopez at 1:07 AM on August 19, 2006

Or maybe (lordy let me be wrong), Peter Cetera's theme to The Karate Kid: The Glory Of Love. Oh, the humanity!
posted by veedubya at 1:09 AM on August 19, 2006

Fast Car?
Runaway Train?
Living on a Prayer?
Runaway?
Born to Run?
We're Not Going to Take It?
Up Where We Belong?
Rock n' Roll Children?
When the Children Cry?
posted by willnot at 1:16 AM on August 19, 2006

Suburbia, by The Pet Shop Boys?
posted by veedubya at 1:22 AM on August 19, 2006

Both of these do not fall strictly within the 1980's.

Is it Solsbury Hill by Peter Gabriel? It's from 1977, but with "hill" in the title and a refrain about running away, it was worth a try.

Another song about getting away - Fast Car by Tracy Chapman. (I thought this was a male singer the first few times I heard it.)

Was it a happy song? a sad song? a serious song? What kind of "feeling" do you remember getting from the song?
posted by blackbeardrrr at 1:28 AM on August 19, 2006

The Alarm, Spirit of '76? Cheesy, haven't thought of them in years.
posted by planetkyoto at 1:49 AM on August 19, 2006

Kate Bush Running up that Hill?
posted by rus at 1:55 AM on August 19, 2006

Is it Solsbury Hill by Peter Gabriel?

That's the first thing I thought of too. While it's not technically from the 80s, it sounds like it is.
posted by PinkStainlessTail at 2:19 AM on August 19, 2006

karaoke but not the radio - which takes away Tracy Chapman, Bruce Springsteen, Rod Stewart and probably Peter Gabriel. Next stop is the library, you have a lot of options to choose from.
posted by ptm at 2:39 AM on August 19, 2006

Not actually 80's (1991) but Toad the Wet Sprocket's "Is it for me"?
posted by slightlybewildered at 3:47 AM on August 19, 2006

I second Kate Bush Running up that Hill...
posted by SNACKeR at 3:58 AM on August 19, 2006

Reading that it did sound very like "I Think We're Alone Now".
But maybe it's "Don’t Stop Believin’" by Journey?
posted by ed\26h at 4:18 AM on August 19, 2006

Forgot the link-o.
posted by ed\26h at 4:20 AM on August 19, 2006

Maybe tracicle has the right song, but you have the wrong decade. The original of I Think We're Alone Now was from 1967, by Tommy James and the Shondells.
posted by Kirth Gerson at 4:46 AM on August 19, 2006

Summer of 69?
posted by kdern at 4:53 AM on August 19, 2006

bronski beat's smalltown boy?

Run away, turn away, run away, turn away, run away
posted by hayeled at 5:04 AM on August 19, 2006

John Mellencamp - Jack and Diane

posted by GrumpyMonkey at 5:08 AM on August 19, 2006

Could it be The Ecstasy of Flight (I Love the Night) by Chris de Burgh? It is a male singer, 80's tune, mentions of night and getting away, and repeating lyrics.
posted by dual_action at 6:30 AM on August 19, 2006

Twisted Sister "Leader of the Pack"?
posted by The Carolingian at 6:33 AM on August 19, 2006

This'll sound weird but I immediately thought of Billy Joel's Goodnight Saigon. Listen to a sample here (track 4).

We met as soul mates on Parris Island
We left as inmates from an asylum
And we were sharp, as sharp as knives
And we were so gung ho to lay down our lives

We came in spastic like tameless horses
We left in plastic as numbered corpses
And we learned fast to travel light
Our arms were heavy but our bellies were tight

We had no home front, we had no soft soap
They sent us Playboy, they gave us Bob Hope
We dug in deep and shot on sight
And prayed to Jesus Christ with all our might

We had no cameras to shoot the landscape
We passed the hash pipe and played our Doors tapes
And it was dark, so dark at night
And we held on to each other
Like brother to brother
We promised our mothers we'd write

And we would all go down together
We said we'd all go down together
Yes we would all go down together
posted by cps at 6:46 AM on August 19, 2006

I am going to second, Rod Stewart with "Young Turks". It was very popular on both radio and the nascent video shows including Night Flight and was seen on Solid Gold during the 1980's. The lyrics follow the narrative arc of young youth fleeing and the singer/narrator conflating himself with the youthful runaways who are now the parents of a (ten pound!) baby boy. Rod is played still on the radio and I am indeed a witness to Karoake Stewart singing (I still get partially blind in one eye from remembering someone do "Do You Think I'm Sexy" at some celebration or another.)
posted by jadepearl at 7:15 AM on August 19, 2006

I Wanna Be With You by the Raspberries?

