The Times They-Are-A-Changing - Songs of a Different Age

  by Bob Nicholson

published: 3 / 7 / 2023

In the May 2023 edition of pennyblackmusic.co.uk I reflected on some UK hits I listened to at the dawn of pop/rock music and what they had to say about good behaviour with girls. As the sage predicted, the times certainly have changed. What was regarded as innocent behaviour back then might well lead to aspirant lovers today getting their collars felt. Meeting points for young teens included school, coffee bars, youth clubs and the street where the act of promenading occurred, when the opposite sexes could stroll viewing potential suitors, a civilised practice still seen in warm climates. The King Brothers had a number four hit in the UK with ‘Standing on the Corner’ (1960) which had them “watching all the girls go by”. Normal behaviour back then because “you can’t go to jail for what you’re thinking or for that, ooh, look in your eye”. Not so sure about that these days, lads. The UK police can now arrest you for what they think you’re thinking. The traffic police might want a word with The Avons who reached number three in the UK with ‘Seven Little Girls Sitting in the Back Seat’ (1959) “kissin’ and a huggin’ with Fred” and required the driver to “keep your snoopy eyes on the road ahead”. We boys knew Fred. He may have had the reputation of a stud but he was rubbish at sport. Anyway, try that in a Ford Fiesta. We assume those seven little girls were sixteen and over, an age that was celebrated in many songs of the time. Neil Sedaka reached number three with ‘Happy Birthday Sweet Sixteen’ (1961) which opens with “Tonight’s the night I’ve waited for, because you’re not a baby anymore’” and goes on to sing “since you’ve grown up, your future is sewn up, from now on you’re gonna be mine”. What a difference a day makes. Johnny Burnette claimed ownership in ‘You’re Sixteen’ (1961), a number three hit, with a lyric proclaiming “You’re sixteen, you’re beautiful and you’re mine2. Ringo Starr reached number four in 1974 with his adenoidal version of the same song. Wishful thinking. Girls didn’t consider themselves chattels then any more than girls today. In fact, flirting to annoy boyfriends is a time-honoured tradition, with occasional physical repercussions for the innocent (me). The purest of intentions can easily be misrepresented. Joe Brown and the Bruvvers had a number two hit with ‘A Picture of You’ (1962). Our hero falls for a girl he doesn’t know: “It was last summer, I fell in love, my heart told me what to do, I saw you there on the crest of a hill, and I took a little picture of you”. A pretty clear breach of data protection laws, Joe. Destroy all copies. Back in school, ‘Snake and the Bookworm’ (an album track by Cliff Richard, 1959) offered a clear case of stalking and potentially assault. A student is besotted with the girl of his dreams and follows her everywhere: “the snake got the bookworm one fine day, and he wouldn’t let her get away, then he kissed her just one time and something happened to his mind, now he’s singing a different song, he’s been studying all night long, snake and the bookworm.” Notwithstanding his comeuppance, he’d likely be in trouble today. If some songs suggested an interest that today might seem predatory, there were others staying on the right side of public opinion. Sam Cooke’s lament in his own song ‘Only Sixteen’ (1959, covered by Craig Douglas) has his sixteen year old self falling in love with a girl of the same age but “she was too young to fall in love, and I was too young to know”. In his classic ‘Sweet Little Sixteen’ (1958), Chuck Berry celebrated a young girl’s life without any sexual references. The man Bob Dylan called the Shakespeare of rock and roll wrote about the excitement of being on the cusp of adulthood: “She's got the grown-up blues, tight dresses and lipstick, she’s sportin' high heeled shoes, but tomorrow morning, she'll have to change her trend, and be sweet sixteen, back in class again.” Sweet means innocent, of course. The fun and frustration of early courtship is demonstrated in ‘Come Outside’ (1962), a UK novelty number one for Mike Sarne and Wendy Richard: “Little doll we've been jiving all night long, Little doll gotta feeling something's wrong, ‘coz it ain't right to wanna keep on dancing, there won't be any time left for romancing, Come outside, Come outside, there's a lovely moon out there, Come outside, Come outside, while we got time to spare.” Mike Sarne sings and Wendy Richard responds with put-downs until the end of the night but agrees “alright but not for too long’” A mutually beneficial truce between the sexes. The Times, they are a’changin’ indeed - though some fundamentals remain. Boys chase, girls choose, the world rotates. Attitudes towards relationships have certainly changed for the better. Most of those songs of that short bubblegum era were written and performed by male artists from a male perspective. It is easy to misinterpret or misrepresent them now. Even Paul McCartney’s ‘I Saw Her Standing There’ was criticised by a male Guardian culture writer not 00long ago. Someone so minded could identify potentially criminal behaviour in those essentially innocent songs which simply reflected life at the time. Are ownership claims misogyny? When does following someone become stalking? Is a stolen kiss an assault? I s the celebration of a girl’s sixteenth birthday suggestive? When does admiring or appreciating beauty become ogling? Should people-watching be a crime? The songs cited in this and the earlier article prompt the question but it’s all in the mind’s eye. They show consent and respect. Contrast those with ‘Let’s Spend the Night Together’ (Stones), ‘Tonight’s the Night’ (Stewart) or ‘Relax’ (Frankie Goes To Hollywood). Subtlety, where art thou?

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