Bryan Adams' hit ‘Summer of 69’ became an instant anthem when it was released nearly four decades ago, but while many of us have sung along assuming it’s all about the year affectionately known as the Summer of Love, it turns out it’s more about... well, just the love.
The song appeared on Adams’ 1984 album Reckless before being released as a single the following year, and was written by the Canadian singer and his longtime collaborator Jim Vallance.
The music video features Adams and his band drinking beer while performing in an old garage, as Adams sings: “I got my first real six-string / Bought it at the five and dime / Played it 'til my fingers bled / Was the summer of 69.”
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Another moment shows Adams spending ‘evenings down at the drive-in', which is where he meets the love interest in the song.
He continues: “Standin' on your mama's porch / You told me that you'd wait forever / Oh, and when you held my hand / I knew that it was now or never / Those were the best days of my life / Oh, yeah / Back in the summer of 69.”
The lyrics also describe how the two lovers were ‘young and restless’ and ‘needed to unwind’, adding: “I guess nothing can last forever.”
A few years ago, Reddit users discussed the song in a thread, with one writing: “Summer of 69 by Bryan Adams isn’t about a year. At least, that’s what I choose to believe.”
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Someone else added: “Yeah I think he did an interview about it. He confirms it’s a sexual reference.”
Said interview was a 2008 conversation with CBS News, when reporter Maggie Rodriguez innocently asked if the song was ‘biographical’.
Adams replied: “Well the song, actually... people think it’s about the year, but actually it’s more about a... it’s more about making love in the summertime.
“It’s using 69 as a sexual reference.”
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In this context, '69' being the sexual position in which both lovers give and receive oral sex simultaneously, of course.
Turning to the smirking band, Rodriguez said: “Ahh. Okay... Didn’t know that.”
Commenting about the moment on Reddit, one user said: “Oh that’s hilarious. That lady had no idea what she was walking into.”
In another similar thread posted 13 years ago, another person shared their own theory on the matter, writing: "The song was originally about the year, actually - but Adams got called out for his phoneyness (considering he was born in '59 and would have been 10 years old in that year). He started defending the song with the new 'sex meaning' after getting shit for the age inconsistency."
Jess Hardiman