This, too, was an anthem of ours

My friend April posted the lyrics of one of our "anthems" back in high school. So I thought I'd copy her and post the lyrics of another song that our group loved. This is one of my absolute, all-time favorite songs. For years I wondered what the song was truly about, because the words conveyed such bittersweet melancholy. Sometime ago I Googled it and found out that the song is about a dear friend who died of cancer. That made me like the song even more, because it fits perfectly.

Tears, by The Chameleons (UK)

It's just coincidence
Well, you can talk that way
But I have to say I don't believe in it
It was a chill of chance,
I decided to dance the days away

And I wasn't worried at all
Sneaking through the back door
No, I wasn't worried at all
Dreams are what you live for

Waiting for the light to turn green
Carry me home
To the kindest eyes that I've ever seen
Carry me home
Well, can you tell me how will it be now?
How will it be?
Can you tell me, how will it be now?
How will it be?

Well we were younger then,
And the days were long and slow
But were we wiser then?
I couldn't say, I wouldn't know

But I wasn't worried at all
I had someone to run to
And I wasn't worried at all
I knew which way the wind blew

Counting out the chaos and gloom
Carry me home
And I watched the ceiling spin round the room
Carry me home
Well, can you tell me, how will it be now?
How will it be?
Can you tell me, how will it be now?
How will it be?

In the real world, how will it be?
In a cold world, how will it be?
In a lonely world, how will it be?
Will the ghosts just stop following me?

No, now drawn into the sun
He was the only one

In the real world, how will it be?
In a cold, cold world, how will it be?
Beck and call, beg and crawl, how will it be?
Will the ghosts just stop following me?

No, now drawn into the sun
He was the only one

And so I'll remember you,
I'll remember the days and the thousands of ways you pulled me through,
And dream of all the things you've seen,
Of all the faces and all of the places you have been,
Now you have no phone and you have no name and you have no number,
And it comes to an end in the blink of an eye and it makes me wonder...

Sometimes I wonder why it seems like the songs that people most identify with, that they treasure most, are the songs that they loved when they were in high school. For me, at least, that's true. And I'm pretty sure it's true for my high school and college friends as well. Is it because teenagers are filled with hormones, angst, and ennui? Because high school is the time to soak up and wallow in drama, whether real or imagined?

For me, most of the songs that I love most because of emotions are songs that I loved in high school. When it comes to dance songs, it's a mix of high school and college songs - "new wave" combined with "Faces and Euphoria music".

Anyway....