Summer of ’69 – Bryan Adams (1979)

That’s one of the most iconic rock anthems of the 80s, instantly evoking nostalgia for youth, music, and romance!¹

The song is “Summer of ’69” by Bryan Adams.²

🎸 Song Profile: “Summer of ’69”

🤔 The Famous ’69’ Controversy

The song is famous for a long-running public debate about the meaning of the title:

• The Nostalgia Interpretation (The Common Belief): The song is a nostalgic look back at the calendar year 1969, a time of a first guitar, first band, and first serious love. The lyrics strongly support this, with lines like: “Got my first real six-string / Bought it at the five and dime / Played it ’til my fingers bled / Was the summer of ’69.”
• The Double Entendre (Adams’ Claim): Bryan Adams has frequently stated on stage and in interviews that the “69” is actually a reference to the sexual position, not the year. He has pointed to the final spoken lyric of the extended version: “Me and my baby in a ’69.” Adams was only nine years old in 1969, which lends some support to the idea that the song couldn’t be purely autobiographical about that specific year.
• The Co-Writer’s Take: Adams’ long-time songwriting partner, Jim Vallance, maintains that the initial inspiration was indeed the year 1969, a major year for rock music. He has stated that Adams “shoe-horned” the phrase “Summer of ’69” into the song later when they realized it was a better title than the original idea, “Best Days of My Life.”

Regardless of the intended meaning, the song has become a universally beloved anthem for looking back at one’s youth and “the best days of [your] life.”

Would you like to analyze a song from the 1980s, or perhaps a different decade entirely?