-STORY ABOUT THE SONG-
Sixteen, a bombshell, and my friend. What more is there to say? It was a time when everything seemed a little simpler, life just a bit more calm. An era in which everything you did surrounded your friends, without the need for special occasions. Lunches came in brown paper sacks, and crushes filled crowded hallways. The bone-chill of early morning runs, the whipping heat of mid-day runs, the sheer exhaustion of late-afternoon runs - a fate to be inflicted by Admissions and Records. It was a phase in which innocence faded, yet innocence still remained. They were the days in which “Those were the days” remember, the days of high school, when we were young.

I met her in 2nd period. It was the first day of the last semester of my last year of high school. Off Tech/WP 1A was what they called it, but official administrative-sponsored titles never seemed to make much sense. So we called it Keyboarding. The first day of a class was always exciting for me. It was fun to see who would be in the class, what the teacher would be like, and what kind of experience that class would offer. I already figured this class was going to be fun because my brother and my best friend were in it, and since I had the teacher the semester before, I knew she would be pretty cool. But after the seating chart took effect, only the lucky ones prevailed.

I found myself sitting next to her. I didn’t know who she was at the time, and didn’t really pay her much attention. I was more concerned with the fact that I was across the room from where I wanted to be - with my best friend and my brother. But like most of the others around me, I accepted my fate.

When she turned around to talk to me, it was only to ask if I had a brother. I told her I did and pointed to him. When she asked if I had another, I told her I had none. She told me I looked just like a guy she knew the year before. When I asked her who it was, she told me his name. I didn’t recognize the name, but the girl to my left did. It was her brother.

Twists of luck and fate brought us all together. The seeds of friendship were planted, and it wasn’t long before the bonds grew. Throughout the next 4 ½ months, many memories were written - memories that remembered a moment, a moment that defined a period. That moment was that class. That period - high school.

The class ended, and just like that, everything was gone. Not one at a time, but all at once. A new life was unfolding before me, and I didn’t like it. Instead, I felt old and abandoned. I was considered an adult now. School was over. All that was left was a succession of classes to be completed that would lead me to an eight-hour-a-day career. The fun of youth was gone; the party was over.

And then I would think back, back to those times not so far back in time, but generations away in reality, and I would realize how much I missed them, and how much they meant. And in the forefront of this memory, still fresh from the experience, there stood Keyboarding. And before I knew it, Keyboarding turned from being that last great experience of high school, to becoming an untouchable sort of phenomena. And Jami, that girl I met in class that semester, her being the main reason that class had such an impact on my life, became this sort of person that I felt a lot of feelings for. 16, a Bombshell… and My Friend is about that girl I met in class that semester, about the times we shared, and about the four-year journey of high school that experience represented.

When I sat down to write this song, I already had the words for just up to the first chorus complete. This was because over the previous few weeks, as I sang the tune in my head, I would end up stumbling upon lyrics. I didn’t intend for these lyrics to be permanent, and when I decided to seriously begin writing this song as the rest of my class took a quiz on that early Wednesday morning, December 2, 1998, I wondered if I should instead write about the Summer of ’89. Both subjects meant a lot to me, but I always wanted to write a song about the Summer of ’89, and at that time, had not done so yet. However, I finally realized I really wanted to write a song about Jami, Keyboarding, and high school, so that’s what I did… while the rest of my class took a quiz.

I’m not sure what the true end date for this song is. That day in class when I finally started writing this song down on paper, I basically only ended up writing down what was already in my head. Then, as the next few weeks went by, I revisited my previous habits of singing the song, thinking of lyrics, and storing them in thought. On December 31st, about 20 minutes before midnight, I realized I had not finalized this song yet. I wanted to do that before the year ended, so I pulled the paper out and wrote down everything I had in my head so far. I basically had the entire song written at that point, and only revised a couple words since then, so I guess that can serve as the song’s end date.

I got to pick one of the 15 songs to sing on this album. It was the first song I would ever record singing, and it would appear on our very first album, so I wanted it to be a song that really meant something to me, and a song that would represent a big part of my life years down the road looking back on everything. Also, I wanted a song that would represent where this band has come from… seven years in the making. I thought long and hard about which song to pick, and wrote down a list of the songs that meant the most to me. Days of thought narrowed the list down further and further, till I finally chose the song I felt represented a big part of what was really important to me - 16, a Bombshell… and My Friend.

If I could have it all back again, I would. The entire experience. But of course, that’s not possible. Over the years, I have learned that every moment in life is special, and looking back on anything from down the road will end up meaning more to you than it ever did when you were there. So while I miss the past, I realize it’s important not to ignore the present, and to look forward to the future. One day, I will look back on this very moment, 2:01AM, early Wednesday, October 17, 2001, as I sit here typing my last song description, and I will miss the days we spent preparing this album… over a year now. Days when we worked hard on adding backgrounds, changing guitar riffs, and moving octaves. The daily practice sessions we swore would lead us to perfection, and the tense moments I erupted, swearing all my frustrations to hell. The lunch breaks that always served as our excuse to slack off, and later, as an example of what can’t happen again. The months of work that led to here, all behind us - I can’t believe we’re almost there. I hated being there, yet thinking back, I can’t remember why. And now here I am, longing to finish this final touch, so we can finally release our album, and I can finally get some sleep… which some people call “shut eye” - don’t ask why. Yet still I sit here typing away on this tangent. But I remember this. That life is full of hidden treasures and sneaky scene changes, and missed opportunity is full of regret. And missing what you have is a much greater loss than ever missing what you had, what you did. But still my bed, it calls, I’m so tired. I wish I were finished - I’ve had enough of this. And besides, I’ll enjoy right now much more from down the road, so here’s my excuse: “Rush tomorrow with sleep!” A good excuse, but it’s no use, I can’t shake off that guilt I feel… if I don’t stop to appreciate this. And ironically, the day I look back and do truly appreciate, I’ll wish I were here again, writing this - though I can’t imagine why. But it’s late, I’m tired, and I’ve had it. So let’s not worry about tomorrow tonight, but rather tonight tomorrow. And with that I’m finally finished; I’m so happy. Sweet dreams and GOODNIGHT!!!! -Marc Morcos
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