Well tonight's the night, we always knew it would feel so right, come on baby, I just wanna be with you.
posted by thirteenkiller at 7:16 AM on August 19, 2006

(from 1972)
posted by thirteenkiller at 7:17 AM on August 19, 2006

Not 80's at all, but the poster's mention of nighttime, hills and teen camaraderie made me think of Smashing Pumpkins; 1979, especially the video.
posted by thewittyname at 7:19 AM on August 19, 2006

Yet another possibility:

"Because The Night". Apparently it was originally recorded by Patti Smith, though I'm much more familiar with the 10,000 Maniacs version.

come on now try and understand
the way I feel when I'm in your hands
take my hand come undercover
they can't hurt you now,
can't hurt you now, can't hurt you now
because the night belongs to lovers
because the night belongs to lust
because the night belongs to lovers
because the night belongs to us.
posted by Clay201 at 8:03 AM on August 19, 2006

Lloyd Cole's Hey Rusty?
posted by beniamino at 8:10 AM on August 19, 2006

How about Running with the night by Lionel Richie?
posted by Tarrama at 8:12 AM on August 19, 2006 [1 favorite has favorites]

MetaFilter: We've got answers even if you don't know what the question is.
posted by baylink at 9:04 AM on August 19, 2006 [3 favorites has favorites]

Alphaville's "Forever Young?" (Note: NOT the same as the Rod Stewart sing of the same name).

Lyrics:

Lets dance in style, lets dance for a while
Heaven can wait were only watching the skies
Hoping for the best but expecting the worst
Are you going to drop the bomb or not?

Let us die young or let us live forever
We dont have the power but we never say never
Sitting in a sandpit, life is a short trip
The musics for the sad men

Can you imagine when this race is won
Turn our golden faces into the sun
Praising our leaders were getting in tune
The musics played by the madmen

Forever young, I want to be forever young
Do you really want to live forever, forever and ever

Some are like water, some are like the heat
Some are a melody and some are the beat
Sooner or later they all will be gone
Why dont they stay young

Its so hard to get old without a cause
I dont want to perish like a fading horse
Youth is like diamonds in the sun
And dimonds are forever

So many adventures couldnt happen today
So many songs we forgot to play
So many dreams are swinging out of the blue
We let them come true

posted by dersins at 9:47 AM on August 19, 2006

The Safety Dance - Men Without Hats?
posted by Yorrick at 9:53 AM on August 19, 2006

Ok. What we know is that it has a chorus and is about generational divisions?

The right answer, the only answer, is to go back to that kareoke place and look through the songs. Otherwise it's gonna be "One of a million pop songs recorded from about '75 through '93."
posted by klangklangston at 9:55 AM on August 19, 2006

Gotta be Night Moves by Bob Seger.
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 10:25 AM on August 19, 2006

How about "Life in a Northern Town" by Dream Academy?

The evening had turned to rain
Watch the water roll down the drain,
As we followed him down
To the station
And though he never would wave goodbye,
You could see it written in his eyes
As the train rolled out of sight
Bye-bye.

(Chant)
Ah hey ma ma ma
Life in a northern town.
Ah hey ma ma ma
Life in a northern town.
posted by xo at 11:03 AM on August 19, 2006

Probably because you said "hill" might be involved, but the first thought in my mind was Red Hill Mining Town by U2. Longshot, but I wanted to put it up there:

From father to son
The blood runs thin
See faces frozen still
Against the wind

The seam is split
The coal face cracked
The lines are long
There's no going back
Through hands of steel
And heart of stone
Our labour day
Has come and gone

Yeah you leave me holding on
In Red Hill Town
See lights go down, I'm...

