Maybe baseball great Yogi Berra coined that phrase, and maybe he didn’t, but no matter, nostalgia almost always works well in a song.
Bryan Adams’ “Summer of ‘69” (from 1985), touched on several key points of youth Americana: the five & dime, high school dances, harmless teenage pranks.
Similarly, Brad Paisley’s latest, “Last Time For Everything” plays upon youthful innocence and loss of same.
His song is kinda corny, with nods to Country icon George Strait, high-school class rings, and “fishing on the lake with grandpa,” but that aside, is there not a value to being reminded that there is not only a first time for everything, but that there’s also a last, final time?
As we Boomers settle into our third act, we are, more than ever, acutely aware of time passing. We’ve had many, many “first times,” and now, as a generation, we are beginning to experience more and more “last times.”
Paisley doesn’t back away from social commentary, so, if you can overlook his song’s over simplification, the message is relevant, touching, and meaningful.
Best one of these I’ve seen so far…