Hanging on
You're all that's left to hold on to
I'm still waiting
I'm hanging on
You're all that's left to hold on to

The glass is cut
The bottle run dry
Our love runs cold
In the caverns of the night
We're wounded by fear
Injured in doubt
I can lose myself
You I can't live without

Yeah you keep me holding on
In Red Hill Town
See the lights go down on
I'm hanging on
You're all that's left to hold on to
I'm still waiting
Hanging on
You're all that's left to hold on to
Hold on to

We'll scorch the earth
Set fire to the sky
We stoop so low to reach so high
A link is lost
The chain undone
We wait all day
For night to come
And it comes
Like a hunter child

I'm hanging on
You're all that's left to hold on to
I'm still waiting
I'm hanging on
You're all that's left to hold on to

Love...slowly stripped away
Love...has seen its better day

Hanging on
Let's go out on Red Hill
Let's go down on Red Hill
Let's go down on Red Hill Town
Let's go down on Red Hill
posted by tetsuo at 11:11 AM on August 19, 2006

Has anyone mentioned John Cougar Mellencamp or Bryan Adams or Tom Petty? Those guys seem to have written a lot of things in this general lyrical area. Or is it perhaps "The Living Years," by Mike and the Mechanics?

Alternately, is there anything else at all that you remember about it? Three words in sequence? Lyrical tone? Vocal qualities? Instrumentation?
posted by box at 11:21 AM on August 19, 2006

Journey - Don't Stop Believing

Just a small town girl
Living in a lonely world
She took the midnight train going anywhere
Just a city boy
Born and raised in South Detroit
He took the midnight train going anywhere

A singer in a smoky room
A smell of wine and cheap perfume
For a smile they can share the night
It goes on and on and on and on

{Refrain}
Strangers, waiting, up and down the boulevard
Their shadows searching in the night
Streetlight people, living just to find emotion
Hiding somewhere in the night

Working hard to get my fill
Everybody wants a thrill
Paying anything to roll the dice
Just one more time
Some will win, some will lose
Some were born to sing the blues
Oh the movie never ends
It goes on and on and on and on

{Refrain}

Don't stop believing
Hold on to that feeling
Streetlight people
posted by atmu at 12:01 PM on August 19, 2006

But maybe it's "Don’t Stop Believin’" by Journey?
posted by ed\26h at 4:18 AM PST on August 19

Some people!
posted by ed\26h at 12:47 PM on August 19, 2006

Yeah, Klang, the funny thing is that I think I'll be doing just that. Anyway, I appreciate the huge list of possible songs (though none were really it :()

I swear this is going to drive me crazy though, and if and when I finally hear it, with my luck, I'll probably notice it has practically nothing to do with what I've described. Thanks for humoring me though... =D
posted by Stauf at 4:25 PM on August 19, 2006

It's not "You belong to the city" (you belong to the night), is it? I didn't know this before, but someone named Glenn Frey wrote it.
posted by ontic at 10:34 PM on August 19, 2006

Dunno why, but I thought of New Frontier by Donald Fagan - even though almost none of the clues match - Except a young couple... In the video they're spending the night together in a bunker (YouTube)

New Frontier - Donald Fagan

Yes we're gonna have a wingding
A summer smoker underground
It's just a dugout that my dad built
In case the reds decide to push the button down
We've got provisions and lots of beer
The key word is survival on the new frontier

Introduce me to that big blonde
She's got a touch of Tuesday Weld
She's wearing Ambush and a French twist
She's got us wild and she can tell
She loves to limbo, that much is clear
She's got the right dynamics for the new frontier

Well I can't wait 'til I move to the city
'Til I finally make up my mind
To learn design and study overseas

Have you got a steady boyfriend
Cause honey I've been watching you
I hear you're mad about Brubeck
I like your eyes, I like him too
He's an artist, a pioneer
We've got to have some music on the new frontier

Well I can't wait 'til I move to the city
'Til I finally make up my mind
To learn design and study overseas
Let's pretend that it's the real thing
And stay together all night long
And when I really get to know you
We'll open up the doors and climb into the dawn
Confess your passion your secret fear
Prepare to meet the challenge of the new frontier
posted by Dub at 11:25 PM on August 19, 2006

I'm going to be incredibly presumptuous and assume that I've got it right, simply because as soon as you mentioned the song, I knew exactly what you were talking about - I did a search and yep, Running In The Family by Level 42. I love this one too by the way.

Running in the Family

Our dad would send us to our room
He'd be the voice of doom, he said that we would thank him later
All day he was solid as a rock
But by eight o'clock we'd be crumbling
One night my brother Joe and me
Climbed down the family tree that grew outside our bedroom window
We ran though we knew it couldn't last
Running from the past, from things that we were born to be

Looking back it's so bizarre
It runs in the family, all the things we are
On the backseat of the car with Joseph and Emily
We only see so far and we all have our daddy's eyes
Looking back it's so bizarre

Hope this is it and you can stop racking your brains!
posted by Jubey at 7:59 AM on August 20, 2006